japonica 'Discovery' is a cold-resistant selection from Canada, raised along with 'Freedom' in the 1980s by Dr Wilbert Ronald, of Jeffries Nurseries Ltd. and Rick Durand of Shade Consulting Services, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
The leaves are obovate to oval, and slightly smaller than is typical of the species, their colour dark green turning yellow in autumn.
'Discovery' performed very poorly in government trials [2] in Alberta, Canada, failing completely at five out of six sites.
Moreover, the survivors developed a very poor branching pattern requiring pruning to strengthen crotches.
'Discovery' fared better in trials conducted by the University of Minnesota, which considered it "quite hardy", but the tree was criticized for its comparatively slow growth and need for continued crown thinning when young, the latter factor largely disqualifying it as a street tree.