According to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s “Cherry Tracker,” the cherry blossoms have officially hit peak bloom!
Too busy this April to visit? You can keep track via the garden’s website, which is updated daily, and experience nature’s beauty virtually through gorgeous photos and videos.
As of April 22, 2024, Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk have hit full bloom. Shauna Moore, director of Horticulture at BBG, expects these blossoms to last “another week or so” before they enter their next phase of fluttering to the ground.
The Cherry Esplanade and Cherry Walk feature more than 76 flowering specimens, and many are the double blossoms of the Prunus ‘Kanzan.’ Most cherry blossoms only have 5 petals, however, this variation has up to 28 petals on each bloom. These trees are usually the last to bloom.
Though we wish we could track cherry blossom season easier, there isn’t a set time when they all reach their peak. According to BBG, “No one tree remains in flower for more than a week, and there is no moment when all are blooming at once.”
The online “Cherry Watch” will show you exactly which areas of the garden are in “prebloom, “first bloom,” “peak bloom,” and “post-peak bloom.” Then, you’re able to click on each tree and see what type of cherry it is, from the white Prunus ‘Accolade’ to the bright pink Prunus subhirtella ‘Pendula’.
You can also explore various photos, highlights and videos of Cherry Esplanade here, as well as Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden.
And when the last of the cherry blossom petals fall, we can look forward to all of the beautiful upcoming blooms such as peonies, bluebells, azaleas, and wisteria!