hanami

Cherry Blossom Watch – 2026 Northeast *Update*

Cherry Blossom Watch – 2026 Northeast *Update*

Kevin

Despite cold weather in February, cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. bloomed earlier than expected. The National Park Service declared peak bloom at the tidal basin March 26. My early prediction (ten days ago) was off by four days.

Much like a dashboard GPS device might say … “Recalculating …”

March 26 : Peak bloom at Washington D.C.
March 31 : Kwanzan (late-season cherry) begin bloom at Washington D.C.
April 7 : Peak bloom at Philadelphia
April 15 : Kwanzan (late-season cherry) begin bloom at Philadelphia
April 19 : Peak bloom at Boston
April 27 : Kwanzan (late-season cherry) begin bloom at Boston

The Kanzans are Coming!

Kevin

As some flowering cherry trees bloom early and some bloom later in the season, Kanzan Cherry is king of the late bloomers. (Also known as Kwanzan Cherry.) They are just now beginning to bloom in eastern Massachusetts. Though they appear as quite small red flowers today …. by Monday or Tuesday they will look like bold pink carnations.

The opening photo here is a past year at the Charles River Esplanade in Boston.

And here is what they look like today, about 15 miles north of Boston.

#hanami #sakura #cherryblossom #boston

2021 Cherry Blossom Watch : Boston MA

2021 Cherry Blossom Watch : Boston MA

Kevin

For some folks, the annual blooms of flowering trees are highly treasured. While other trees – magnolias, crabapple, etc – are spectacular, ornamental cherry trees are commonly deemed to be the pinnacle of flowering trees. In Japan, the word Hanami means the viewing enjoyment of flowers (hana), but specifically the blossoms of cherry trees.

In Tokyo Japan, the reported peak blooming occurred around March 22. In Washington D.C., it was March 28 this year. But here in the northeast USA, the blooming is just starting.

Here are a few samples from Boston this past weekend. The first photo is of a Saucer Magnolia in full bloom. The squirrel sits upon a Yoshino Cherry tree that has not yet bloomed at all. The close-ups are both Sargeant Cherry as it was just beginning to bloom.