Sakura Watch March 26, 2021 - Warm weather boosts bud development!
Sakura Watch March 26, 2021 - Warm weather boosts bud development! Since my last visit to the park, we've been treated to some incredible warm spring weather. When the temperatures remain in the mid to high teens for an extended period, the trees thrive and benefit the blossom bud development. Warmer weather tends to signal to the buds that now is an excellent time to begin developing into the next stages, which is precisely what I witnessed in the park today. This has happened in the past when we had early blooms in mid-April due to a very mild winter and above seasonal temperatures.
The flipside to that is in 2016 when we did have similar patterns accelerate the blossom development for a potential early bloom, but then we were struck with a polar vortex and extremely frigid weather that essentially killed the blossom buds in their later stages as they were no longer able to protect themselves from the cold. So for now it remains to be seen where the next few weeks will take us! But for now, let’s focus on the current state of the cherry blossom buds.
Watch my latest YouTube update below:
Cool weather returns
As I mentioned, the return of cooler weather will slow down the brief boost of progress the trees experienced. The positive take is that the buds are still closed enough to handle any cold conditions at this point of the season. I’ll be watching the weather reports closely in the early April weeks to see if we will indeed experience an early spring with more warm weather, or if instead, we will have our usual mixed bag of winter and spring days sprinkled throughout the month ahead.
So, for now, this little boost may have only accelerated the blooming time by a few days. We should still expect to see the bloom occur between the last week of April and the first week of May.
Have a look at these photos of the buds from my recent visit to High Park:
Virtual or in-person Viewing?
As the COVID-19 number continues to remain high, and new variants of the virus also begin to spread, the fate of how we will view the blossoms is still up in the air. In general, the only way we can reduce the numbers and stop the spread is to avoid having large gatherings and help keep everyone safe. While the risks still remain high, we will have to wait and see what the final decision by the City will be for High Park. Once again, I will keep you updated on this news in the weeks ahead.
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