Sakura Watch April 19, 2023 - The peak bloom is expected to begin tomorrow in High Park! Here is what you will see in the park over the next few days. The trees are all well into Stage 5, with most now showing Stage 6, which are the beautiful, white, fluffy petals of open blossoms.

Video to be added soon…

40-65% by Sportsfields

Starting near the sports fields, approximately 40-70% of the cherry blossoms were open. The trees closest to the Bloor St entrance have the most abundant number of blossoms with nearly 60% of them open. The trees further down to the right of the open fields are much less with them only showing a few open blossoms and the rest showing off their tightly bound pink bundles just waiting to burst open in the days ahead.

Here are photos of the trees by the sports fields:

35-55% throughout Cherry Hill

Throughout the path and slope of Cherry Hill, these trees also showed a varied number of blooms. The trees closest to the paved path's upper half and the slope's upper portion showed the most open blossoms at approximately 60%. Meanwhile, the closer you walked down the path toward Grenadier Pond, nearly all the trees were further behind, with only about 35% of the beautiful open blooms to be seen.

These trees should open up significantly over the next few days and into the weekend. Here are some photos were taken this morning throughout Cherry Hill and down by Grenadier Pond:

Warm Weather to return

Warmer weather is forecast for the next few days, which should help promote the peak bloom to reach its peak over the weekend. This will allow for great Sakura Hanami experiences ahead!

I’ll watch for the expected rain this Saturday to see how it will affect the overall bloom. Light rain shouldn’t have too much effect and keep most of the blossoms remaining on the trees. However, if the rains are heavy with stronger winds, they could knock down the blossoms' petals earlier, which will shorten the Sakura Hanami time.

I’ll be back before and after the rain to compare the differences so watch for those updates in the days ahead.

Peak bloom begins on April 20

My prediction is now a reality, as High Park will start an early peak bloom on Thursday, April 20. The question my next few visits will answer is just how long of a viewing opportunity we will have this year. Stay tuned for more this weekend!

Stay tuned for more details and follow-up updates!

Do Your Part to Help the Trees from Damage

As much fun as it is to get up close to truly enjoy the cherry blossoms, some take it a bit too far and cause damage to the tree that can lead to irreparable harm so the trees can not protect themselves from insects and disease and eventually die. This leaves us with less mature trees to enjoy, so please, if you really want to enjoy the blossoms for many years to come, you need to do your part to help protect the trees and prevent any harm to them:

Don’t pick or break off any blossoms
Don’t pull down, shake or break off the branches
Don’t climb, sit or stand on the trunks or branches - the mature trees are very old and not strong enough to support the weight and stress of people, even small children!
Don’t leave any litter IN or around the trees - it’s so sad to see people putting their garbage in the hollow trunks of the older trees, which invites animals and other insects to nest inside and cause internal damage.
DO take photos without harming the trees
DO enjoy the blossoms and respect their immediate surroundings
DO remember that respecting the trees from root to branch will help everyone to enjoy the blooming trees for many years to come

Donate to Support The Cherry Blossoms

The City of Toronto now accepts donations to help maintain existing trees and plant future ones. See this link for details.
Read more details and information on the City of Toronto - Cherry Blossom Website

Thank you all for visiting the site. Be careful, be safe, and watch for more updates soon.

Sakura Watch April 19, 2023 - The peak bloom is expected to begin tomorrow in High Park! Here is what you will see