Sakura Watch March 27, 2024 - Cold kept trees in Stage 2, but progress continues in High Park. After the cold and snow of last week, I wasn’t expecting to see too much of a change on today’s visit. And sure enough, as I suspected, the cooler weather did, in fact, slow down the progress a bit, which is to be expected. But now that warmer weather has returned for this week, we shall see how much of an impact it will have before my next visit. At the very least, I do believe we should see some bud development move into the next stage soon. Read on to find out more…

Watch the Youtube video update below.

Buds survived snow and colduckily

Luckily the buds were still in the early stages when the snow and cold interrupted our early spring-like weather. In fact, snowing on the first days of spring was even a greater insult to injury, but overall, the buds were still well protected in their layered shells. While enjoying a wonderfully sunlit morning in the peace and quiet of a near-empty park, my first observations were that the buds were healthy, as they appeared to have swollen and grown since my last visit. This proved the cold spell only slowed down the bud development and did not hinder or damage any buds during that time.

Here are some more detailed photos showing the buds during my visit today:

Warmer but wet days ahead

As the warmer weather returned this week, so does our hope that spring is finally here to stay. Though very unpredictable in recent times, current trends suggest that we may finally be able to celebrate the end of winter—even though it wasn’t much of a winter for us in Toronto. With that hope comes even greater anticipation of how much of an effect the rising temperatures will have on the progress of the sakura cherry blossoms. The warmer the temperatures, the greater the acceleration of the buds’s development.

The trees are in the final days of Stage 2 and are now beginning to move into Stage 3. Next week shows some promise of greater progress! If all goes according to plan, I will continue to have faith in my original premonition that we could see the blossoms begin to emerge by mid-April and full bloom in the second half of the month (unless we start to get double-digit temperatures again). As always, it's now up to Mother Nature to decide when the time is right.

Thanks for visiting, and watch for more updates soon.

Do Your Part to Help the Trees from Damage

As much fun as it is to get up close to enjoy the cherry blossoms truly, there are some who 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.