Sakura Watch April 17, 2018 - The cherry blossom trees have survived the storm - even snow and ice wasn't enough to deter these buds from getting ready to make their grand entrance into spring 2018! Though walking through High Park you do see small branches or twigs scattered around the snow-covered grounds, the overall damage was minimal. Only one tree suffered any significant damage (as seen in the video) where it lost one its larger branches, but all the rest appear to have survived the icy onslaught unscathed. Watch the latest video update from YouTube:

Buds still look healthy

Even more good news was seeing that the majority of buds have survived - green tips and all! This helps to fuel the hope that bloom will occur in the weeks ahead. Though this is a positive sign, it does lead to the question of what percentage of blossoms will be seen so late in the season. Previous years have proven that the farther past the usual end of April, early May bloom season it takes the buds to reach maturity, the less amount of blooms will actually occur. This is because some buds may go straight to leaf and bypass creating blossoms altogether.

See the photo gallery of today's visit:

Looking at these photos, notice how some buds seem to have different shapes. The blossom buds are most likely to be the more round with some showing green tips as positive signs of the second stage. Other which appear more elongated with pointy ends are potentially more likely to be going straight to leaf. The majority of the different buds are somewhere in between and could develop either way, pending how the weather pans out in the weeks ahead.

Warmer weather finally on the way?

Hopefully, the warmer weather forecast heading into next weekend will help reduce the stress on the trees and get the buds development stages back on track. I’m sure most of us are ready for spring to start finally!

More visits in the next couple of weeks should better set the stage for what to expect and when. Stay tuned for more updated soon!