Sakura Watch, April 19, 2017 - first day the sakura cherry blossoms begin to bloom!
Sakura Watch, April 19, 2017 - first day the sakura cherry blossoms begin to bloom as spots of white flowers dot the tree line for the first time! Walking through High Park tonight saw only very few blossoms opened, but the majority of the florets are getting ready to bloom soon.
Today can be said to be the first official day of the sakura cherry blossom watching season. Read on to see what can be expected over the next week.
Weather or not, they will bloom
As mentioned before, the weather is always the driver of how soon, how late and for how long we all can enjoy the cherry blossoms. See the forecast below from the Weather Network (live app is always on right side of the page)
Weather Network forecast for High Park from April 20-26, 2017
With rain and even thunderstorms being called for on Thursday, there is a chance that could damage some of the florets that are already open to close to opening. Many of the florets seen were still showing dark pink with white tips which mean the petals would still be pretty well protected. Good news is that the weather is only happening tomorrow before the majority of blossoms begin to bloom.
A warmer start to the weekend on Friday will bring sun and decent double digit temperatures. More heated air and sunshine will encourage the flowers to open up to the more beautiful weather and will continue through to Sunday. The current prediction is the sakura cherry blossoms will surpass 60% bloom from Friday, April 21 through to Sunday, April 26th.
Going into Monday to Wednesday, that should be the latter half of the peak bloom. If the weather remains calm and warm, then there is potential for the bloom to extend through to next weekend of April 28-30th. However, be prepared to see less of a full showing by then as the petals will begin to fall.
When is the best time to go?
Of course, the big question everyone wants to know is when do I go to the park? You'll experience the magic once at least 90% of the florets transformed into delicate, pink and white petalled flowers in what's knows as the peak bloom. This weekend is best to go before the forecast windy Tuesday could start blowing off the blossom flower petals.
Where is the best place to see them?
People often forget there are 3 main areas in the park to see sakura cherry blossoms. Plus there are some smaller clusters of 1-3 trees scattered around the park. See my Google Sakura Map here for directions and best spots in High Park to visit.
How long will the cherry blossoms last?
Now it's up to mother nature AND the visitors to help dictate how long we can enjoy them. We can't control the weather, BUT bad, irresponsible behaviour we can. Since starting this website in 2012, I've documented a lot of damage and dead trees due to people acting stupid and disrespectful. I'll be writing a special series about this soon, but for now, please tell your friends and family to do their best to help ALL of us have a chance to enjoy the bloom this year.
To everyone who visits, please DO NOT climb the trees, shake the limbs or branches and break off any flowers for souvenirs. And most of all just keep off the bloomin' trees!