While mild temperatures are on the horizon, It seems that March will end with a nice push toward more blooming progression. While Cherry Blossom hits peak bloom this weekend in the city, we should expect it to happen within two weeks from now. It is the right time to plan where to go and watch the cherry blossom around the five boroughs. You can use our guide, which will give you some popular places, beside unique and less crowded ones.
Best places to catch the Cherry Blossom in NYC
Read more to check out what’s in bloom and what’s coming.
March 25, 2023 – Okame Cherry trees are still blooming and look great. These are the first Cherries to bloom with bright pink flowers that give us much joy after a cold winter.
If you are looking for the best places to watch the Cherry blossom, we create a list just for you:
Best places to catch the Cherry Blossom in NYC
Daffodils can be found all around and they look beautiful. I even spotted a few early tulips. However, they were might being potted as flowers already. Here are some pictures I took yesterday at Greenpoint. You can also find a pretty heaping cherry half blooming.
Yoshino Cherry
Yoshino Cherry (or Japanese Flowering Cherry) is the one most are looking for, with a bit of almond-scented and whitish-pink blossoms, which bloom in spring on magnificent bare branches.
This week the buds have reached their second and third stage in some trees.
Depending on the temperatures, you should expect their peak bloom in the city around the first half of April.
The peak bloom in 2022 was on April 8, so if conditions remain the same, we might see that around the same time.
We are looking at six stages until reaching peak bloom:
- Green Buds
- Florets Visible
- Florets Extended
- Peduncle Elongation
- Puffy White
- Peak Bloom
Here’s a picture of cherry buds side by side from March 19 and March 25.
The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens has published its Cherry Blossom Map Track to see what’s in bloom around the Japanese gardens:
For more information, check their website: https://www.bbg.org/collections/cherries
Cherry Blossom – NYC Vs Washington DC
The Cherry blossom in Tidal Basin in Washington DC reached its peak bloom on March 23.
Depending on the weather, It usually takes 2-3 more weeks for NYC to reach its peak bloom.
For comparison, in 2021, cherry blossom in DC reached peak bloom on March 21, while NYC reached peak bloom on April 7.
In 2022, cherry blossom peaked bloom on March 22, while NYC reached the peak bloom on April 8.
If you want more information about the cherry blossom in DC, I recommend following https://cherryblossomwatch.com @cherryblossomwatch for all reports.
Magnolia
Star Magnolias and Saucer Magnolias are blooming and most of them are near peak bloom.
Here are pictures from a beautiful Saucer Magnolia Tree and a Star Magnolia in Greenpoint:
Callery Pears
Callery Pears are very popular around the streets of all five boroughs.
They are very close to blooming and should be in full bloom around the same time in 2022, which was April 4.
Some of them have some open flowers already.
Want to know where to see more Callery Pears around the city? Check out our list of The Most Beautiful Streets with magnificent blossoms in NYC.
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