NYC's Botanical Gardens Tell Us When To Expect Full Cherry Blossom Bloom

Photos by Tien Mao/Gothamist

Yesterday morning Gothamist's Tien Mao happened upon *the only blooming cherry blossom tree in Brooklyn Botanic Garden (pictured above... and here's a mix we made for it)—so when will petals everywhere be briefly turning pink? We asked both the Queens, New York Botanical, and Brooklyn Botanic Gardens for some updates on the trees:

BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN
Melanie Sifton, VP of horticulture at BBG, told us yesterday: “Considering the nice forecast for the next few days, we should see good momentum in the flowering cherries: the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden will be the first place to look, since their weeping higan cherries are the earliest in the Hanami sequence. The cultivars and allees of Prunus ‘Kanzan’ on Cherry Esplanade will likely be later in the month, unaffected by the recent cold temperatures—this winter has been perfectly normal for the plant world at BBG. Keep all eyes on CherryWatch!”

NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
A rep at the NYBG told us yesterday, "The Japanese Apricot, which is one of the absolute earliest, is flowering in our Home Gardening Center." And the Associate Curator of Woody Plants Deanna Curtis confirms, saying: “The earliest flowering cherries are in bloom, and the show will continue with peak display likely at the end of April."

QUEENS BOTANICAL GARDEN
A rep for the garden told us this morning, "We have one tree with a lovely pink cloud and the rest of the trees are budding! I would say the blossoms are imminent; perhaps within two weeks? The cold weather is delaying things a bit."

*Note: There is currently a second blooming tree on BBG's map, but we're told that is a mistake, and at press time just the one tree is in bloom.