Although the festival has ended, the cherry trees are carrying on with their beauty – still some Ukon, Avium Plena and Shogetsu, pink Kanzan snow all over the streets, and Shirofugen carrying the torch on into June.
At this time of year, crab apples are everywhere in Vancouver and people are confusing them with cherries.
Crab apples have round red buds. The sepals don’t curl back and there are five round holes in the centre of the blossom where the petals narrow to a claw.
You can learn more about crab apples on the UBC Forum:
Crab Apples – red buds, white blossoms, green leaves, late cherry season
PS Soon the hawthorns will be out too. They have deeply lobed leaves in a kind of triangle shape, and some thorns.
(Source: information provided by Wendy Cutler)