Blooming Now — Read the latest updates on cherry blossoms, including blooming dates, prime locations, and tips for capturing stunning photos. Follow our cherry scouts, as we share firsthand insights and ensures you never miss a moment of the blossoms’ beauty. Whether you’re planning a visit or simply admiring from afar, this page is your go-to resource for all things cherry blossoms.

Latest Updates

April 30, 2025  We started the year with snow on pink ‘Whitcomb’ cherry blossoms; we’ll end the cherry blooming with pink ‘Kanzan’ snow on the sidewalks, evoking Mono no aware, the traditional symbolism of cherry blossoms as a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life  Thanks to Cynna Bartram on Facebook for sharing her photos celebrating the closing out of our season.

Kanzan snow_KItsilano_CynnaBartram_20250430_7460271895103732536_n
Kanzan snow_KItsilano_CynnaBartram_20250430_7460271895103732536_n
Kanzan snow_KItsilano_CynnaBartram_20250430__4774290764430876665_n
Kanzan snow_KItsilano_CynnaBartram_20250430__4774290764430876665_n

You can find blossom photos with descriptions that were featured here at Blog – Yesterday’s news and more – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca).

Scouts have shared their finds on our forums at VCBF Neighbourhood Blogs | UBC Botanical Garden Forums. You can search for cultivar locations on the festival map at Neighbourhood Maps (vcbf.ca).

You can find the new 2014 enlarged edition of the indispensable guide to Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver, written by Douglas Justice, Associate Director & Curator of Collections at UBC Botanical Garden. Purchase the full eBook version here on our Shop.


International Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition

The VCBF once again offered up our ‘Akebono’ trees at Maple Grove Park, for the fourth year of the International Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition. More information about the challenge can be found at https://competition.statistics.gmu.edu/. The contestants picked March 31 as the 2025 blooming date. ChatGPT picked March 25. The peak bloom date was declared to be April 3.

You can see photos of the blooming progression in 2025 at Yesterday’s news – 2025 International Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.

Akebono_MapleGrovePark_Cutler_20250403_152104
Akebono_MapleGrovePark_Cutler_20250403_152104

Festival Favourites

Some of our festival favourite photo-op locations will be shown here during the bloom season with current year photos and the approximate blooming dates. Red markers on our festival map show all our favourite locations. ​​​​When we talk about Festival Favourites, we mean you will be happy you made the trip to see them to photograph them. When you’re there, remember the neighbours:

  • do not climb the trees
  • do not break the branches
  • be respectful of the residents who live on the street
  • do not stop in the middle of the street
  • keep your visit to a max of 15mins (cause really, how long does it take to snap a few photos?)
  • stay on city property, do not go on private property
  • try to stay off the grass, especially if you are wearing heels.

Mostly – be respectful to the environment and the residents. Remember that it is the residents who are responsible for caring for those trees.

Learn How to Take Cherry Blossom Photos with your phone thanks to Cakewalk Media for the tips!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/23AKPJ_-Ps4

Festival Favourites in Bloom

Below is a sampling of the festival favourite photo-op locations posted on our forums. You too can become a Cherry Scout and share photos with us – see Cherry Scouts – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca).

20250426 Bellevue14th Shiro-fugen Willard IMG_7101
20250426 Bellevue14th Shiro-fugen Willard IMG_7101
West Vancouver Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 21 to May 10
Shiro-fugen_27thNanaimo_Cutler_20250427_193312
Shiro-fugen_27thNanaimo_Cutler_20250427_193312
Renfrew-Collingwood Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 21 to May 10
20250425_GranvilleIslandSeawall_Shirofugen_Blumenthal_7829
20250425_GranvilleIslandSeawall_Shirofugen_Blumenthal_7829
Fairview Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 15 to May 10

Festival Favourites no longer in bloom

Kanzan_Acadia Rd_Kiri_20250424_image3
Kanzan_Acadia Rd_Kiri_20250424_image3
UBC Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: April 15 to Apr 30
20250422 Kanzan_101Ave&157St_Taka4
20250422 Kanzan_101Ave&157St_Taka4
Surrey and North Delta Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: April 20 to May 1
Kanzan_French71st_Cutler_20250418_190243
Kanzan_French71st_Cutler_20250418_190243
Marpole Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 20 to May 5
20250419_29thRossFF_Kanzan_Blumenthal_7794
20250419_29thRossFF_Kanzan_Blumenthal_7794
Kensington-Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 20 to May 5
Shogetsu_20370_82Ave_Langley_JosieMcCarthy_20250418_p14
Langley City and Township Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 15 to Apr 28
Ukon_CharlestonPark_Cutler_20250412_153015
Ukon_CharlestonPark_Cutler_20250412_153015
Fairview Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 15 to Apr 29
Tai-haku_66thAdera_Cutler_20250411_190535
Tai-haku_66thAdera_Cutler_20250411_190535
Marpole Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 3 to Apr 17
Shirotae_Regent College_Kiri_20250409_image1
Shirotae_Regent College_Kiri_20250409_image1
UBC Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Apr 3 to Apr 17
Somei-Yoshino_Akebono_MarineCresMarineDr_ricchan_20250403_143310
Somei-Yoshino_Akebono_MarineCresMarineDr_ricchan_20250403_143310
Kerrisdale Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 27 to Apr 10
Somei-yoshino_W31 Dunbar_Leanne_20250402_150947
Somei-yoshino_W31 Dunbar_Leanne_20250402_150947
Dunbar-Southlands Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 27-Apr 10
Tai-haku_SeaforthPeacePark_Cutler_20250405_151822
Tai-haku_SeaforthPeacePark_Cutler_20250405_151822
Kitsilano Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 27 to Apr 10
20250404_22ndWindsor_Akebono_Blumenthal_7717
20250404_22ndWindsor_Akebono_Blumenthal_7717
Kensington-Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 28 to Apr 11
Somei-Yoshino_Chan Centre_Kiri_20250401_image2
Somei-Yoshino_Chan Centre_Kiri_20250401_image2
UBC Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 27 to Apr 10
20250330 MOV Akebono Willard IMG_6080
20250330 MOV Akebono Willard IMG_6080
Kitsilano Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 27 to Apr 10
20250330 MarineCrW50 Accolade Willard IMG_6248
20250330 MarineCrW50 Accolade Willard IMG_6248
Kerrisdale Neighbourhood
Mar 24 to Apr 5
Accolade_VictoryRoyalOak-fromRoyalOak_JoeCondie_20250330_3
Accolade_VictoryRoyalOak-fromRoyalOak_JoeCondie_20250330_3
Burnaby Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 24 to Apr 5
Somei-yoshino_end-of-University-Blvd-bus-loop_Kiri_20250326_image-3
Somei-yoshino_end of University Blvd bus loop_Kiri_20250326_image 3
UBC Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 27 to Apr 10
VCBF-Opening-Party_DavidLamPark_Cutler_20250329_150952
VCBF-Opening-Party_DavidLamPark_Cutler_20250329_150952
Downtown Neighbourhood
Blooming Dates: Mar 27 to Apr 10
Akebono_BurrardStation_Cutler_20250331_160102
Akebono_BurrardStation_Cutler_20250331_160102
Downtown Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 27 to Apr 10
20250327_Accolade_YewW45_Eng_0796
20250327_Accolade_YewW45_Eng_0796
Kerrisdale Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 24 to Apr 5
Accolade_12thCambieNside city hall_llennie_20250326_192107
Accolade_12thCambieNside city hall_llennie_20250326_192107
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood
Blooming Dates Mar 24 to Apr 5
Whitcomb_SussexImperial_JacquelineLee_20250308_DSC08817拷貝
Whitcomb_SussexImperial_JacquelineLee_20250308_DSC08817拷貝
Burnaby Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 1 to Mar 25
Whitcomb_TeaSwampPark_Cutler_20250309_165403
Whitcomb_TeaSwampPark_Cutler_20250309_165403
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Mar 12 to Mar 20
20250109 PacificBurrard AutumnRosea Willard IMG_4557
20250109 PacificBurrard AutumnRosea Willard IMG_4557
West End Stanley Park Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Jan 1 to Feb 13