March 24, 2023. Double (or semi-double) flowered ‘Accolade’ cherries are starting to look good around town. These flowers have more than five petals. They are more than twice the diameter of the earlier-blooming ‘Autumnalis Rosea’, and they form a tidier flatter disk. Shirley Willard took this photo at Vancouver City Hall on March 19.

For a comparison, here are ‘Autumnalis Rosea’ flowers from March 11. This is the only other cherry cultivar in bloom right now with more than 5 petals. Well, sometimes you can find an extra petal on ‘Whitcomb’ blossoms, but that is rare. Thanks again to Shirley Willard for the photo.

You can find blossom photos featured here at Blog – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca). And the festival favourite locations posted last year are still below, in the No Longer in Bloom section of this page.
You can share your finds on our forums at VCBF Neighbourhood Blogs | UBC Botanical Garden Forums – note this is temporarily not available.
You can find photos previously featured here last year in the Album at https://vcbf.ca/albums/blossoms-from-2022/. If you missed some of these postings, the newer ones have been saved in the Blog – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (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 2023 Second International Cherry Blossom Predition Competition closed on February 28. Vancouver’s location for the competition is again the ‘Akebono’ trees in Maple Grove Park, at the corner of SW Marine Drive and Yew Street. The overall consensus for the blooming date for these trees in 2023 is April 5. On March 20, the Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition’s Jonathan L. Auerbach spoke with CBC Radio’s Gloria Macarenko about trying to figure out when the Instagram-worthy blossoms will appear. Here is the 6-minute interview: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-46-on-the-coast/clip/15973390-what-day-think-cherry-blossoms-bloom-year.
Douglas Justice, Associate Director, Horticulture & Collections at UBC Botanical Garden, and Wendy Cutler, VCBF Cherry Scout Co-ordinator, have begun following the blooming progress of these trees and will report the “official” peak bloom date for this location for this year.










You can find last year’s photos at https://vcbf.ca/2022-cherry-blossom-prediction-competition/.
Festival Favourites
Some of our festival favourite photo-op locations were 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:
1) do not climb the trees
2) do not break the branches
3) be respectful of the residents who live on the street
4) do not stop in the middle of the street
5) keep your visit to a max of 15mins (cause really, how long does it take to snap a few photos?)
6) stay on city property, do not go on private property
7) 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!
Festival Favourites in bloom
Here is a sampling of VCBF Festival Favourite photo-op locations posted by our Cherry Scouts. You too can become a Cherry Scout – see Cherry Scouts – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca)

Vancouver City Hall
Bloom Dates: Mar 19 to Apr 4

Chilco and Nelson Streets
Bloom Dates: Mar 19 to Apr 4

Hazelbridge and Alexandra
Bloom Dates: Mar 18 to Apr 5

Fleming and 32nd
Bloom Dates: Mar 18 to Apr 5
Festival Favourites from 2022
While our forums are temporarily unavailable, we’ll keep last year’s sample of favourites here. Note that this year’s blooming dates may differ, particularly for the earier blooming trees.

Mountainview Cemetery
Bloom Dates: Apr 23 to May 7

14th and Argyle
Bloom Dates: Apr 24 to May 8

Sechelt Visitor Centre
Bloom Dates: Apr 24 to May 8

Callister Park
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to May 10

Taylor Way
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Gore and Union
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to May 10

Elgin, 47th to 49th
Bloom Dates: Apr 23 to May 7

West 65th and Adera
Bloom Dates: Apr 14 to Apr 28

Church of the Latter Day Saints, 20370-82ndSt
Bloom Dates: Apr 16 to Apr 30

West 29th/Midlothian at Cambie
Bloom Dates: Apr 14 to Apr 28

211A Street and 85A Avenue
Bloom Dates: Apr 13 to Apr 30

East 18th Avenue and Knight Street
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Osborne Avenue
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Fraser Cemetery
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Rupert Street at from East 12th to 29th
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Dunbar Street, 18th to King Edward
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

East 29th and Ross
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

East 3rd Avenue and Semlin
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Cornwall and Burrard
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

West 66th, Adera to Granville
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

East 10th and Glen Drive
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

North on Rupert from East 29th, 17 blocks
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

West 71st and Montcalm
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Granville Island
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

West 3rd Avenue, Cornwall to Broadway
Bloom Dates: Apr 17 to Apr 30

Beatty Mews
Bloom Dates: Apr 12 to Apr 25

Baillie, 37th to 41st
Bloom Dates: Apr 13 to Apr 26

East 15th and Nootka
Bloom Dates: Apr 13 to Apr 26

Burnaby Mountain
Bloom Dates: Apr 10 to Apr 22

Churchill from 47th to 49th
Bloom Dates: Apr 13 to Apr 26

Stanley Park, near the Japanese Memorial
Bloom Dates: Mar 28 to Apr 12

16th and Crown
Bloom Dates: Apr 5 to Apr 17

Balsam, 41st to 43rd
Bloom Dates: Apr 5 to Apr 17

Seaforth Peace Park
Bloom Dates: Apr 2 to Apr 17

Jamieson Ct off of Richmond Street
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 14

East 41st, from Gladstone to Stirling
Bloom Dates: Mar 28 to Apr 8

Spenser Drive
Bloom Dates: Mar 28 to Apr 8

David Lam Park
Bloom Dates: Mar 23 to Apr 6

West 37th, Highbury to Wallace
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

158 St and 102 Ave
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

Prince Edward and East 62nd
Bloom Dates: Mar 28 to Apr 8

West 37th and Highbury
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal
Bloom Dates: Mar 24 to Apr 11

Garry Point Park
Bloom Dates: Mar 26 to Apr 7

West 64th west of Ash
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

Marinaside west of Yaletown Aquabus
Bloom Dates: Mar 23 to Apr 12

Madison Centre (Rosser/Madison)
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

Art Phillips Park (Burrard Station)
Bloom Dates: Mar 23 to Apr 12

Collingwood Village, Crowley Drive
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

22nd and Windsor
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

East 6th and Slocan
Bloom Dates: Mar 29 to Apr 13

Museum of Vancouver
Bloom Dates: Mar 24 to Apr 11

Cornwall at Kits Beach
Bloom Dates: Mar 24 to Apr 11

East 5th and Lillooet
Bloom Dates: Mar 11 to Mar 29

Chilco mini-park
Bloom Dates: Mar 8 to Mar 26

Vancouver City Hall
Bloom Dates: Mar 14 to Mar 30

Rockpoole Dr, north of 59th
Bloom Dates: Mar 1 to Mar 21

Dumfries near E. 33rd Avenue
Bloom Dates: Mar 1 to Mar 21

E. 59th Avenue, east of Main Street
Bloom Dates: Mar 1 to Mar 21