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
February 3, 2025. It was looking as if the early-blooming ‘Whitcomb’ cherries would be in their splendour next week, only one week earlier than usual, but then winter arrived. Snow on the deep pink buds and emerging blossoms at least makes for nice photos.

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
“When will the cherry trees bloom in 2025?” The VCBF is once again offering up our ‘Akebono’ trees at Maple Grove Park, for the fourth year of the International Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition. The competition organizers are particularly excited about this year because contestants will not only compete against each other but also against models created by artificial intelligence like ChatGPT.

More information about the “beat the bot” challenge can be found at https://competition.statistics.gmu.edu/. The deadline for prediction submissions is February 28.
You can see photos of the blooming progression last year at Yesterday’s news – 2024 International Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca). The photo below is from last year’s peak bloom.

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:
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
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).

West End Stanley Park Neighbourhood
Blooming dates: Jan 1 to Mar 15