Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
This Whitcomb cherry tree at the corner of Nelson and Bute seems to be overtaken by vines.
From the park across the street, you can take nice photos of the blossoms with apartment buildings in the background.
It’s nice to see Whitcomb cherry trees are finally starting to bloom after a pretty harsh winter in Vancouver (lots of snow!) Use the VCBF neighbourhood map to find Whitcomb cherry trees in Vancouver. Happy cherry blossom viewing!
These Whitcomb cherry trees, located in front of a beautiful apartment building at Nicola and Beach, will please photographers.
You can snap pictures of the blossoms and capture the nice architectural details on the building.
There are plenty of blossoms at this location.
Fallen cherry blossoms are covering the sidewalk.
There are two more Shirofugen cherry trees (not in bloom) on each side of the main steps. When they bloom, this will be a spectacular photo opportunity!
The building was so beautiful. Across the street, there was a woman capturing the scene in watercolour painting.
This location is only steps away from the seawall. Visit soon. The tree is about 50% bloom.
You can always count on the Whitcomb cherry trees located at Nicola and Pendrell to announce the beginning of the Vancouver cherry blossom season: they’re the first cherry trees to bloom in the city.
The Whitcomb cherry blossoms are currently 40% open and worth a visit if you’re in the Vancouver West-End area.
Due to the presence of many electrical wires, you’ll need to zoom to get good pictures.
Don’t forget to look at your feet: the fallen blossoms can make good photos too.
Use the VCBF neighbourhood map to locate Whitcomb cherry trees in your area.
Happy cherry blossom viewing!
It was a gorgeous day for our Stanley Park Tree Talk and Walk.
About 35 people attended the tour lead by Bill Stephen (Park Board Superintendent of Urban Forestry) for a history of the park and a closer look at the cherry trees.
Akebono cherry petals were falling: at the slightest breeze, we were showered with petals. It was magical.
The Akebono blossoms (nearing the end of season) were totally white, luminescent.
Cherry Scout Wendy Cutler was wearing her blossom shoes for the occasion.
Between the rose garden and the pavilion, we stopped to see a small Takasago (hidden by other trees) on a trail.
Along the way, Bill talked about other types of trees in Stanley Park like the sycamores and Douglas firs.
The white Shirotae leading to the Japanese memorial were in full bloom.
At the Japanese memorial, we concluded our walk with the Ojochin cherry tree (also in full bloom). You could see copper leaves coming out.
Cherry petals are falling fast in Stanley Park (that’s why we had to reschedule the walk for today so people would get a chance to see the blossoms). Visit within the next 2 days to be showered with petals.
Check out our webpage for regular updates on the upcoming tree talk and walks.
I went to take a look at the beautiful Pandora cherry trees behind Brentwood Mall (at Fairlawn and Brentlawn) in Burnaby. They looked spectacular!
The flowers are almost fully open.
You can identify Pandora cherry blossoms by the darker shade of pink at the tip of the petals.
Also, the flowers of the Pandora cherry trees fall WHOLE on the ground.
Make sure to visit Pandora cherry trees within the next week. Check our VCBF neighborhood map to locate Pandora cultivars.
Photos: Jessica Tremblay
This infographic will tell you some of the differences between cherry trees and plum trees. If you wanna know more, check out these other blog posts:
Plum trees versus cherry trees: how to tell the difference and identify them
The beautiful Akebono cherry trees are full of buds at Burrard skytrain station.
Some flowers are out already.
The location should be in full bloom within 2-3 days.
Plan to visit soon when the blossoms will open.
You’ll find over a dozen Autumnalis Rosea cherry trees blooming now on Georgia street. The trees are spread, in groups of two or three, over five blocks (between Willingdon and MacDonald).
Autumnalis Rosea are “winter cherries”. They start blooming in December and last until February-March.
The Autumnalis Rosea blossoms are small and sparse on the branches. Not as spectacular as our spring cherries, but still worth a visit.
With a zoom, you’ll be able to isolate the flowers and get a good close-up.
February is usually the peak blooming period for Autumnalis Rosea, so don’t miss them.
Check the VCBF Neighborhood maps to locate autumnalis rosea in your area.
I walked on Georgia all the way down to MacDonald. When I turned to walk back towards Willingdon, I noticed the moon peaking between cherry branches. (This was taken January 28, 2015. If you hurry, you might be able to take the same shot).
The blossoms are falling on the pavement.
Take a moment to photograph the fallen petals or blossoms at your feet: they make good pictures too!
Autumnalis Rosea photos taken by Jessica Tremblay on January 28, 2015 on Georgia street (five blocks between Willingdon and MacDonals)
There are seven Rancho cherry trees outside Pacific Centre (Georgia/Howe) in Downtown Vancouver.
The blossoms are quite large and bright pink.
The leaves are reddinsh brown (with a touch of green) and coming out with the flowers.
It looks like there are only three flowers coming out of each bud.
Good spot for hanami picnic? There are circular benches around each cherry tree, as well as metal benches nearby. However, it’s a busy location, with people coming in and ouf of the shopping mall. Inside the atrium at Pacific Center, there are lots of seats facing the trees, so it’s a good place to do your cherry blossom viewing indoors or to have a picnic inside on a rainy day.
Downsides: There are Christmas lights are wrapped around the trunk and branches, and they will probably be visible in your pics. On the other hand, this might be a fun location to try to take pics of cherry blossoms by night.
Photo tips: try taking pictures of the cherry blossoms with the Georgia Hotel sign, the clock tower, the round lampshades, or against the windows of skyscrapers. This is a fun location for photographers.
The Rancho flowers are big, bright pink and and really cute. The trees are small, but they are worth a visit, especially if you’ve never seen a Rancho cherry tree (you’ll get to see seven at this location).
Check out our neighborhood maps to find Rancho cherry trees in your area.
At the end of March, when you see rows of pink trees, in Vancouver don’t be too quick to yell “Cherry blossoms!” These trees might be plum trees – not cherry trees! To find out, you’ll have to get closer.
There are 12,000 plum blossoms in Vancouver. Plum trees are beautiful, but since the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival aims at celebrating the beauty of cherry blossoms – not plum blossoms – we prepared this guide to help you to know the difference between plum blossoms and cherry blossoms.
The main characteristics of plum blossoms are:
Check this out:
The smell of plum blossoms: Plum blossoms are very fragrant. At this distance, if your tree smells good and “flowery”, it’s probably a plum tree.
The smell of cherry blossoms: The early cherry blossoms are not fragrant. They don’t smell good or “flowery”. Their smell is very faint (almost non-existent), except for some rare cultivars in mid-season that can be very fragrant.
Petals of plum blossoms: Plum petals are oval. There is no split at the end of the petals.
Petals of cherry blossoms: Cherry blossoms have a small split at the end of each petal.
Bark on plum trees: The bark of plum trees is dark and does not have horizontal bars.
Bark on cherry trees: the bark of cherry trees is light grey and has horizontal lines called “Lenticels”.
Buds of plum blossoms: The plum buds are round and there is only one blossom coming out of each bud. They stick straight out from the branches on a short thin stem.
Buds of cherry blossoms: Cherry buds are oval. There is more than one blossom coming out of the bud (in this picture, six flowers are coming out of the bud.)
Leaves of plum: If the leaves are purple, then it’s definitely a plum tree. Plums leave come out with the flowers and unroll from a cigar shape.
Leaves of cherry: The leaves of cherry trees are green (or copper) and, for the early cherries, come out usually after the flowers. Cherry leaves unfold like a billfold opening.
Grafts: On plum trees, the grafts are placed on the branches. They grow vertically on the branches. These grafts will be more visible in early spring before the flowers bloom.
Grafts: On cherry trees, the graft is placed on top of the trunk so the tree looks “stompy”.
The shape of plum: mostly round or oval.
The shape of cherry trees: umbrella shape (the branches are spreading, so the top is wide than the bottom).
Colour: plum blossoms can be pink (with purple leaves) or white (with green leaves)
Colour: cherry blossoms can be dark pink, light pink, white, yellowish. The leaves are copper or green and come out usually after the flowers.
Plum characteristics: When all the plum blossoms are open, you can’t see the buds – and it’s hard to see the grafts – so you’ll have to rely on the plum blossoms main characteristics:
Cherry characteristics: There are over 54 varieties of cherry blossoms but they all share the same characteristics:
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Think you got it? Take the test!
Cherry or plum blossoms?
Answer: plum.
Purple leaves and no split at the end of the petals.
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Answer: plum.
No split at the end of petals. One flower coming out of the bud. Smells “flowery”.
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Answer: cherry.
Split at the end of the petals.
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Answer: cherry.
Horizontal lines on the bark.
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You might also like:
Cherry versus plum blossoms: What’s the difference (March 28, 2013)
How to tell the difference between cherry trees and plum trees (infographic)
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To learn how to identify 54 varieties of cherry blossoms, buy Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver, by Douglas Justice. Happy cherry blossom viewing!
