Vancouver Cherry Blossom FestivalPresented by
December 15, 2024. These are winter cherries, ‘Autumnalis Rosea’, either the same or a very close relative to what the Japanese call ‘Jugatsu-zakura’, “cherry of the 10th month”. It is still 2024, but these are kicking off the new year. Thanks for Shirley Willard for the photo from Richmond, and Lisa Lennie for the one from Victoria. These blossoms are very small, no more than 2 cm in diameter, smaller than they appear here.
April 19, 2024. Not all late-blooming cherries are pink. Here are two double white cherries that can look alike. ‘Shiro-fugen’ are easy to distinguish when the flowers are opening – at that point, the leaves are bronze, buds are a brownish pink, opened flowers are white. Two weeks later, and as much as another two weeks or more, the leaves will be green, and the flowers become partly or completely fluorescent pink.
However, one week into ‘Shiro-fugen’ flowering, they do not look all that different from the ‘Shogetsu’, seen below. ‘Shiro-fugen’ should be much heftier trees, but it’s hard to tell that on very young trees. ‘Shogetsu’ buds are a a very pale pink. The flowers also open white, and the petals mostly drop still white within two or three weeks. The name refers to the “moonlight on pine trees” suggested by the long flower stems. These are usually delicate trees that often do not do well in our climate.
April 6, 2024. Still catching up here, with everything blooming at once – at least mid-season and late-season trees. Here are some single White flowers, all pretty rare in this area, with the top one just added. The ones with “nioi’ or “no-o” in their names are fragrant, a fairly unusual feature of cherry trees.
‘Sendai-shidare’ are easily distinguished from the others here – they are usually short dense pendulous trees with thick very contorted limbs.
The wizened ‘Jo-nioi’, at the RCMP Headquarters property has sent up a new shoot. Here’s hoping the only other known example in Vancouver does the same. This looks similar to the ‘Washi-no-o’ featured just below, but it blooms later and the flowers are more likely to show the extra half-petals you can see in this photo.
‘Washi-no-o’ are fairly rare, but our Cherry Scouts have found ten locations in the area. The name means “eagle’s tail”, suggestive of the ruffled petal edges.
‘Surugadai-nioi’, only two known so far, one very private tree in Fairview, and its offspring at UBC Botanical Garden.
‘Umineko’ are usually older trees than ‘Snow Goose’ but their parents are the same and they look identical. The young ones that come in labelled ‘Snow Goose’ get that name. Note the round overlapping petals that result in fat stars in the centres. Young trees are distinctively narrow and upright. Here are
20240329_Umineko_QEParkDuckPond_Eng_0027
20240325 Snow-Goose_Cedarhurst&MarineDr_Taka7
April 12, 2023. Pink blossoms today, on weeping cherry trees. “Shidare” (drooping) in Japanese cherry blossom names is used to describe the tree form called “weeping” in English.
So, ‘Beni-shidare’ can be described as the Red Cascade, which is much more poetic than Red Weepings and more in line with how Taki-zakura was named, the Waterfall Cherry of Miharu that is a 1,000 year-old ‘Beni-shidare.’ Certainly none of Miharu’s visitors would think of weeping.
Here are ‘Beni-shidare’ flowers, single blossoms (five petals).
Where this large tree is located on East Culloden Street in Vancouver, right next to it, and of similar size, is a ‘Yae-beni-shidare’, with double pink flowers – “yae” refers to the double flowers.
April 9, 2023. It was several years before our Cherry Scouts found ‘Afterglow’ trees. They were all listed as ‘Akebono’, and indeed they are a different cultivar of the same Prunus yedoensis species, and they bloom at roughly the same time. They have a similar habit (shape), but the flowers are smaller and much more pink. The petals are round enough to overlap. Thanks to Anne Eng for this photo.
April 3, 2023. In the previous posting, we have featured single white blossoms that can be seen around town now, or coming soon. You can find the most recent posting at Yesterday’s news – single white flowers – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca). Today we feature two similar weeping trees, one a white one not shown yesterday, and the other the same species but a pink cultivar that we have featured here before. Thanks to Shirley Willard for both photos.
Both these trees with a pendulous (weeping) shape have the botanical name Prunus itosakura Pendula Group. This does not seem to be a registered cultivar, so we are calling it ito-zakura, meaning thread cherry, as it is known in Japan. It is not all that common in the wild, but it is available from landscaping suppliers in white or light pink.
Much more widely planted is the Prunus itosakura cultivar ‘Beni-shidare’, also called ‘Pendula Rosea’, with its showy deep-pink flowers.
This visual timeline features the estimated blooming period for ten of the most common cultivars of cherry trees in Vancouver: Whitcomb, Beni-Shidare, Accolade, Akebono, Umineko / Snow Goose, Shirotae, Shirofugen, Kanzan, Kiku-shidare-zakura, Shogetsu.
Happy cherry blossom viewing!
(Click the image to expand the timeline)
“The three straggly ‘Whitcomb’ at Nicola Mini-Park are also showing signs of pink. ” – (Willard)
When this posting went up on the VCBF Neighbourhood Blogs forum on January 12, I felt a shiver of excitement down my spine: “Cherry blossom season has begun!”
The Whitcomb cherry trees at Nicola Park are one of the first cherry trees to bloom in Vancouver. When their tiny, deep pink cherry blossoms are open, it officially marks the start of our “pink wave” here in Vancouver (a pink wave that will reach its peak during the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival in April).
Whitcomb cherry blossoms are blooming mid-February to mid-March. They purple pink flowers are small and photogenic. Use the Neighbourhood Maps to locate a Whitcomb tree near you, grab your camera, and rejoice: Vancouver cherry blossom viewing has begun!
[Photos: Jessica Tremblay]
Sakura Days Japan Fair gave visitors a chance to experience Japan with hands-on workshops (calligraphy, origami, haiku) and amazing performances. What a fabulous week-end!
Several tree talks and walks were lead by Van Dusen garden volunteers. There were lots of cherry trees to talk about including the beautiful tai-haku (great white cherry).
The winning haiku from the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational 2017 were displayed in the garden for everyone to read and enjoy.
At the Haiku House, you could attend a workshop, try your hand at writing a haiku, make a button, or take a guided walk to the haiku rock.
The food was a major draw.
Outdoor demonstrations included the forging of Japanese knives by knifewear.
If you preferred to be inside, you could visit the vendors and pick up a petal mat or guide to Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver at the VCBF table.
People gathered on the hill, sitting on petal mats, to watch the show on the cherry stage.
During her calligraphy demo,Kisyuu disappeared behind the canvas to paint the back of the canvas while the picture was slowly revealed to the audience at the front.
Hojo Hand-Crafted Samurai Armor Corps grabbed visitors’ attention as they walked to the stage to perform an elaborate play in full costumes.
Two performers from Japan, Keita Kanazashi on the Japanese Drum and Kohei Honda on the shamisen, drew a big crowd with their amazing energy.
Outdoor performances kept us dancing until 7 pm.
The event ended with lantern procession from the Cherry Stage to the Visitor Centre.
Sakura Days Japan Fair is two-day festival organized by the Japan Fair Association of Vancouver as part of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. It took place at the Van Dusen Botanical Garden.
People who attended Saturday were able to walk over to Queen Elizabeth park to see the Sakura Illuminations.
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!