high park cherry blossoms 2018

High Park cherry blossoms to start blooming this weekend

If the sea of people wearing t-shirts out there hadn't already tipped you off, spring is finally blessing Toronto with its lack of frosty garbage weather. 

And by spring, of course, I mean "sprummer" — because we never really get more than a few days of moderate temperatures between cold and hot.

No surer evidence of this exists than the stunning yet sudden bloom of cherry blossom trees in and around the city.

Sakura in High Park, a website dedicated to monitoring the development of cherry blossoms in Toronto's most-storied collection of groves, announced on Wednesday that we should be seeing the first blossoms of 2018 this weekend between May 4 and May 6.

Peak bloom (the point where cherry blossoms are fullest throughout the park) is expected just ahead of Mother's Day, between between May 9 and May 12.

"Bloom dates confirmed!" reads a new post on the Sakura in High Park blog. "The warmer weather has helped the cherry blossom trees, as they show definite signs of moving into the next stages of development."

"A few trees have jumped ahead even further into the forth stage, with the buds showing distinct, deep pink florets," the post continues. "Theses trees will be the ones to show us the first blossoms of 2018!"

This should come as a relief to Toronto's many cherry blossom admirers, who just two weeks ago learned that April's surprise ice storm had done a bit of damage in High Park.

"Of course weather will be the deciding factor as always," cautioned Sakura in High Park on Instagram this afternoon. "Rain and wind could knock off petals at cut viewing times short... Time and weather will tell!"

Lead photo by

Hector Vasquez


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