2017 Cherry Blossom Watch

It was a bumpy ride up to the 2017 cherry blossom bloom. A warmer than normal winter led into a very warm February. That brought the cherry blossoms to the verge of blooming around mid-March. It was even shaping up to be possibly the earliest on record.

Then an arctic blast hit. It slowed the development to a crawl and caused widespread damage to many of the blossoms because it came right when many were just on the verge of blooming and at their most vulnerable.

The NPS judged that about half the blossoms survived. The surviving blossoms reached peak bloom on March 25. Given the extent of the damage from the cold, it was a somewhat more subdued and reduced bloom than the kind of full-throated, dramatic bloom for which DC’s cherry blossoms are famous, but it still made for an impressive spectacle.

Here are the archived updates for the 2017 edition of the DC Cherry Blossom Watch.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Reader Photos 2017 | Part 3

This is the final installment of reader photos for this year. Thanks to all who shared their beautiful photos!

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Reader Photos 2017 | Part 1

Here are some great photos of 2017’s bloom of the cherry blossoms that were submitted by Cherry Blossom Watch readers. This is part 1.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 31, 2017

The cherry blossoms are past their prime now and well on their way out. The persistent rain is knocking a lot of petals off, but there are still plenty of petals left on the trees.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 28, 2017

Now that we’re at three days after the peak bloom day, the cherry blossoms are turning pink and still looking great, but they’re also becoming fragile. The rain is knocking petals off and blanketing the ground with cherry blossom snow.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 26, 2017

The cherry blossoms reached peak bloom yesterday. As expected, the bloom this year is a little more subdued than usual simply because it’s firing with only half its usual firepower. Despite that, though, they’re putting on a beautiful show. Over the next few days the blossoms will gradually go from white to a pale pink.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 22, 2017

They’re not yet in full bloom, but they’ve taken a big step in that direction in the past 24 hours. Once we get through freezing temperatures tonight, things are shaping up beautifully for the weekend.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 16, 2017

Where there should be white and pink there’s now a lot of brown. Many of the ones that were in the late stages right before fully blooming have been damaged badly. But it’s by no means all of them.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 15, 2017

They’re taking a beating now and damage is becoming more widespread. While there’s still a good number soldiering on, it’s not clear how many have sustained internal damage that’s not visible or how many will be able to ride out the next two cold nights.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 13, 2017

Not much change since yesterday. Another cold night. Some of the blossoms are clearly struggling and succumbing to the freezing temperatures, but overall I’m impressed with how well most of them seem to be holding up so far.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 11, 2017

So far, so good. There’s not a lot of visual evidence of damage from the cold temperatures yet, but it’s early days–there’s a lot more to come. In terms of flowers, there’s basically the same amount out today as yesterday.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 10, 2017

Many of the trees are a few warm days away from full bloom. But we’re not going to be getting warm days anytime soon. Instead, we’ll see several days of cold winter weather. That’s going to slow things down. It also has the potential to do some real damage.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 9, 2017

As expected, the warm weather yesterday coaxed a few more flowers out. It’s still not many, but more trees have a few flowers starting to show. The warm weather today will coax some more out. It’s nothing like full bloom yet–it’s still very few flowers in the context of the whole–but if you go hunting you can at least find some blossoms out.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 8, 2017

A few more trees have started popping their first flowers, although it’s still only very few in terms of the total number of trees around the Tidal Basin. A few warms days should coax more out before an arctic blast hits on the weekend to stir things up.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 7, 2017

The cool weather of the past few days brought things to a crawl, but now that we’re entering a warmer stretch the pace should start picking up again. It looks like we might see a drawn-out bloom this year.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 6, 2017

After a chilly weekend, there’s not much change in the trees. A small handful of trees are still flowering, while the others are in a wide spread of development stages.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 1, 2017

More flowers are out on the indicator tree, and a handful of different varieties of cherries are starting to join it with their first flowers. Most of the trees range somewhere between the green buds and extensions of florets stages.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: February 20, 2017

It certainly feels like spring, with warm temperatures and clear skies. And it’s starting to look like spring too, with the first daffodils starting to come out and the first green buds appearing on the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: February 13, 2017

It’s sunny and windy. The warmer than normal temperatures we’re still seeing–and expect to see for a while yet–continue to tilt the odds in favor of an earlier bloom. And there’s an early spring treat just across the road from the Tidal Basin.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: January 30, 2017

We had a little snow last night. Just enough to be pretty without causing any headaches. But with January closing out it’ll end up being warmer than normal for the month. That’s on the back of a December where average temperatures were also above normal.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: January 21, 2017

There’s not much new to report since the last update, although temperatures have remained warmer than normal, and it looks like we’ll close out January with temperatures above average for the month.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossoms in November?

Yes, it happens, even as the leaves are turning reddish-brown and falling off. There are several autumn-blooming cherry trees around the National Mall.

Photo of Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossom Watch Update: Fall 2016 Edition

The cherry trees around the Tidal Basin are also looking very colorful at the moment, but not in the way they’re best known for. Many of the leaves are turning an orange or reddish brown, making for quite a pretty sight all the way around the water’s edge.