This past weekend, my husband and I traveled to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms .. and to take part in the Cherry Blossom Festival’s 5k and 10 mile races (we’re avid runners). We missed the true peak of the cherry blossom bloom by about a week, but the blossoms were still in beautiful form. In Northern Virginia, where I live, I’m lucky to have some of these beautiful trees planted as landscaping in my own neighborhood. Still, when I saw the cherry blossom trees in their glory on the National Mall, many were still in peak bloom. It was something else entirely.
When is the Best Time to See the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC?
The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs several weeks in late March to early April, coinciding with the blooming of the cherry blossom trees. This date changes somewhat due to spring weather variations. The National Park Service (NPS) keeps a Bloom Watch going in the spring to cover the stages of blossoms on the National Mall. You can even watch it live online at the BloomCam which overlooks West Potomac Park and the Jefferson Memorial. The Bloom Watch determines the timing of the National Cherry Blossom Festival every year. In 2023, the festival was held from March 18 to April 16. So we visited right in the middle of it.
Blooming Stages
Because our visit occurred after peak bloom, the trees were largely in peak bloom or just past it. So we didn’t see the previous blossom stages. The National Park Service considers each blossom stage “reached” when 70% of the trees in the Tidal Basin of Washington DC have shown the requisite signs of each stage. There are 6 stages in all.
Stage 1: Green Bud
Occurs in early spring when the tree begins to emerge from dormancy.
Stage 2: Florets Visible
The earliest stage of budding, occurring when the buds become little tufts along the stems.
Stage 3: Extension of Florets
At this stage, if you look close enough, you can see the first part of what will become the petals’ edges. Not much more than tiny nubs at this stage.
Stage 4: Peduncle Elongation
A peduncle is a a fancy word for a stalk bearing a flower or fruit. In this stage, it’s pushing what will be the blossoms away from the branch.
Stage 5: Puffy Blossoms
These puffy blossoms are pink than their fully bloomed compatriots. It’s why cherry trees appear to change color from pink to white throughout the spring. Because nothing in nature is 100%, There were still some blossoms that were in this stage when we visited. The differences in the coloring between Stages 5 and 6 is unmistakable.
Stage 6: Peak Bloom
This was the stage of most of the cherry blossom trees when we visited DC. It was a beautiful display of white.
Do Cherry Blossoms Smell?
I feel like I can still smell the blossoms (in truth, I probably still can considering there are some planted in my neighbors’ yards). Cherry blossoms have a very light, but very distinct scent. Some equate the scent to crushed almonds, which I can understand, as there is a gentle aroma of amaretto to a cherry blossom.
We were lucky enough to find a stand of cherry blossoms just northeast of the Washington monument that were in full bloom. Stepping into that grove, the scent of thousands of blossoms wafted in the breeze all around us.
Why are Cherry Blossoms in DC Anyway?
In 1909 Mayor Ozaki, Mayor of Tokyo, gave a gift of 2,000 trees to Washington DC. It was a token of friendship between Japan and the United States. Unfortunately, insects had infested the gifted trees so President William Howard Taft ordered the trees burned.
When he learned of the blight, Mayor Ozaki delivered another 3,020 trees to DC in 1912. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan gives a mention to the DC Cherry Blossom Festival on their website. There are still some of the original trees along the Tidal Basin today. They and their decedents are the trees that bloom each spring in Washington DC.
What Variety of Cherry Tree is in Washington DC?
The Yoshino variety (Prunus x yedoensis) make up most of the trees in Washington DC. But you can find some of its cousin, the Kanzan variety (Prunus x kanzan … also called Kwanzan), as well. Both of these trees are sakura trees, as sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom. The Kanzan tree is also called the Double Blossom since their flowers appear more tightly packed than those of the Yoshino tree.
The Yoshino variety blooms first, around the end of March. The National Park Service focuses primarily on this variety when announcing the cherry blossom stages. The Kanzan variety blooms about two weeks after the Yoshino variety, averaging around April 22. So if you miss the blooming of the Yoshino trees, you can still catch the Kanzan tree blossoms.
The route of the 10 mile running race hosted during the Cherry Blossom Festival takes runners from the Washington Monument to West Pohick Creek, and it’s there that I was finally able to spy one of the Kanzan varieties of cherry blossom tree. It stood out from its compatriots with a darker shade of pink. This is in part due to the different variety and in part because it was at an earlier point of its blooming cycle. I had to take a break from the race to snap a few photos.
What Does a Cherry Blossom Symbolize?
Like most spring flowering plants, a cherry blossom symbolizes renewal, beauty, love, and happiness. But the cherry blossom also symbolizes that life is short, since these ephemeral flowers only last about two weeks. Cherry blossoms are also a symbol of good luck.
We certainly had good luck in our weather the Saturday that we had planned to walk the National Mall and view the cherry blossoms. While stunning even in cloudy weather, it was a delight to be able to see the blossoms in the bright sunlight.
In Conclusion
The Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival is a must see! I highly recommend taking the time to visit the nation’s capitol in the springtime while the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Taking an entire day just to walk the mall and view the blossoms is a once-a-year opportunity and one that I will likely make an annual tradition!
Related Reading
Want more cherry blossom related reading? Check out my site visit to the Japanese Friendship Garden of Balboa Park on San Diego, California! I got there just in time to see the last of the kwanzan variety of cherry blossoms in bloom!
If you liked my account of this site visit, you may also enjoy my site visit to the Gardens of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. There is so much to see at Mount Vernon. I’ve even made a couple deep dives into the fruits and vegetables and the herbs and flowers of Mount Vernon. They are definitely worth a read!
