Washington’s famous cherry trees are blooming early after a very mild winter. They have flowered earlier only once since the date was recorded, more than a century ago.
“THE buds are bursting!” THE buds are bursting! THE buds are bursting! “, trumpeted the National Park Service in a press release on Sunday.
“The cherry blossoms are at their peak and are making a crown of beautiful white and pink flowers all around the Tidal Basin,” announces the National Park Service of this reservoir – filled by the Potomac River, right next door – around from which great historical monuments stand. “What a splendid spring spectacle! Come and enjoy this beauty. »
Every spring, more than 1.5 million people come to the Tidal Basin to admire the hundreds of Japanese flowering trees during the few days they are adorned with their colors, usually at the end of March.
PHOTO AL DRAGO, THE NEW YORK TIMES
There are 3,800 cherry trees on the banks of the Tidal Basin, around which are the National Esplanade and monuments to Presidents Thomas Jefferson (above) and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King.
The Park Service initially predicted that Washington’s cherry trees would reach full bloom next Saturday. But after an exceptionally warm winter, flowering occurred a week early.
According to the Park Service, flowers typically bloom between the last week of March and the first week of April. By convention, the Park Service defines the peak of flowering as the time when 70% of the buds have burst.
But nature does not always listen to the American authorities.
Warmer or cooler temperatures than normal have often caused the flowering date to vary over the years. The earliest peak since 1921 – the first year on record – was reached in 1990, on March 15, and the latest, on April 18, 1958. That year, 30 cm of snow had fallen by March 21 in Washington, according to data from the US National Weather Service.
PHOTO AL DRAGO, THE NEW YORK TIMES
A cherry tree in bloom on a shore of the Tidal Basin in Washington on Tuesday
This year, temperatures were above average in January, February and March, favoring the second earliest flowering, tied with that of March 17, 2000.
Flowering cycle
At the end of winter, Park Service horticulturists carefully monitor and record the development of buds as they develop, burst and let the beautiful, ephemeral cherry blossoms bloom. The trust responsible for maintaining the National Esplanade has installed a camera which makes it possible to follow the flowering cycle and which captures the peaceful stroll of visitors along the sunny paths, under the branches laden with flowers.
PHOTO AL DRAGO, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Every spring, more than 1.5 million people come to the Tidal Basin to admire the hundreds of Japanese flowering trees during the few days they are adorned with their colors, usually at the end of March.
This attention is hardly surprising: the cherry blossoms are short-lived, and you have to take advantage of the rare days when you can admire them in all their splendor. Trees generally flower for a few days, but cool weather can prolong this. Rain or wind can put an abrupt end to it. A late frost can even prevent trees from flowering, notes the Park Service.
On social networks, where cherry blossoms are very popular, visitors discuss their hope of arriving in Washington on time, since several planned to go there on the expected date of March 23.
The Park Service announced last week that about 140 cherry trees would be cut down in May in preparation for building higher sea walls to protect the area around the Thomas Jefferson monument. There are 3,800 cherry trees around the Tidal Basin and in nearby West Potomac Park.
This article was originally published in the New York Times.
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reference: www.lapresse.ca