Peaking Early: Cherry Blossoms in Brooklyn

Spring started off predictably in New York City. Late March and early April felt familiar, with magnolias and early cherry cultivars inching open, and daffodils beginning to blaze. Native spicebush warmed the still-brown woods. But what happens when April turns as hot as hell, I mean, as August, for a couple of days? Dogs pant, humans bask on park lawns (and rush to mini storage to find their summer clothes). Birds carol from branches, happy, happy, happy. Branches leaf out and all the flowers open at once. You can hear them: pop, pop, poof. By mid-month anyone tuned closely to flowers has begun to hyperventilate. Tulips burst open overnight, going from buds to full-blown in 24 hours, panting a little in the heat. Violets erupt in lawns. Redbuds, crabapples, and double-flowered ‘Kanzan’ cherries explode all at once. On a 90-degree day, the only people shivering are cherry blossom festival organizers, whose opening dates are over a week away. To cap it, a cold front moves in, with high winds, rain, and even a possible freeze predicted. (Whiplash, anyone?)

The cherry blossoms in question are the double-petaled confections known as ‘Kanzan’ (often sold as ‘Kwanzan’). A cultivar of Prunus serrulata, whose common name is Japanese flowering cherry, this is the best known and most widely planted ornamental cherry in the US. The petals number about 30 in each flower. Sometimes more, sometimes fewer.

As luscious as they look, ‘Kanzan’ flowers are sterile, so no pollen and no sustenance for pollinators. If you’re sneezing, it’s not these flowers. Blame the oaks. And if you spot migrating warblers in the branches, the little birds are on the hunt for bugs. People, though, can enjoy nibbling cherry flowers, (in moderation): See our cherry blossom snack ideas.

Here, before they blow away, are two days of cherry blossoms in peak bloom in Brooklyn—at Green-Wood Cemetery, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Prospect Park.

Green-Wood Cemetery

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Prospect Park

See also:

• Gardening 101: Cherry Trees
• Spring’s Trees at Historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn
• Spring Stroll: A Walk Through Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace