As of Tuesday, the cherry trees along the District of Columbia’s Tidal Basin have green buds on their branches, the first of six stages before entering peak bloom.
“Get ready for cherry blossoms! Small green buds are appearing on the Yoshino cherry trees, marking the 1st of 6 stages on the way to Peak Bloom. It’s all happening on the National Mall!,” the National Park Service page for the mall wrote on X.
Over time, florets will become visible as they grow out of the buds, then elongate, followed by the elongation of stalks and the first appearance of the puffy blooms, followed finally by peak bloom, NPS shows on a page dedicated to monitoring the city’s cherry trees.
NPS projects that the trees will enter peak bloom from March 28 through March 31, though it cautions that “forecasting peak bloom is almost impossible more than 10 days in advance.”
Last year, the green buds appeared earlier, on March 2, with peak bloom happening March 17.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival, held annually to commemorate the blooming trees, is scheduled to run March 20-April 13.
