Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossoms hit peak bloom, ringing in springtime

This year’s bloom is not as early as last year’s March 17 peak, but it’s still earlier than historic peak bloom times

This year’s bloom is not as early as last year’s March 17 peak, but it’s still earlier than historic peak bloom times

But this will be our first time walking through them and under them and smelling the blossoms as well as looking at them. We are on the south side of the tidal basin, which has become home to not only iconic monuments, but more than 2500 Japanese flowering cherry trees. The sea walls were originally constructed in the 1880s. Some additional areas were built in the 1930s and 1940s, and quite frankly, they've been failing for decades. We have seen sea level rises combined with settling in the seawalls, now putting water 6 ft higher than the walls. We're built to keep it out. We are in the process of rebuilding the the sea walls on the south side of the tidal basin. Now one of the interesting things that they've done is they salvaged some of the original stones that they took out from the old sea wall and they've included it in the new wall. So anywhere on the new seawall where you see stones that are *** different color, those are historic stone from the 1880s up to the 1930s that were used in the original construction. $113 million contract funded by the Great American Outdoors Act. Construction began in earnest in August of 2024, and we look forward to being finished no later than spring of 2026. you We remind everybody to pack their patients. We're going to see 1.5 million people here over the next 4 weeks, most of that concentrated during peak bloom.

Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossoms hit peak bloom, ringing in springtime

This year’s bloom is not as early as last year’s March 17 peak, but it’s still earlier than historic peak bloom times

A key springtime marker that attracts 1.5 million visitors to the nation's capital each year hit a major milestone on Friday. Washington, D.C.'s famed cherry blossoms are now in peak bloom, according to the National Park Service, which tracks the flowers as they transform from buds to blossoms. Peak bloom means that 70% of the Yoshino cherry blossoms are open. As good a fortune teller for the changing seasons, the blooms are also an indicator of something else — a changing climate.Decades of data show an increase in average global temperatures, and cherry blossoms have not been spared the effects. Warming temperatures have caused the trees to bloom earlier than they should — leaving the blossoms vulnerable to late-winter frosts. The peak bloom dates have shifted about eight days earlier in the year, according to data collected on the trees since 1921 by the National Park Service. The average peak bloom — or when 70% of the blossoms are open — is April 3, based on the trees' history in the U.S.But, over the past 25 years, the blossoms have reached peak bloom before that average 19 times, and they've done the same this year. This year’s bloom is not as early as last year’s March 17 peak, but it’s still earlier than historic peak bloom times. The flowers last year are tied for the second earliest peak bloom on record, behind the March 15 bloom in 1990.While unexpected earlier blooms can be disappointing for the travel plans of about 1.5 million tourists who come to D.C. to see the trees, they don’t pose risk to tree health — yet. If warming and earlier blooms continue, National Mall and Memorial Parks Chief of Communications Mike Litterst said the blooms could come out before bees and other pollinators have arrived. “If there aren’t pollinators there, there’s nobody to carry the pollen, and that’s when you would have a concern about death of trees,” Litterst said. This, though, Litterst said, isn’t an immediate risk.It’s not just warmer temperatures — sea level rise also poses a threat to the iconic trees. A combination of sea level rise and failing infrastructure has caused water levels to be about six feet higher than the tidal basin walls can handle. Every day brackish tidal water would flow over the seawalls and hit the roots of the trees, causing harm. Last year the National Park Service began a $113 million construction project to rebuild the tidal basin walls — a project that called for the removal of about 150 cherry blossom trees, including the District’s beloved "Stumpy," to make room for the restoration.Those trees will be replaced after construction is complete. Japan is renewing its original gesture of friendship by giving the U.S. 250 cherry trees in honor of the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary. The National Park Service also has a commercial nursery for cherry trees, as about 90 are replaced each year due to their finite lifespan. The seawall reconstruction project involves construction crews anchoring the walls to bedrock to avoid sinking and using sustainable design so that if water levels rise faster than anticipated, height can be added.The project is ahead of schedule and on budget, Litterst said. They’ve completed about 450 of the 6,800 feet of reconstruction and are planning to be done by the spring of 2026.

WASHINGTON —

A key springtime marker that attracts 1.5 million visitors to the nation's capital each year hit a major milestone on Friday.

Washington, D.C.'s famed cherry blossoms are now in peak bloom, according to the which tracks the flowers as they transform from buds to blossoms. Peak bloom means that 70% of the Yoshino cherry blossoms are open.

As good a fortune teller for the changing seasons, the blooms are also an indicator of something else — a changing climate.

Decades of data show an increase in average global temperatures, and cherry blossoms have not been spared the effects. Warming temperatures have caused the trees to bloom earlier than they should — leaving the blossoms vulnerable to late-winter frosts.

The peak bloom dates have shifted about eight days earlier in the year, according to data collected on the trees since 1921 by the .

The average peak bloom — or when 70% of the blossoms are open — is April 3, based on the trees' history in the U.S.

But, over the past 25 years, the blossoms have reached peak bloom before that average 19 times, and they've done the same this year.

This year’s bloom is not as early as last year’s March 17 peak, but it’s still earlier than historic peak bloom times. The flowers last year are tied for the second earliest peak bloom on record, behind the March 15 bloom in 1990.

While unexpected earlier blooms can be disappointing for the travel plans of about 1.5 million tourists who come to D.C. to see the trees, they don’t pose risk to tree health — yet.

If warming and earlier blooms continue, National Mall and Memorial Parks Chief of Communications Mike Litterst said the blooms could come out before bees and other pollinators have arrived.

“If there aren’t pollinators there, there’s nobody to carry the pollen, and that’s when you would have a concern about death of trees,” Litterst said.

This, though, Litterst said, isn’t an immediate risk.

It’s not just warmer temperatures — sea level rise also poses a threat to the iconic trees. A combination of sea level rise and failing infrastructure has caused water levels to be about six feet higher than the tidal basin walls can handle. Every day brackish tidal water would flow over the seawalls and hit the roots of the trees, causing harm.

Last year the National Park Service began a $113 million construction project to rebuild the tidal basin walls — a project that called for the removal of about 150 cherry blossom trees, including the District’s beloved to make room for the restoration.

Those trees will be replaced after construction is complete. Japan is renewing its original gesture of friendship by giving the U.S. 250 cherry trees in honor of the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary.

The National Park Service also has a commercial nursery for cherry trees, as about 90 are replaced each year due to their finite lifespan.

The seawall reconstruction project involves construction crews anchoring the walls to bedrock to avoid sinking and using sustainable design so that if water levels rise faster than anticipated, height can be added.

The project is ahead of schedule and on budget, Litterst said. They’ve completed about 450 of the 6,800 feet of reconstruction and are planning to be done by the spring of 2026.

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