West End / Stanley Park

Hey, they're just starting to turn pink in these photos. They'll still look good as they're turning pink, should be worth a visit for at least another week.

 

You’re right - another week or so of pink blossoms.
But I did see a lot of red-eye and the trees don’t look as floriferous as in other years.

 

‘Ojochin’ casts a fine lateral silhouette.


The bolt seems to be working.

 

Here are the 'Shiro-fugen' at Kensington Place on May 11, nine days later. Now they're pink-flowered trees.


I'm surprised I didn't take any blossom photos there, but I made up for it. Here are the two old 'Shiro-fugen' over at English Bay, the two remaining of three replacement trees planted for the nice old one removed for some maintenance project.




These two big old 'Shiro-fugen' next to the Aquatic Centre have lots of room to spread their limbs. The same kind of tree across the street is also a nice tree, but it has trouble competing with these, which even can boast a view of snow on mountains behind them.

 

Here is a group of eight trees that are part of an apartment building's landscaping. One of the trees appears to be a replacement, but maybe it's just not as healthy as the others.

 

Well, it's a week later, and for sure, there are a lot of wilted flowers hanging on the trees. But there are also a lot of interesting-looking flowers. You just can't get one without the other.



I counted 10 'Shiro-fugen'., but there is a posting from five or so years ago mentioning a dozen trees. Then I found an 11th just past the edge of the grass area.


This tree is completely surrounded now by Prunus emarginata. I remember there used to be one tree that I noted as that species, and then one year it was gone. But its kin have come back to haunt us. There must be at least 100 young P. emarginata here, probably more.


Just to the left of this group is a group of Prunus avium. I suspect these are growing where the 12th 'Shiro-fugen' was. I saw no sign of that today, except for what I'm guessing is growth from the rootstock.


This should be a hotspot for the occurrence of Prunus x pugetensis, the hybrid of P. avium and P. emarginata, except that they don't bloom at the same time. How does that work anyway?! That last photo above shows two of the three flowers I found.

 

I'm sure people can get better photos of the 'Shiro-fugen' flower hangers-on. In our early days, Joseph Lin used to post some great photos of these idiosyncratic flowers. These are from May 25 and 31, from the Aquatic Centre, English Bay Seawall, and the Sylvia Hotel.

 

The lone ‘Autumnalis Rosea’ at the Stanley Park Lagoon has started to bloom.

 

Also showing some color are the ‘Autumnalis Rosea’ on Pacific Ave, west of Bute.
The usual suspects….

 

Another one of the usual suspects.
‘Autumnalis Rosea’ at the Co-op on Pacific, east of Thurlow.

 

These are looking better now than ever. I drove past them yesterday and could not even believe they were 'Autumnalis Rosea', which as @Anne Eng has said elsewhere, are not trees I'm known to like. But the whole row is showy now.


This tree at the side of the hostel on Burnaby Street just west of Thurlow has not even been on the map. Maybe I was convinced that it was dying one year, but it's looking better than ever too, maybe noticeable enough that someone might want to know what it is.

 

This is for @Georgia Strait, who inquired how the cherries are doing. This is the only one I have walked past, except for a full-sized tree around 300 meters away on the edge of Stanley Park, which has no open flowers, no colour at all. This one is in a concrete planter. The normal bloom date for West End 'Whitcomb' is February 16.

 

Here’s another ‘Whitcomb’ just starting to bloom in the West End. I agree with the boss - February 16 bloom date.




Tree at Nicola, north of Beach.

 

Generally speaking - is Whitcomb often the first bloom in our coastal area ?

 

Other than 'Autumnalis Rosea' which starts around November, 'Whitcomb' is first, I don't really have the timing on Fudan-zakura, whether is should be out in February. 'Accolade' is next, but it should not have good colour until mid-March.

 

I don't know. What were posted here last week might be this year's peak, with the unopened buds frozen, never to open. Here are photos from yesterday, the first one the potted tree at the building at the end of Comox, and the others at the lane in Nicola mini-park.

 

Hmm

 

The ‘Ojochin’ at the Japanese Canadian Memorial in Stanley Park has been marked with orange surveyor’s tape. I wonder what it means.

 

Thanks for the 'Ojochin' warning, @Willard.

I think we can consider 'Whitcomb' blooms, at least in the warmer neighbourhoods, toast for this year. But the next cultivar to come, 'Accolade' are looking pretty good. They are certainly not "in bloom" on Chilco, but there are a lot of open flowers and buds are pink. There are only a very few frozen buds. Last year's not peak bloom but such a beautiful photo was taken at this location on March 9, but for some reason wasn't posted on this thread. The timing here could easily be the same this year.

 

‘Accolade’ on Beach east of Thurlow starting to bloom.

 

Timing is a little messed up this year. I don't remember seeing a 'Colt' rootstock on this tree that has to be a 'Kanzan' on Pendrell west of Denman. I don't think we've seen 'Colt' in March before anywhere, and not before 'Accolade' and the major early mid-season cherries.

 

I received this email back from the Director of Parks
Hello Nina,
I was forwarded an email with respect to your question about tape on the ‘Ojochin’ tree at the Japanese War Memorial.
Staff completed an inspection, and found no caution tape on or around this tree. The condition of this tree has not changed nor has there been any pruning done to it or required.
It’s always a great time of year to see these trees in bloom! Hopefully the weather cooperates.
Thank you,

​

Amit Gandha| Director of Parks
Vancouver Park Board | 2099 Beach Avenue

t. 604-654-0781 | amit.gandha@vancouver.ca

pronouns: he/him/his

 

I am relieved to hear that no changes will be made to the’Ojochin’. Thank you for that information.

Photos taken on February 24, 2024.
I was concerned.

 

It's going to be hard to decide when to declare these things open. Here are two 'Akebono' trees, right next to each other. One south of the corner, a younger tree, with a lot of open flowers.

Just north, and just enough from the corner that I've named it as being on Pendrell instead of Cardero, is this much older tree, with not a single open flower.


Though the second tree is later than its counterpart on Cardero, across the sidewalk and five or six meters up the street, much more in the shade, are two 'Umineko' with several open flowers.

 

From sublime to ridiculous, two with single pink flowers.
The 'Beni-shidare' at Alexandra Park is in its glory.

These blossom photos were from two days ago.


Also open now are the 'Rancho' on Davie, but you'd never know it driving by. There is hardly any colour on the trees, but the flowers are not yet hidden by leaves. There are very few remaining buds to open.


This one is dead, doesn't look very different from the others.