4/20/2017 Update: Well, 3 of the Ukon have died from the severe winter we just had but the other 5 are blooming beautifully. Again the lone Kanzan as well as those nearby on Beatty Walk are mostly buds still with a few blossoms here and there. Those in the neighbourhood for the Sun Run, Walk and Expo this coming weekend can enjoy both the Ukon and maybe the Kanzan and remainder of the Helmcken Park Shirotae. The Akebono at David Lam Park and on the Marinaside seawall are pretty much done. If you are around the neighbourhood today post 4/20 events, well - hey - it's all good :)
These trees have survived the nearby Vancouver House construction quite well and the blossoms on the "Punk Perfection" (actually a Kanzan that lives in the shade under the Granville Bridge and can get mistaken as a Pink Perfection) are looking good. The nearby Shiro-fugen has full buds just about to bloom so maybe the two will put on a show together soon. When the big Vancouver House is finished in the next year and all the public artwork goes in, a lot more people will be around to appreciate them next spring.
Many of the 40,000 Sun Runners & Walkers were able to view these Kanzans on Beatty Walk in full bloom (the Ukon grove on Expo Blvd nearby were also still in bloom)
If you want to compare 'Shogetsu' and 'Shiro-fugen', the time is now at a pretty little park east of 1239 W Georgia, that runs from Georgia to the lane to the north. There are around 10 'Shiro-fugen', with only a very few flowers open today, looking very bronze because of the leaves, and two 'Shogetsu', totally open, flowers past the pink stage, completely white, with green leaves.
Well these Kanzan's are almost finishing the season for the blossoms downtown this year and about to endure some major construction projects to the old Post Office complex west of the Playhouse - QE Theatre and the new Vancouver Art Gallery to the east. Once all this is done, the area will be buzzing again with an audience for them (especially if the Canucks manage to rebuild to do another spring playoff run). 2017 was a bit late starting but turned out quite decent. Edit by wcutler: these photos are co-operative effort. Thanks, @yaletowner .
Well I am not sure if there are still 13 trees still here but there is enough and at about the same stage of blooming 3 years plus 3 weeks later. Over 6500 half marathoners last weekend enjoyed the start of their bloom. The trees in the photos will have to endure the big reconstruction of the old main Post Office across the street but I am sure the future residents of the new towers will enjoy these last blooms of the downtown cherry blossom season midway through spring this year.
Now it's 'Shiro-fugen' time. Actually, it's past 'Shiro-fugen' time, but unlike the 'Shogetsu', that have no flowers left at all, these flowers are hanging on and turning pink, while still, and for weeks to come, there will be the occasional new white flower appearing. While you're there, you can see Bruce Walther's mosaic "Return of the Wild", on the nearest corner of Bute and Georgia.
The lone 'Whitcomb' at Devonian Harbour Park is blooming about 50%. Flowering about the same time as last year, but without the snow.
Good job. It seems we will have normal year of cherry blossom, we had good shows of Akebono blossom at Burrard Station on April 4 in 2013 and April 3 in 2014. If there is no extreme cold climate in next two months, we may have full blossom or with some withering of Akebono at Burrard Station at Downtown Cherry Jam on Thursday, April 5, this year. Cherry Jam Downtown Concert - Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Happy lunar new year (Feb. 16)
First lame photo at Burrard Station - an annual tradition I don't believe I've ever got this first 'Akebono' of the year photo in focus, so I'm not apologizing for this one. It's part of the tradition. I swear these were not open on my first walk around the block of trees, but five minutes later, here they are. I was reading something earlier about trees having feelings - maybe they felt my pain, knew it was the third day they'd seen me circling the block and somehow knew I couldn't be here tomorrow. Douglas Justice, in the March 2018 in the Garden | UBC Botanical Garden blog says "March is a tricky month for predicting flowers. The weather prognosticators have gotten a little better over the years, but predicting more than two weeks in advance can be a dangerous business." Still, I think it's a sure thing that Joseph was right and these will be in bloom for the Cherry Jam on April 5 (and Joseph Lin's Downtown walk in Mandarin), and the 'Akebono' at Oppenheimer Park will surely be in bloom for Egan Davis's Strathcona walk on April 8. Whether they will be out for my Easter Parade (April 1) is something else again. You can read about all our walks at Tree Talks & Walks - Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. Here's a record, a little approximate, of the first flower/peak bloom dates for these trees since we've been posting in this forum.
I saw many buds with red tips in your photo and we will have normal temperature in the next two weeks. www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/14-day-weather-trend/british-columbia/vancouver We had normal spring in 2012~2014. So we can expect to have Akebono at Burrard Station on your Easter Parade (April 1). We will have enough cherry blossoms for Cherry Jam on April 5. Cheers!!
These now mature Akebono's between Firehall/Lupo Restaurant and VPL Central on Hamilton St. are pink buds this afternoon and could burst into full blossom soon. Downtown
The granite plaques have stood the test of time as have the 100 akebono's that are just starting their 2018 bloom
They are still in full bloom and might still be looking good for the upcoming Easter weekend. Meanwhile it looks like it will be a full on Akebono Easter display around Yaletown (David Lam Park, Seabreeze Walk) and then into the West end on W Georgia south side west of Bute.
I don't even consider these 'Akebono' trees to be in full bloom, but they are good enough for photo ops, and they could be in full bloom on Sunday for my Easter Parade, part of the Tree Talks & Walks - Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. These were posted here when they were just new and now they really add something to this walkway along Coal Harbour between Jervis and Nicola. This single 'Akebono' is near the Bayshore Hotel's outdoor pool on the north side of the building. These off Bayshore Drive, west of the hotel, will make for good photos on Sunday. So I was thinking of separating the Stanley Park "neighbourhood" from Downtown and the West End, as things seem so far behind in blooming in the park. For instance, these 'Akebono' in Devonian Harbour Park, just before Stanley Park on Denman Street, two blocks from the previous photo, are not at all in bloom, not a flower open. But then at the end of the Devonian Harbour Park,, like a block away, at the edge of Stanley Park, these trees are pretty much in bloom, except for one, which is not dead, has a lot of buds, just none open yet. On the other side of the pedestrian/bike tunnel, this group also has a lot of open flowers. So I'll just leave the neighbourhoods as they are.
Well this indicates that the COV considers the Westend and Stanley Park to be separate areas. OTOH Parks Board manages Community Centres with Westend and Coal Harbour as a single area. VCBF is not constrained to follow COV or Parks Board and the existing definitions seem to work ok for COV. As we get more info though from other cities in Metro Van ( more than 20), it might be useful to distinguish their neighborhoods too.
Well the Yaletown seawall Akebono trees are in bloom now and there are 3 nice ones now in Coopers Park near the Cambie Bridge.
