The several Somei-Yoshino trees on both sides of E.59th Avenue, Fraser to Prince Albert, are in nice bloom at March 25, 2020. Curiously, other Somei-Yoshino trees in Kensington and Renfrew are barely out of bud.
The two Somei-Yoshino trees in MacDonald Park (Prince Edward at E.44th) are like non-fraternal twins. One is in peak bloom and already shedding blossoms onto the grass, while the other, less surrounded by conifers, is barely budding out on March 27, 2020.
'Umineko'. these poor cherries, with the terrible graft union again. But these ones were white with the green of the new leaves showing through. Unfortunately it was now getting dark, overcast, so that bright, fresh green colour of the new growth was not appreciated and the poor trees just looked like dark gangly upright foreboding branches. This is the one that means Seagull due to the softly rounded edges of its white petaled flowers (Douglas Justice's book description) . Too me they look like big soft pillows. i liked the light green new leaves that also are pillow like at the base of the flower clusters. This was also along the bike route, Ontario at 57th and trees were on both the east side of Ontario on the corner on 57th itself. SO in the Sunset neighborhood!
The unloved and un-inspiring Spire along both sides of E. 57th, between Main and Ontario, full bloom at April 2, 2020.
We can't let Lisa get away with those less-than-flattering shots of Umineko at E. 57th and Ontario. Multiple trees in full bloom on April 2, 2020.
The block of E.57th between Main and Ontario has Spire, Umineko and a single Rancho which seems to be in good shape for Rancho. Full bloom at April 2, 2020.
The second Somei-Yoshino in MacDonald Park (Prince Edward at E.44th) is now in full bloom April 3rd, 2020 and can be compared to its fading brother.
Oshima on the east side of Prince Edward, south E. 51st is now barricaded by the Parks Board. We can tell it's in bloom April 4, 2020, but hard to get good blossom shots.
The three Schmitt trees in Memorial Park (south side E. 41st, west from Windsor) are finishing their bloom at April 10, 2020.
You can tell someone thought to make improvements on Kiku-shidare without realizing the Weeping Chrysanthemum Cherry doesn't tolerate such foolishness. This is the embarrassing result, fortunately hidden away in its hard-to-find Waverly and Ross location at April 14, 2020.
I think the upper part probably died. What's surprising to me is that it was low grafted, and still was not an attractive tree, even when we first saw it in 2009: Sunset I guess it was pinched to make it bush out at the top, which just makes it weak. I wonder some of the other side growth gets going, it might turn into something more attractive. I admire the way these folks are holding on to this.
The Tiger Tail prowls along—Ichihara-tora-no-o is in full bloom (north side E. 57th, east of Fraser) at April 16, 2020. Note the stigma protruding from the buds and the bushy growth in spurs along the branch, the markers for Ichihara.
If Avium could only be satisfied with taking just half the tree! Then the Kanzan would have a chance. On Inverness, about E. 42nd at April 19, 2020.
Three young Shiro-fugen trees newly planted on the SW corner of Inverness and E. 41st are starting their bloom at April 19, 2020. One of them has already sustained trunk injury and damage—not a good sign.
Elgin Street from E. 47th to E. 49th, has almost Canada Day colours, with Kanzan running along the west side and Avium Plena along the east. At April 19, 2020. One Avium Plena has its trunk almost completely covered by ivy, i.e. being dominated instead of towering over everything, including street lamp posts.
This year the Umineko on East 57th between Quebec and Main did not start blooming until last week. Its cousin closer to Ontario was about two weeks ahead. Microclimates are getting smaller
@Noemiedemay, the reason these are later than the 'Umineko' closer to Ontario is because they are sweet cherries, Prunus avium. Do you live near there? See if you can get a photo of the back of the flowers, with the sepals folded back, so you see a circle instead of a star when you look directly down at one of the flowers, particularly from the back. Also note that this tree is not grafted - it's the kind of tree the 'Umineko' cherry tops were grafted onto, so on the 'Umineko' photos in this thread, you can see a distinct line where the trunk ends and the 'Umineko' top was attached. I can't tell how high these branches are - you might also be able to take a leaf from this tree and take it down the block to the 'Umineko' and compare the leaf edges. When I see a nice-looking avium like this, I wonder why we don't consider them ornamental. They're what I call business cherries - they produce fruits for birds and people, though the tasty cherries we buy at the markets are cultivars of this species, not what you will find on street trees taking over the cultivar that was grafted on top. A few of them were deliberately planted.
Thank you so much for the in depth information on this tree. I will head out to get some close ups of the back of the flowers and I will compare the leaves with the Umineko down the block. Will report back later. The tree has always been a mystery to the neighbourhood especially to the people who have lived behind the tree. Back in the '80's the very friendly owner of the house wondered why in the world she had such an unusual tree in front of her house compared to all the others. We have long joked about the tree being "different". I will share your note with the ever expanding admirers of this particular tree.