I'm so happy the sun is out today, it's beautiful here in Stanley Park. Here are some quick photos I took on my lunch break at the Japanese War Memorial. The 'Akebono' is in full bloom, the 'Ojochin' has just started and the 'Shirotae' looks and smells fabulous.
These three 'Takasago' on Beach Avenue at Cardero were a festival favourite one year when there were four of them. The third one often looks half dead, but it's putting on a good enough show this year, and I was able to get some blossom shots with only a little brown rot. Tree photo taken today; blossoms two days ago.
I mentioned this group at the Sutton Place Hotel on Burrard - six 'Shirotae' and one 'Ukon' - in the Vancouver Cherry Blog this week, so just a couple of photos that show up the odd one out. 'Ukon' have just started to open in the West End.
Photos from April 12 I forgot about. This 'Takasago' on Cardero at Barclay is one of the nicer looking ones in the West End. There's another across the street, and around the corner to the west on Barclay are five 'Mikuruma-gaeshi'. These have all been reported before. [Edited by wcutler 2012mar27]: the 'Mikuruma-gaeshi closest to the corner on Barclay has been removed. I noticed one of the others still standing; I don't know about the others. These are brand new 'Amanogawa', starting to bloom way earlier than the others nearby. I think five of them, outside the new liquor store on Bute south of Alberni. It's impossible to tell from the way they're planted whether they're not grafted, or if they're grafted below the surface the way the Japanese plant their cherries, if I understood correctly what Douglas Justice said on his walk last week.
Re: Stanley Park--Takasago-like cherry This afternoon, I found this Takasago-like cherry tree on Pipeline Road pass Rose Garden, which is different from the other nearby three Takasago cherry trees on the road leading to Pavillion. The flower petals are not less compact, pedicles are longer, branches are healthier without lichen and moss, and the tree is taller than usual Takasago cherry tree. Anyone may take a good look of this tree in an afternoon with better light.
Re: Stanley Park--Takasago-like cherry Joseph, I included this tree in my query in this thread: Identification: What cherry? Double pale pinks, green leaves, late season The leaves and stems are hairy. Douglas Justice was content to consider it 'Takasago' in 2007. Ron B said the same initially, then conceded that the twigs and flower stems are too slender, but in the end, no-one came up with anything else.
'Ukon' or whatever-it-is time again on Barclay St. I don't think the one in Stanley Park is open yet. Some of the stamens have what I'd call vexillate filaments, though Douglas Justice called what looks similar to me "half-way between vexillate filaments and staminodes" on the Stanley Park sort-of similar tree a few years ago. Other blossoms on the tree do not show those at all. [edited by wcutler 2012jan03]: We're calling this 'Asagi' for the moment.
Re: West End / Stanley Park - 'Amanogawa' time The VCBF festival favourite dozen 'Amanogawa' at Alberni and Broughton are in bloom now. They were originally posted in posting #58 on May 8, 2008. [Edited by wcutler 2012mar21]: these are all gone now! There is only one 'Pink Perfection' remaining across the street (third and fourth photos). These 'Amanogawa' were originally posted in Downtown posting #27, but they belong here, as they're on the south side of Georgia, actually on the pass-thru to Grosvenor Plaza, the site of one of the festival favourite 'Akebono' plantings. More 'Amanogawa' surprises: After seeing the previous two locations, I noticed three tall 'Amanogawa' and what turned out to be ten new ones on Alberni, starting across from Urban Fare and leading up to Bute. And four more around the corner, which I reported in Posting #207, having no idea that there were three times as many around the corner. I'm loathe to think kindly of this location, as the building took the place of two great 'Shirotae'. But at least they've overdone it on 'Amanogawa'.
Re: Downtown We stumbled on a lovely tree today, which I think is Ukon. The yellowish colour was extremely evident. It is by the Stanley Park Pitch and Putt on one of the main paths through the Grieg Rhodo Garden.
Re: Downtown We've just named this: an 'Ukon' clone called 'Kizakura'. See Gyoiko and Ukon - Greenish white doubles, bronze leaves, mid-season[Edited by wcutler 2014apr20: now we've decided it's 'Gyoiko'.]
Last kid on the block - the great little private 'Kiku-zakura' on the north side of Robson near Chilco is in bloom now. These flowers are turning from white to pink as they age. Note the second-story flowers growing over the stamens.
The 'Shirofugen' at the Japenese Memorial over near the Aquarium are looking excellent. And you can walk through the 'Shirotae' path which is still fragrant though the blossoms are entirely gone, across the little bridge from the bus loop and down the path. There are several cherries with clusters of tiny flowers, called either 'Emarginata' or 'Pugetensis'. One year I noticed a few, then next year only this one that's practically horizontal. This year I see that there are several farther on toward Lumberman's arch, quite tall ones. You can see more about those in Prunus emarginata, pugetensis, cerasus - Single whites in clusters, very late season.
Totally not timely, but I could have sworn I did a whole posting comparing the 'Snow Goose' trees just inside the Stanley Park golf course on the Rhody Path with the nearby 'Umineko' trees seen in the March 26, 2010 posting, but I can't find it anywhere. Well, next year, but I need these posted. Two young trees, probably planted when the row along Ceperley Meadow was planted. I think one of these had a tag, but I couldn't prove it now. Photos from April 19, 2011.
Sprinkles of blossoms all over these 'Autumnalis Rosea' at Stanley Park. You still have to be looking for them to notice them.
Uh-oh. I thought this was supposed to be a late year. These (three) 'Autumnalis Rosea' are in full bloom, and that's not surprising, but what's with these 'Whitcomb'? That's the darker pink in the centre of the first photo. Actually, it's just the section of the tree that's nestled up to that third-floor balcony in the Nicola mini-park that's full-out in bloom. The rest of this tree and the other two 'Whitcomb' in this mini-park look more like what's shown in the last photo. Still, it's only February 10. That's early for 'Whitcomb'. There were a lot of birds, bushtits and chickadees, I think, showing a lot of interest in these trees. Where's Megami when we need her photo skills? Shown here: 'Autumnalis Rosea' /'Whitcomb' - - - - - 'Autumnalis Rosea' - - - - - 'Whitcomb' - - - - - - - - - - 'Whitcomb'
Here I am.. Happy Valentine's Day! Lots of birds in the mini park today, and many other flowers (crocus, hellebores, viburnum, primula) blooming as well. More photos here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/megz/sets/72157629323610413/
It's a month after Meighan posted her 'Whitcomb' photos, and they're still doing it, even after all the March winds we've been having. This tree on the edge of Stanley Park doesn't seem to have showed up here and wasn't on the map. There are two within a block. I'm also including the photo of the youngster in the container at the condo at the foot of Comox, posted earlier. The 'Autumnalis Rosea' at Lost Lagoon will still be doing their unexciting thing for a while longer. I thought the rainbow would improve their looks, but not really. The 'Accolade' at the Chilco mini-park are just about looking good. The two 'Pandora' at this end of the park have blossoms now - not many, but I'm guessing another week.
2nd day of Spring - 'Beni-Shidare' are in bloom These were taken yesterday on Thurlow at Barclay. I've always said I didn't know which these are, but wouldn't we call the lighter ones on the ends shidare-zakura? The deeper pink one is what we're calling 'Beni-shidare'. The 'Yae-beni-shidare' among them is not open at all yet. Over at the beach, three blocks down from where I live, this 'Beni-shidare' in Alexandra Park is just about open. This is the iconic Alexandra Park Bandshell.
That 'Beni-shidare' that I posted yesterday in Alexandra Park deserves a photo with blue sky. I guess I neglected to mention that all the 'Accolade' in the West End are in bloom now. I was trying to give someone else a chance to post them. Here are the ones at Chilco mini-park, seen from Nelson, with a bit of English Bay in the view. This little 'Pandora' near the Parks Board office, which took us so long to identify, is maybe 25% in bloom. [Edited] It's not actually that little - there's very little low enough to get close to - there's just not very much of it. But the 'Pandora' on the Magnolia Walk down to Lost Lagoon (north of the golf course) is more like 50% open. 'Shirotae' are not open at all, but they're at my favourite phase, with their big green shiny buds. They're the best buds of any of the cherries. You can see the 'Autumnalis Rosea' nearby still in bloom. The 'Whitcomb' at the edge of the park still look pretty good. This and the other one nearby seem very natural-looking in this setting. Most of the other West End 'Whitcomb' blossoms are looking very pale now.
Accolades Blooming - Comox at Chilco (West End, Vancouver) These Accolade Cherry Blossoms are beginning to bloom in the West End at the intersection of Comox Street at Chilco Street:
The tree I'm calling a "sweet little" 'Pandora' is in full bloom now. That's all there is of it. In the foreground of the first photo is an 'Akebono', not at all open. One next to it (not pictured) has one open cluster of four blossoms. In the background and in the other photos is the 'Somei-yoshino' on Pendrell west of Denman maybe 70% open. There are a lot of whole blossoms on the ground. The 'Somei-yoshino' in Stanley Park have only a very few blossoms open.
The 'Somei-yoshino' on Pendrell, west of Gilford (block farther west than I said the other day) is completely in bloom now. I think the ones in the park are still not open. These 'Akebono' in Grosvenor Plaza at Alberni west of Burrard are pretty much in bloom, quite a bit ahead of the Burrard Station ones two blocks away. The area feels like downtown, so these have been reported quite a bit in the Downtown thread.
A festival website reader mentioned that these trees on Beach Ave at Jervis are not on the map, and that's because they've never been posted here. I think I took too many photos of them the year before we had these vcbf forums. So here they are - it's very nice driving by this area.