Wow, it's of course more impressive in close-up, but the flowers look impressively good too. Edited: I have since been told that Shirley took another ferry trip to the mainland to see these again, and the previous posting is a new video, taken on a Panasonic camcorder.
'Okame' are past peak bloom now, but the House Finch is still interested. 20200308 Nelson22nd Okame Willard Clip21 by Willard posted Mar 8, 2020 at 7:14 PM
‘Okame’ at 22St and Nelson in West Vancouver are a little behind last year. Feb 22, 2020 they were in peak bloom.
West Vancouver - near 14th and Bellevue / Argyle I believe these are of the variety "Akebono"? Please help me correct the name of this variety.
Yes - 'Akebono'. We have a marker for trees near the ferry building, but not for the ones at the street here. I've added this to the map. I'm happy to have a new West Van scout!
I was pretty sure these were 'Somei-yoshino' when I dissed them in this posting: West Vancouver Let's check them again next year when the flowers have just opened. I'm going to call them 'Somei-yoshino' for now. Thanks for putting them on the map.
No, they're different. They just look the same. :) Well, for a long time, we thought they looked the same, then we figured it out and wondered what was so difficult, but this year, it seems difficult all over again. If you don't already have the Ornamental Cherries in Vancouver book that was put together for us, you can probably pick up a copy at one of the botanical gardens, or you can download it from the festival website at Ornamental Cherries – 2014 Edition - Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca) (scroll to the bottom). We would know nothing if it were not for that book, and besides that, we cherry scouts discovered half of the cultivars (varieties) that are in the book. It's easiest when the flowers are new - several 'Akebono' flowers on a tree will have one or two extra petals (extra means more than five petals) and particularly will have a petaloid, half-petal, in the centre, and 'Somei-yoshino' flowers are smaller, less cup-shaped, and don't have the extra petals. Once the flowers have been on for a week, the extra petals are gone, and the 'Akebono' flowers have started to shrink and have faded to white like the 'Somei-yoshino' were from the start. So then you have to recognize the tree shape, but such young trees as the ones in Park Royal don't really have their shape yet, and 'Somei-yoshino' are usually not grafted, but those ones are, so it gets hard.
BC Ferries foot passenger (ticket booth) plaza in Horseshoe Bay today — West Van (Blue Bus route 257 transit end of the line - or start of line as case may be) I like how the orca whale sculpture is leaping up in the ocean of frothy blossoms Edit: forgot attach jpg Name of trees?
'Akebono'. They're on our map, but not posted here since 2009. Thanks. I made them a festival favourite, have used the photo on Blooming Now - Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (vcbf.ca).
20210419 17StMarineDr Kanzan Willard IMG_0321 by Willard posted Apr 19, 2021 at 8:04 PM A few spare moments in West Vancouver today. Ambleside and Dundarave are awash in colourful blossoms, almost everywhere you look. There are 'Kanzan' on both sides of 17st, south of Marine Drive. Fountains provided by the bank.
Four ‘Okame’ are starting to bloom at Nelson and 22 St. Photos taken just before sunset today, so the color is a bit ‘warm’. I’m worried about the fate of these beautiful trees. Major construction at the site. See them soon. Blooming about the same time as 2020.
Thank you for posting these. I so often miss 'Okame' flowers, never remembering that they can be as early as 'Whitcomb'. I'm sure the map doesn't have them blooming this early - I'll check. The trees are boxed in to protect them, so it seems the plan at least is not to remove them.
There are seven mature ‘Shirofugen’ at 14th and Argyle, just starting to bloom. One ‘Kanzan’ on site, as well.
It’s time to admire ‘Kanzan’ in the Ambleside neighbourhood of West Vancouver. Lots of street trees planted. These on Bellevue between 17 and 18 Street.
