Cherry Blossom Tracker

(Prunus itosakura) With white and pink flowers, the Higan is a true showstopper. In Central Park, this tree can be found by Sheep Meadow and Cedar Hill, but most prominently along the Great Lawn. In Japan, many mature weeping cherries can be found in Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and rural areas. One of these famous trees in Fukushima, called the Miharu Takizakura, is 1,000 years old. For context, Central Park is just over 160 years old, its first parts opened to the public in 1858.

(Prunus 'Kanzan') Part of a 1912 gift from the Mayor of Tokyo to the United States, these deep pink flowers—also called Sekiyama—are concentrated along the west side of the Reservoir by 90th Street. They are distinguished by their smooth bark marked with horizontal pores and bulbous double petal flowers that flaunt 20 to 50 petals. Like all plants, their peak bloom can never be fully predicted, but typically occurs between April and May.

(Prunus 'Okame') The Okame cherry produces abundant, mildly fragrant, rosy-pink flowers with one-inch-long petals in early spring. The flowers completely cover bare branches, appearing earlier than most and lasting longer than other flowering cherries. Even if you miss its early blooms, the tree remains lovely throughout the season thanks to its orange-tinted green leaves, which turn yellow, orange, and red in the fall.

(Prunus × yedoensis) The stunning white blossoms of the Yoshino cherry tree are best spotted by Cherry Hill. Also part of a gift from the Japanese government, this type of tree has been historically cultivated in the former Somei village in what is now Toshimo, Japan. Toshimo’s Mount Yoshino welcomes the bloom of over 30,000 of these cherries each year, but here in Central Park, visitors can fawn over 100 of these trees.