It’s official! The NPS announced the cherry blossoms will most likely hit peak bloom on Mar 21-24
On Wednesday, the NPS announced that the higher-than-average temperatures had helped the cherry blossoms reach stage three earlier than expected. Today, they announced the trees had already reached stage four of the cycle, meaning peak bloom will definitely come earlier than the NPS’ originally predicted!
Here’s a shot of good news for the nation’s capital: cherry trees have reached Stage 4 – PEDUNCLE ELONGATION!! We should start seeing the white petals soon and peak bloom on average occurs just over eight days later! #BloomWatch #CherryBlossomDC @CherryBlossFest pic.twitter.com/KjnimJSRGw
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) March 12, 2020
Stage four in the blooming cycle is known as the “Peduncle Elongation.” During this stage, that occurs 6-10 days prior to peak bloom, the peduncles or flower stems get longer and the individual blooms can be seen more clearly. Blossoms are very susceptible to frost during this stage, but by the looks of it, our beautiful trees won’t have to worry about that! The warmer temperatures are expected to continue throughout the weekend, giving the blossoms an extra energy kick!
With the cherry blossoms reaching the fourth stage on its six-stage bloom cycle the NPS has revised its earlier predictions for peak bloom dates and have pushed it forward by about a week to Mar 21-24!
If the NPS’ new predictions hold true, this year’s peak bloom dates will outdo those of 2019 and 2018 which happened in early April! This might be their earliest blooming yet!!
Feature image: @netforceone