April Fool’s Day will be the peak date to enjoy the Yoshino Cherry blossoms that line the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.
The peak bloom date is when 70 percent of the blossoms are open, and it’s tough to predict more than 10 days in advance when that peak will be, according to the National Park Service.
Officials from the National Park Service recently moved the peak date for the Yoshino cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., forward to April 1 this year, but blooms should hold up through much of the first week of April. https://t.co/doQdLLQtoh pic.twitter.com/eK2wiksnvx
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) March 27, 2019
The date varies due to the weather each year, but is generally between the end of March and first week of April.
Last year, the peak bloom was April 5. In 2017 it was March 25, but half of the blossoms were lost that year because of a frost March 14 and 15, according to the service, which maintains the Tidal Basin.
The trees are only in bloom for a few days and how long the blossoms last depends on the weather, too.
The Yoshino trees were planted in 1912. They were a gift from the people of Japan, where the flowering cherry tree, or “sakura,” is an exalted flowering plant, according to the National Park Service.
