Cherry blossom festival 2022

Are you excited as we are?

Before traveling to Washington DC, tourists make sure that they know the best time to see the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC before booking their flight. Also known as Sakura, cherry blossom trees and their blossoms is special flower which symbolizes the spring, the beauty of nature, the renewal, and the ephemeral nature of life.

Here’s what you need to know before planning your trip to see the blossoms:

1. What is the Cherry blossom festival all about?
The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC, and celebrates the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. Spiritual meanings and symbolism of cherry tree blossom represent pleasantness, goodness, sweetness of life, and with that a powerful fortune that can be worth of living. In Buddhist path, it tells about meditation, honesty, principles, integrity.

2. When do the cherry blossoms bloom?
This popular question has a different answer year-to-year. The National Park Service has predicted March 22-25 for peak bloom dates. The average peak bloom date, which is when 70% of the flowers of the cherry blossom trees are open, is around April 4. In the past, peak bloom has occurred as early as March 15 and as late as April 18. The entire blooming period can last up to 14 days, which includes the days leading up to peak bloom. NPS annually predicts the official peak bloom and shares details on its website, which also indicates that “it is nearly impossible to give an accurate forecast much more than 10 days before the peak bloom.” The best viewing of the cherry blossom trees typically lasts four to seven days after peak bloom begins, but the blossoms can last for up to two weeks under ideal conditions.

3. Where can you see the Cherry Blossoms tree?
The most popular place to visit the cherry blossom trees is at the Tidal Basin, which provides great photo ops near the Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. The majority of blossoms are located in this area and along the shoreline of East Potomac Park, which extends all the way to Hains Point.

Meanwhile, small clusters of trees can be found along the National Mall, just northwest of the Lincoln Memorial and around the Washington Monument. Off-the-radar cherry blossom trees can be found at the National Arboretum, Anacostia Park, Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown, Stanton Park, and Oxon Run Park

FUN FACTS :

• One of the earliest recorded peak blooms occurred on March 15, 1990, while the latest recorded peak bloom occurred on April 18, 1958.

• The majority of the cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin are of the Yoshino variety. But another species, the Kwanzan, usually blooms two weeks after the Yoshino trees, giving visitors a second chance to catch the blossoms.

Be prepared to see the city decorated in all things pink and blossom on the first day of the festival season on March 20!