Sakura Watch, April 28, 2025 – First sakura cherry blossoms begin to open in High Park for 2025
Sakura Watch, April 28, 2025 – First sakura cherry blossoms begin to open in High Park for 2025. As predicted, the sakura cherry blossoms have begun to open up today. Remember, this is only the beginning, so you’ll see a small percentage of open flowers like this. There will be a few open white blossoms scattered amongst the branches. Still, overall, most flowers are closed for now. My concern is with the upcoming thunderstorm and rainy days that are forecast right in the middle of the full and peak bloom dates. Let’s dive in a little more below.
Watch the YouTube video update below.
Starting at the Sportsfields
The sakura cherry blossom buds have finally reached their peak, with nearly all now at the end of Stage 5 and beginning Stage 6, when the beautiful flowers start to open. Although I strongly note that this is only the beginning, as I mentioned in the introduction, visitors to the park will initially see only a few open white blossoms, but more will continue to open with each passing day. As always, I spotted the first blossoms by the Sportsfields, near the Bloor St entrance. Most of the trees are still in late Stage 5, but you can visibly see all the closed flower petals, like tiny little white umbrellas, just waiting to be unfurled and reveal their beauty to the world. Every year, I follow the progress from bud to blossom, and every year, I get excited when I find the first open flower - it just never gets old (unlike me). Here are some photos showing off the Sportsfields today:
Cherry Hill
Always the largest viewing area in High Park, Cherry Hill shows most of its trees are also just beginning Stage 6, with open blossoms scattered throughout. Walking down the winding path, you will see a few blossoms here and there, but mostly closed for now. However, at the top of the hill across from Grenadier Cafe, the smaller, younger trees are showing the most promise today—although not fully open, they have about 10-15% of their blossoms open. Here are some photos showing off Cherry Hill today:
Grenadier Pond and the Dock
Moving on down to Grenadier Pond and the dock, we see these trees are still in late Stage 5. The blossoms are ready to open, but they are waiting for a few more days of sunny, warm weather and are slightly behind. Being closer to the water and near Lake Ontario, these trees will tend to be a day or two behind, but when they do bloom, they will be a sight to behold! Here are some photos by the pond today:
Midland Painted Turtle Hatchlings
If you are visiting High Park near Cherry Hill or anywhere along Grenadier Pond, chances are you came across a Turtle Protectors sign like the one pictured below. Turtle Protectors (Mishiikenh Gizhaasowin) help protect these adorably tiny baby turtles, which are a Species at Risk, by offering a hotline for anyone to call if they spot one of these toonie-sized turtles and ensure they are protected. They recently reached out to me, and I agreed to post about their cause in the most recent video and on this blog, as I always want to help wildlife in any way I can. Here’s a quote from their email that explains better than I can:
Since our work we have learned that Midland Painted Turtle Hatchlings (babies) overwinter in their nests and emerge around the time of the Cherry Blossom season. These Hatchlings (babies) are only the size of a toonie. Unfortunately we have found Hatchlings crushed by people as they are leaving their nests on land to reach water. The hill with the Cherry Blossoms is one of the hotspots for nesting. Turtles have been nesting there and on the grasses near the pond for generations, long before the arrival of the gifted Cherry Blossom trees. People are so busy looking up at the beautiful blossoms that they are unaware of these tiny beings who are trying to cross the grasses and paths to get to water.
For further info, visit https://turtleprotectors.com/
My Bloom Prediction
Turning to the weather, my concerns are the possible thunderstorms and rain forecast for this week. These may knock down the delicate blossom petals when they are in full bloom. I’ll be keeping a close eye on that this week.
Now that the blossoms have begun to open, my prediction shifts to focus on the full bloom, when trees reach at leastt 75%, will start around May 1st, followed by the peak bloom, when trees are at 90-100%, beginning May 3rd and lasting until about May 9th. Just note that any more active or severe weather changes may adjust these dates.
Do Your Part to Help the Trees from Damage
As much fun as it is to get up close to enjoy the cherry blossoms truly, there are some who take it a bit too far and cause damage to the tree that can lead to irreparable harm so the trees can not protect themselves from insects and disease and eventually die. This leaves us with less mature trees to enjoy, so please, if you really want to enjoy the blossoms for many years to come, you need to do your part to help protect the trees and prevent any harm to them:
Don’t pick or break off any blossoms
Don’t pull down, shake or break off the branches
Don’t climb, sit or stand on the trunks or branches - the mature trees are very old and not strong enough to support the weight and stress of people, even small children!
Don’t leave any litter IN or around the trees - it’s so sad to see people putting their garbage in the hollow trunks of the older trees, which invites animals and other insects to nest inside and cause internal damage.
DO take photos without harming the trees
DO enjoy the blossoms and respect their immediate surroundings
DO remember that respecting the trees from root to branch will help everyone to enjoy the blooming trees for many years to come
Donate to Support The Cherry Blossoms
The City of Toronto now accepts donations to help maintain existing trees and plant future ones. See this link for details.
Read more details and information on the City of Toronto - Cherry Blossom Website
Thank you all for visiting the site. Be careful, be safe, and watch for more updates soon.