While there are no official predictions for when this year’s ‘Peak Bloom’ will be during Washington, D.C.’s famous cherry blossom season so far, this winter’s weather suggests the 2025 cherry blossom bloom around the District will start later than it has in recent years!
When is 2025’s cherry blossom peak bloom predicted to take place?
National Park Services release their prediction every year at the end of February as spring approaches and the cherry blossoms slowly awaken from their winter dormancy.
This year, on February 27th, the National Park Services officially predicted that peak bloom would start on March 28th and only last until March 31st.
What is peak bloom?
Peak bloom references D.C.’s abundant amount of Yoshino Cherry Trees.
These iconic Japanese cherry trees blossom every year in early spring, around late March to early April, turning D.C. into a flowery paradise with pink petals sighted across the whole city.
Naturally, given how beautiful the scenery is when these cherry blossoms bloom, it’s turned into a cultural phenomenon here in the District in which locals and tourists alike flock to the most beautiful places to view the cherry blossoms to take photos and share romantic moments.
Specifically, peak bloom is when 70% of the Yoshino cherry blossoms in D.C. are fully ‘open’ and bloomed.
For instance, during peak bloom, 70% of the District’s cherry blossoms are fully bloomed and flowered, but naturally, this only happens for a short period; this does not mean that this will be the only time when you will be able to see bloomed cherry blossom trees, it just means that it is when you will see the most of these trees bloomed.
Why is the cherry blossom peak bloom so important in Washington, D.C.?
As stated above, over the years, D.C.’s cherry blossoms have turned into a cultural phenomenon, and peak bloom is when people will typically put the most effort into visiting DC because of its incredibly beautiful sites.
Now, peak bloom also has significance to local culture as well now that DC hosts the National Cherry Blossom Festival every year, which is an overarching celebration of the cherry blossoms and hosts several events throughout the “cherry blossom season”!
The extremely short blooming period of these flowers is known throughout the world as a symbol of the fleeting beauty of life, coming quickly to capture awe and attention only to disappear just weeks or even days later.
What stage of the bloom are the DC Cherry Blossoms in?
Right now, DC’s Cherry Blossoms are at the “green bud” phase, which is known as “stage one”.
This means that the trees are just now awaking after being ‘asleep’ all winter – it also means that peak bloom is just a few weeks away!
How many stages are there in the DC Cherry Blossom blooming process?
There are nine stages of the Cherry Blossom’s blooming process, but in reality, we only care about the first six stages that take place every year sometime in early Spring (between mid-to-late March to early-to-mid April).
As you can imagine, local media and the National Park Services like to track when the Cherry Blossoms enter each stage and regularly try to predict when the D.C. Cherry Blossoms will hit their peak bloom.
As you can imagine, cold winters or sudden temperature drops in March could result in a later than usual Peak Bloom, whereas the opposite is true if there happen to be consistently warm temperatures leading up to Spring.
That being said, the exact stages of the Cherry Blossom bloom cycle are:
Stage 1 – Green Buds: Buds begin to grow and a green coloring appears as the trees prepare for blooming.
Stage 2 – Florets Visible: Tiny florets become visible within the buds as they progress toward blooming.
Stage 3 – Florets Extended: The florets extend further from the buds, signaling imminent blooming.
Stage 4 – Peduncle Elongation: Peduncles, or flower stalks, lengthen, bringing the blossoms closer to full bloom.
Stage 5 – Puffy White: Blossoms reach their “puffy white” stage, with petals fully formed but still closed.
Stage 6 – Peak Bloom: At least 70% of the blossoms are fully open, displaying their delicate beauty in full bloom.
Stage 7 – Green Leaves: The cherry blossom blooms have fallen away, leaving only the tree’s green leaves behind.
Stage 8 – Fall/Autumn: The cherry blossoms’ leaves turn an iconic fall color palette ranging from bright yellows to deep reds, and covering the full spectrum in between.
Stage 9 – Winter Dormant: After the fall leaves have fallen, the tree goes into a dormant period for the colder season, awaiting next spring to bloom again, starting the annual cycle once more.
Why does D.C. have so many Cherry Blossoms?
The Yoshino Cherry Blossoms were a gift from Japan; in 1912, the mayor of Tokyo sent the District around 3,000 cherry blossoms as a symbol of friendship and unity between the United States and Japan.
The diplomatic gesture was a sign of good faith and a nod to the cultural importance and significance that these trees have in Japan, dating far back in history with cherry blossom festivals celebrating the transient nature of life and the beauty of nature.
In fact, in honor of the United State’s 250th birthday coming in 2026, Japan gifted Washington, D.C. 250 new cherry blossoms to replace those that were removed to reconstruct the decaying seawall along the Tidal Basin.