After a dazzling weather day on March 19, with temperatures above 20 C and sunshine to boot, there’s no doubt that springtime is in the air. Thursday officially marks the first day of spring, which, in Toronto, can only mean one thing: the High Park cherry blossom bloom is on its way.
An annual spectacle that draws tens of thousands of visitors to the park every year, the cherry blossom bloom, though breathtaking, can be equally difficult to anticipate.
Over the past decade, peak bloom dates have varied by as much as a month, ranging from mid-April to mid-May, dependent on factors like temperatures, precipitation and frost — and with spring in Toronto frequently taking the pendulum approach, it can be hard to predict when the big bloom will arrive.
Luckily, you don’t have to make a trip to High Park every day to keep track of how the trees are looking (unless you want to) — someone’s doing it for you!
Sakura Steve of Sakura in High Park is officially back for the 2025 season after making his first trip to the park on March 13, and will continue to keep the city updated on the status of the trees all the way until full bloom hits.
In his first report of 2025, Steve notes that the buds on the trees have already begun to appear, and look “healthy and plentiful,” which comes as a relief as a number of trees in the park have incurred irreparable damage at the hands of visitors. (This is your gentle reminder not to touch, pull or shake the trees when they do bloom.)
In spite of this, the trees — including a number of new ones that have been planted to replace the aforementioned damaged trees — seem to be well on their way to another dazzling season.
While we’re still a little too far out for exact date predictions — it’s only the first day of spring, after all — Steve suggests that the cherry blossoms are on track for a timely bloom, with peak bloom likely falling around late April or early May.
For the past two years, peak bloom has fallen in late April, so if you’re the betting type, that might be a decent guess, though I don’t know if anyone’s actually out there gambling on Sakura bloom dates.
The weather for the next month or so will do a lot to determine when the charming pink blooms unfurl, so keep an eye on the skies as we progress closer to the bloom.
If you’d like to do more to support the High Park cherry blossoms than just take photos of them this year, the City of Toronto now accepts donations to maintain and plant new trees at the city’s various Sakura groves.
Stay tuned for further updates throughout the season!
