Category: Cherry Scouts

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Akebono cherry trees blooming at Burrard skytrain station

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The beautiful Akebono cherry trees are in bloom at Burrard skytrain station.

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The trees will be in bloom for another 7-10 days.

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Lots of benches for a quick hanami lunch, but expect a lot of activities and photographers.

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When Akebono start blooming, you can see one of their main characteristics: some Akebono cherry blossoms have a sixth incomplete petal growing. This petaloid will fall a bit later, that’s why it’s important to visit the trees early if you want to identify them as Akebono (as opposed to Somei-Yoshino).

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Burrard skytrain is one of our favorite locations Downtown.  Because the trees are blooming earlier this year, we’ve added cherry talk and walk (Downtown and Stanley park) on Saturday March 14 2015 2-4pm

 

 

 

 

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Akebono cherry trees at Burrard skytrain

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The beautiful Akebono cherry trees are full of buds at Burrard skytrain station.

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Some flowers are out already.

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The location should be in full bloom within 2-3 days.

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Plan to visit soon when the blossoms will open.

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Okame cherry trees outside UBC Asian Centre

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At UBC, there are four Okame cherry trees blooming: two outside the Asian Centre and two across the street, right outside the Parkade.

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You can recognize Okame cherry blossoms by the long reddish calyx-tube that holds the petals together.

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Because the calyx-tube is almost red, Okame are recognizable by the red “star shape” in the centre of the flowers.

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The leaves grow bronze to reddish green.

Okame are rare in Vancouver because they are prone to diseases.

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The Okame cherry petals are falling fast. You should visit this location soon.

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This week is your last chance to see Okame cherry trees: most Okame cherry trees have already finished blooming, but because this Okame Cherry tree at UBC is in the shade, you’ll have one more week to enjoy it.

Learn more about Okame cherry tree in this forum post about Okame cherry tree

Want to see more pics? Here’s another Okame tree in Burnaby

All photos Jessica Tremblay

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Pandora cherry blossoms at Fairlawn/Brentlawn in Burnaby

 

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There are six Pandora cherry trees blooming behind the Brentwood Mall at Fairlawn/Brentlawn in Burnaby.

How to identify Pandora cherry trees

I’ve been wondering for the past three years what type of cherry trees they were. Since I’ve recently completed my cherry scout training with the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival,  I decided to visit the trees again to try to identify them.  Here’s how I determined they were Pandora cherry trees.  I hope these tips will help you recognize Pandora cherry trees in your neighbourhood.

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Season

When you want to identify a cherry tree, the time of the year when the tree is blooming can be a clue: some trees bloom earlier than others. The guide to Ornamental cherries in Vancouver lists all cherry trees in order of blooming time, so it’s very helpful for cherry scouts.  At this time of the year, I know there are only a few possibilities: Whitcomb, Accolade, Pandora, Akebono…

The six trees on Fairlawn bloom  early  in the season, usually at the same time of plum trees.  Since it’s too soon for Akebono at the time, and the blossoms don’t have any extra petals (a sixth incomplete petal that sometimes grow on Akebono blossom at the beginning of the season), I eliminate the possibility of them being Akebono.

The number of petals

Because the blossoms on Fairlawn street have only five petals, they cannot be Accolade – Accolade have more than 5 petals – so I eliminate this possibility.

 

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The color of the blossoms

The tip of the petals are a darker shade of pink (which is the main characteristics of Pandora cherry blossoms).  If these were Whitcomb blossoms, the blossoms would be completely dark pink. At this stage, I’m pretty sure these are Pandora cherry blossoms. I only have to look at my feet to confirm it…

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How the blossoms fall

Pandora cherry blossoms are particularly easy to identify because their blossoms fall intact on the ground. You won’t find petals under Pandora tree, but grass covered in flowers!

The more cherry trees you visit, the better you will be at identifying them. The fact that I had already seen Pandora cherry trees at Mount Pleasant Park  last year  helped me identify the Pandora trees in Burnaby today.

Pandora cherry trees are in bloom everywhere in the city. Find them now on our neighborhood map.

 

All photos by Jessica Tremblay

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Whitcomb at Westridge Elementary School 615 Duncan/Union

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This Whitcomb cherry tree is located outside Westridge Elementary School at 615 Duncan/Union in Burnaby. There are two park benches underneath.

Wthicomb cherry trees are in full bloom right now.  Find Whitcomb cherry trees in your area with the VCBF Neighborhood map.

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Whitcomb at 6543 Union/Kensington at sunset

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This Whitcomb cherry tree at 6543 Union/Kensington was glowing in the sunset (around 5:30pm) today.
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There are lots of low branches, which is great for close-ups.

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Whitcomb are in full bloom everywhere in the Vancouver area.

Find them now on the VCBF Neighborhood map.

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Early spring cherry blossoms in Vancouver

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These are the three cultivars of cherry trees that are currently blooming in Vancouver. If you see something else that is blooming: they are not cherry blossoms, but most likely plum blossoms. It’s important for cherry scouts to learn the difference between cherry blossoms and plum blossoms.

 

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Accolade cherry blossoms at MacLean/Broadway

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Accolade cherry blossoms are starting to bloom.  Don’t miss the opportunity to photograph the buds (bright pink) and the newly open flower.

Check out the VCBF neighborhood map to find Accolade cherry trees in your area.

All photos by Jessica Tremblay shot today at MacLean/Broadway.

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Whitcomb cherry tree Holdom/Buchanan

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Cherry blossom season has begun!   Whitcomb cherry trees started blooming early in Vancouver thanks to a warm winter.

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I went to investigate a pink blooming tree located at 1910 Holdom (corner Buchanan) in Burnaby, 4 minutes from the Holdom skytrain station.

As I approached the tree, I noticed the horizontal bars (called lenticels) on the trunk, which was one clue that this was indeed a cherry tree and not a plum tree  (the trunk of plum trees is darker and doesn’t have horizontal bars).

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The Whitcomb cherry blossoms are dark pink.  They just started to open!

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With a good zoom, you’ll be able to take nice shots.

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Unfortunately, there’s an electrical pole next to the tree, which means  electric wires overhead.

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There are plenty of buds. This tree will be blooming for at least another week.

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The branch is not even full. You can expect more blossoms.

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It’s nice to see some sunshine in Vancouver.

Check out the Whitcomb cherry trees in your area  using the VCBF Neighborhood map.

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Cherry Scouts Photos

Autumnalis Rosea on Georgia (corner Willingdon) in Burnaby

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You’ll find over a dozen Autumnalis Rosea cherry trees blooming now on Georgia street. The trees are spread, in groups of two or three, over five blocks (between Willingdon and MacDonald).

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Autumnalis Rosea are  “winter cherries”. They start blooming in December and last until February-March.

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The Autumnalis Rosea blossoms are  small and sparse on the branches. Not as spectacular as our spring cherries, but still worth a visit.

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With a zoom, you’ll be able to isolate the flowers and get a good close-up.

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February is usually the peak blooming period for Autumnalis Rosea, so don’t miss them.

Check the VCBF Neighborhood maps to locate autumnalis rosea in your area.

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I walked on Georgia all the way down to MacDonald. When I turned to walk back towards Willingdon, I noticed the moon peaking between cherry branches.  (This was taken January 28, 2015. If you hurry, you might be able to take the same shot).

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The blossoms are falling on the pavement.

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Take a moment to photograph the fallen petals or blossoms at your feet: they make good pictures too!

 

Autumnalis Rosea photos taken by Jessica Tremblay on January 28, 2015 on Georgia street (five blocks between Willingdon and MacDonals)