Green, pink and white flowering trees below blue skies.

Cherries

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March–May

The flowering cherry collection at the New York Botanical Garden features over 500 cherry trees scattered across the entire 250 acres, with bloom times ranging from March to mid May. Because of the diversity of our flowering cherry collection, there are distinct periods of peak bloom each spring.

You can use Plant Tracker to explore flowering cherries and other plants in the genus Prunus to find individual trees that you are interested in visiting.

View the Bloom Tracker

Dig Deeper

The Collection

Among this inspiring collection we have 543 individual flowering cherry trees which represent 82 different species, hybrids, and cultivated varieties.

  • Early bloom: Okame cherries (Prunus × incam ‘Okame’) bloom throughout the month of March
  • Mid-season bloom: Yoshino cherries (Prunus × yedoensis) bloom throughout the month of April
  • Late-season bloom: Kanzan cherries (Prunus ‘Kanzan’) bloom from late April to mid-May

The Locations

Today, there are three main spaces to view the cherries among our living collections:

  • Cherry Valley
  • Ross Conifer Arboretum
  • Along NYBG’s southern perimeter

Cherries are also planted as accent and ornamental trees along our paths and roadways and in other highly visible areas throughout the Garden’s 250 acres.

The Facts

Cherries have always been an important component of NYBG’s living collections. A range of botanical taxa were part of the original phylogenetic sequence within the Deciduous Arboretum, and ornamental specimens were used in displays and decorative plantings at entrances and other central areas from the very beginning of the Botanical Garden’s construction in the 1890s.

By 1910, the popularity of the flowering cherries among visitors inspired us to set aside a greater portion of the Deciduous Arboretum for a display of more than 100 Japanese flowering cherries.

The Archives

Our Steere Herbarium is home to millions of plant specimens that tell the story of our planet’s botanical biodiversity across centuries of time, which informs our efforts to save the plants of our world for future generations.

Peruse the herbarium specimens and stories that live here at NYBG.

Learn About Cherries on The Hand Lens

Season Galleries

  • Full bloomed pink and white cherry blossom trees amongst bright green grass with tree shadows casted by the trees and two guests sitting on the grass.
  • Closeup of red and white floral blooms growing from dark brown tree branches.
  • Blanket of yellow and white daffodils out of focus on the ground, and newly bloomed trees above the flowers with blue skies above.
  • Cherry blossom tree with brown branches spread sprouting new pink blooms, and a sheet of pink cherry blossom petals on the grass below.
  • Large tree with green and pink cherry blossom blooms above bright green grass and a grey pathway.
  • Cherry blossom tree spouting pink blooms from dark brown tree branches amongst bright green grass.
  • Grey pathway between sections of bright green grass with green trees.
  • Bright green grass with green trees that have dark brown tree trunks.
  • Large green tree casting a shadow on the grey pathway and green grass below.
  • Bright green grass amongst concrete steps, green bushes and trees amongst the Haupt Conservatory Palm Dome exterior.
  • Large dark brown trees with branches towards the sky, shedding gold, green and dark orange leaves on the green grass below.
  • A large tree with red, yellow, green and orange leaves in front of a large white and grey rock amongst green grass and trees below below skies.
  • Large tree with orange and gold leaves above green grass covered by the trees shadow, and the sunlight peaking through the tree branches.

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