When Will The Prospect Park Cherry Blossoms Bloom?

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — Cherry blossom season in Prospect Park is always one of the more beautiful and spectacular times in our dear piece of green space.

So when can we expect that this spring? With Brooklyn about to be plunged into another cold snap Thursday night and through the weekend, it's likely not in the immediate future.

In Washington, D.C., where the nation's most famous cherry blossoms reside, the National Parks Service issues projections for when it thinks the trees will be in bloom. It had originally said those trees would starting blooming between March 14 and 17, but a recent cold weather pattern moving in pushed that back to March 19 and 22.

The trees in Prospect Park generally bloom a bit later than the ones in our nation's capital. And last year was an early year in Brooklyn, when the first blooms appeared on March 16.

Don't expect an early bloom this year.

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden, located on the Northeast side of Flatbush Avenue from the park, doesn't do its own projections for the more than 150 cherry trees inside of its borders. But the threats of snow and forecasted temperatures in the teens will likely push the blooms back.

"In all likelihood, it’s not going to be another March 16 situation again," Elizabeth Longoria, a botanic garden spokeswoman, told Patch.

(If you want a heads up when they do start, be sure to sign up for Patch's free, real-time news alerts for your Brooklyn neighborhood here.)

Before last year, the blooming started on April 10 in 2015 and April 16 in 2014, Longoria said.

The botanical garden also has a cherry blossom map on its website, where people can track the status of all of the spring trees that updates every weekday. Right now, all are listed as "prebloom."

Image courtesy of Brooklyn Botanic Garden