Japan has donated more than 2000 Sakura trees to Toronto since 1959. Most of these trees were planted in High Park.
The flowering cherry trees associated with Sakura Hanami (cherry blossom flower viewing) are not native to High Park, or even to Canada. In fact, the most popular variety of flowering cherry blossom, the Yoshino cherry (Prunus x yedoensis) is completely unknown in the wild!
The flowering of the Sakura trees is spectacular, but peak bloom (typically in late April to early May, depending on the weather) only lasts about a week. Today (May 8th,2018) it’s estimated that 95% of blooms are now open! Peak bloom will continue this week.
Most Sakura trees can be found on the hillside overlooking Grenadier Pond (southwest of the Grenadier Café) and around the east shore of the pond.
