March 2, 2012 – This year marks the 100th anniversary of the donation to the nation’s capital of more than 3000 flowering cherry trees, a gift from the city of Tokyo in 1912.
The famous Washington, D.C. cherry trees line the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River in West Potomac Park — the park that includes the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. They also grow in East Potomac Park and on the grounds of the Washington Monument.
Peak blooming is the day when 70 percent of the flowers on the Yoshino Cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin are in bloom.
The average date is April 4, but they have bloomed as early as March 15 in 1990 and as late as April 18 in 1958. This week the organizers announced they were predicting peak bloom from March 24-31, thanks to warm temperatures.
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