New York Botanical Garden (Brooklyn Botanic Garden) Cherry Blossom Trees, Garden

The historic garden is one of the oldest extant Japanese gardens in the United States, and its collection of cherry cultivars was in lovely bloom during filming. Petry, a specialist in moving camera techniques, conceived the piece as a way to recreate the meditative experience of walking through the garden on a glorious, early spring day.

The garden’s weeping Higan cherries can be seen swaying in the wind along the pond as the camera moves around the path lined with several varieties of camellias, artfully pruned pine trees, and fiddlehead ferns.

Enhance your day in Brooklyn by visiting our neighbor, the Brooklyn Museum! Simply buy an Art and Garden ticket here at Brooklyn Botanic Garden and present your receipt for same-day admission to the Brooklyn Museum.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Cherry Tree Tips
Cherry Blossom Virtual -  View
Location of Cherry Watch - View

Cherry Blossom - When do they Bloom?
Flowering cherries bloom in the Garden from late March or early April through mid-May.

The very first cherry trees to blossom usually do so at the same time that the daffodils bloom. So when you see daffodils throughout the Garden, look for Prunus 'Okame' in the Cherry Cultivars area and Prunus hirtipes in the Plant Family Collection. The rest of the cherry blossoms will appear in the four or so weeks following this first bloom.

Temperature, precipitation, and other variations in the weather all contribute to the timing of the blooms. These same factors determine how long they will linger.

No one tree remains in flower for more than a week, and there is no moment when all are blooming at once. Instead, different species and cultivars blossom in succession, allowing many opportunities to savor the season.

Where are they located?

Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden*
Flowering cherry varieties are located throughout this enclosed garden. Early in the cherry blossom season, the delicate weeping higan cherries (Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula') that border the pond offer a tranquil panorama. These are some of the oldest trees in the collection and display great character with their knobby branches and thick trunks.

Here you’ll also find a winter-blooming cultivar, P. sargentii ‘Fudan-Zakura’, which flowers intermittently during mild winters. Two of the collection’s sweetest-smelling trees, P. ‘Shirotae’ and P. serrulata ‘Taki-Noi’, are located near the viewing pavilion. A late flowering cultivar near the waterfall, P. serrulata ‘Ukon’, has unusual pale-green blossoms.

Cherry Walk
This meandering path located to the east of Cherry Esplanade is lined with extravagant, pink-flowering Prunus ‘Kanzan’ trees that form a delightful bower near the end of cherry blossom season. While most cherry blossoms have 5 petals, 'Kanzan' is a double flowering cultivar with up to 28 petals on each bloom. Cherry Walk was created in 1921 with trees purchased from a Long Island nursery. The two higan trees at the north end of Cherry Walk date back to this original planting and are the oldest in the collection.

Cherry Esplanade
The dazzling finale to the cherry blossom season takes place on this open lawn lined with two allees of Prunus 'Kanzan'. You may notice some younger trees among the 76 specimens here. Cherry trees typically live 25 to 30 years, and those that succumb are replaced immediately.