It’s Cherry Blossom Time in the City of New York

And here’s a reader’s guide to scoping out these daintily petaled pink and white flowers as they start to bloom all over town, right now

By Suzanne Charlé

A green, white, and fuchsia medley: The old and rare Prunus “Gyoiko cultivar—honoring the ceremonial robes worn by women at the imperial court in ancient Japan. Photo by NYBG.
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March 28, 2025

With almost 40,000 Japanese flowering-cherry trees, New York City is, arguably, one of the best places—outside of Japan—to see these blooms growing on trees.

Depending on the weather, the tail end of March through mid-April is usually the best viewing time. Just bear in mind, when planning a visit, that varieties of Japanese cherry trees bloom at different times, each flowering lasting about a week.

Three main species, all of them almond-scented, thrive around here. They are:
Okame cherry: First out around late March, Okame single-petal flowers are small and range in color from white to pale pink; they last longer than other cherry blossoms.
Yoshino cherry: The most common in New York, Yoshino flowers are white or light pink and bloom in early April.
Kanzan cherry: The flowers of the Kanzan cherry are dark pink and vibrant. They’re the last to bloom in New York City’s cherry-blossom season—usually around mid- to late April or early May.

Following are my favorite flowering spots to visit at this time of year:

A cherry tree allée: In New York’s Central Park. Photo by Suzanne Charlé.
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Central Park Reservoir

For me, since I live on Central Park West, the ideal place to view cherry blossoms is around the Central Park Reservoir. Most days, I run or, more likely, walk for the pure pleasure of viewing the trees. Among the first signs of spring are the rosy-pink Okames on the west side of the reservoir—between the running track and the bridle path. Next, and my personal favorite, are the dark Kanzan blooms; I delight in walking through the allée of trees with their vibrant, double-petaled blooms. Toward the end of the season, when it’s a bit windy, the petal blooms fall onto the allée like deep-pink snow. On the east side of the park, meanwhile, I delight in the white-pink Yoshino blossoms.

The Central Park Conservancy website’s Cherry Blossom Tracker page offers ongoing alerts as to which trees are in bloom, and where to find them: Cherry Blossom Tracker. And for those eager to know more, over a period of several days, through April 12th this year, the park offers 90-minute tours of the trees in bloom around the reservoir. Here are specifics: Cherry Blossoms on the reservoir tour.

A gift from Japan: Cherry trees blooming in Sakura Park. Photo by Inbal & Nir.
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Sakura Park

The aptly named Sakura Park (sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese), off Riverside Drive north of 122nd Street in Morningside Heights, was established in 1909, when the Committee of Japanese Residents of New York donated more than 2,000 trees to our city parks—a gift from Japan celebrating the 300th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River and the 100th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s paddle steamer. (The cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., planted in 1912, were also donated by Japan to the United States as a symbol of Japanese-American friendship.) John D. Rockefeller (the founder of Standard Oil), who had owned the land, hired the Olmsted Brothers as landscape architects to redesign the park in 1932. Later on, the city of Tokyo donated a tori, or stone lantern. And yet another renovation involved the planting of several varieties of Japanese cherry trees. At the 1986 ribbon cutting, the Japanese consul described Sakura Park as “an island of calm on the hectic island of Manhattan.” It is a perfect spot to relax in early April. Location: Sakura Park.

Shades of pink: Okame, Yoshino and Kanzan varieties blossom in Riverside Park’s Cherry Walk. Photo by Adrian Sas/NYC Parks
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Cherry Walk (in Riverside Park)

A section of Riverside Park located off Riverside Drive between 72nd and 158th Streets, Cherry Walk is a four-mile greenway that runs along the Hudson River. The original cherry trees planted there date back to the abovementioned gift from the Committee of Japanese Residents. Today, Okame, Yoshino and Kanzan cherry trees are all in the mix. This is a delightful place to go birding, watch the ships on Hudson, or just enjoy the flowers. (NB: Cherry Walk is currently closed, due to construction. But you can view the trees from the path higher up.)

Abloom along the Hudson: Little Island’s Yoshino cherry trees, Akebono variety. Photo by Little Island.
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Little Island

Located at on Pier 55 in the West Village, along the Hudson, Little Island has the most recently planted cherry trees—which is no surprise. This 2.4-acre public park opened in May 2021, high above the river, and is readily recognized by its tulip-shaped supports. Four Yoshino trees bloom there in spring—usually around early to mid-April, in concert with daffodils and tulips cascading down the south slope. Signe Nielsen, Little Island’s landscape architect, explains, “I selected these because of their single-petal flowers that bloom before the leaves appear, white to very pale pink in color …. As the only flowering trees at that time, they lead your eye through the southwest/southeast landscape.” Humans aren’t the only admirers. “The small black fruits are quickly eaten by birds, and the flowers attract bees and butterflies,” Nielsen notes. Open 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Website: Little Island.

En route: The tram to Roosevelt Island, its parks laden with cherry trees. Photo by Victoria Pickering.
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Roosevelt Island

The smallest of the city’s natural islands, Roosevelt Island is one of the closest to Manhattan. Previously known as Welfare Island, this two-mile-long strip of land (maximum width: 200 yards) separating Manhattan Island from the borough of Queens had previously been the site of an insane asylum and a prison. In an effort to erase its bleak history, it was renamed in 1973 in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Today it’s mostly residential, with a quarter of the land devoted to parks that are brightened by rows of cherry trees. You can see the blooms throughout the spring along the Cherry Tree Walk, south of the Queensboro Bridge. The first to flower? Okame, in late March, followed by Yoshino in the first weeks of April, and Kanzan from the end of April through early May. But perhaps the best part of the trip from Manhattan Island to Roosevelt Island is riding the aerial tramway across the East River, with unique overhead views of the river, the city skyline, and, of course, the tops of the cherry trees. For more information: NYC Tourism.

Cherry tree drapery: At the New York Botanical Garden’s Daffodil Hill. Photo by the NYBG.
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The New York Botanical Garden (in the Bronx)

The flowering-cherry collection “is very large,” says Melissa Finley, the NYBG’s Thain Curator of Woody Plants. The total? “Five hundred forty-three trees, 82 different species, and hybrids.” Over 120 years, a succession of curators collected these various species. (The original cherry collection was expanded in 1910 but is no longer part of the garden, thanks to the emergence of the Bronx River Parkway, completed in 1922.)

Today there are the three main spaces for viewing the blooms: “Cherry-tree enthusiasts flock to Cherry Valley, located on the east side of the NYBG,” Finley notes, with the Ross Conifer Arboretum nearby. “The cherries were planted among the pines to draw in more visitors,” she adds. Another highlight is along NYBG’s southern perimeter. The earliest cherry trees—the Okame variety—can be found on the lawn near the Rock Garden. The long-lasting Kanzan cherries, Finlay says, are best on Daffodil Hill; their appearance often coincides with the blooming of the NYBG’s historic daffodil collection. Also to be found are many unusual cherry varieties. One of them is Prunus “Gyoiko,” an old, rare Japanese cultivar with green, white, and fuchsia flowers. Gyoiko, Finley explains, translates as “colored court robes” and refers to women’s clothing at the imperial court in ancient Japan. For more information, see NYBG Cherry Bloom Tracking or NYBG’s virtual tour, Spring Walk Through the Cherries.

Lit: A Hanami Nights event at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, complete with music, dancing, and illuminated cherry trees. Photo by Liz Ligon.
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Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The flowering-cherry collection at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden contains 26 cherry blossom species and cultivars, from the Kanzan to the Pendula Rosea (Weeping Cherry). You can wander beneath these pink petals during the bloom, which generally runs from late March through mid-May. Because the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has so many different types of trees, you’re likely to see a bloom no matter when you visit during the spring season. As noted on the BBG website, “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.”

One of the most popular events held at the BBG is Hanami Nights, this year from April 22–25, 5:00–8:30 p.m. In celebrating the cherry blossom’s splendor, the trees will be artistically lit, with music filling the air. Tickets are required; if you wish to attend, act fast. For specifics, go to: Hanami Nights. The garden also offers pop-up music and dance performances on weekends between April 26 and May 11. And for further information about special events and blooming times, go to Cherry Blossoms at BBG.

Intrigued? You can learn more about identifying these blooms in the landscape architect Wybe Kuitert’s book Japanese Flowering Cherries (Timber Press, 1999). There are, as previously mentioned, many flowering cherry locations throughout New York City’s five boroughs and parks. For an overview, click on this handy map: New York City Tree Map.

Suzanne Charlé has written for numerous publications, including The Nation, House Beautiful, and The New York Times, where she was a freelance assigning editor for the Magazine. She has co-authored many books, including Indonesia in the Soeharto Years: Issues, Incidents and Illustrations.

For other NYCitywoman articles by Suzanne Charlé, see: