Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms

Tokyo's mayor sent two thousand cherry trees in 1910; they arrived diseased and infested and the Department of Agriculture ordered them burned, which was handled diplomatically on both sides. A second shipment of over three thousand arrived in 1912 and Helen Taft and the Japanese ambassador's wife planted the first two, which still stand. Peak bloom - defined as seventy percent of Yoshino blossoms open - lasts a few days and the Park Service forecasts it each year, usually landing in the last week of March or the first of April, though it has trended earlier. The basin is sinking and the seawall has been failing, with a major reconstruction removing a number of trees, including one long-loved specimen nicknamed Stumpy.

What you actually see

• Around three thousand trees - from the 1912 replacement gift.
• Two original 1912 trees - planted by Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda.
• A peak bloom of a few days - forecast each year by the Park Service.
• Seawall reconstruction - which has removed trees around the basin.

When to go

Late March to early April, on the forecast peak. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Peak bloom is a few days and the forecast moves - trips book badly. Crowds are enormous and the loop path is single file at peak. There is effectively no parking. Rain or wind can strip the blossom in a day.

Nearby

The Jefferson and MLK memorials are on the basin; the Mall is north.