Where are the cherry blossoms?
The questions about Chicago’s signature display of 190 trees at Jackson Park have grown louder in recent weeks, and now there’s an answer, albeit not one that fans are going to want to hear. Due to erratic spring weather, many buds did not appear this year, and others fell victim to strong winds and rain, according to an online update from the Chicago Park District.
Most of the trees went from the bud phase to leafing out, without blossoming.
“The thing that I’ve noticed, personally, is that it’s the consistency of the temperature fluctuations that seems to affect whether or not we’re going to have a beautiful bloom time,” according to Karen Szyjka, operations support manager for the Park District. She said the cherry trees at the park have failed to bloom twice before.
“I don’t ever remember us having 80-degree weather in April. So, I think this was a little unusual,” she said. This spring, Chicago broke a 136-year-old record for warmest mid-April temperatures.
The curator of plant collections at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Jess Goehler, said there’s never just one answer as to why cherry blossoms may or may not bloom in a given year, especially given climate change.
“We’ve got rains that are changing. We have pests and diseases that are changing,” she said. “And we also have impacts to the soil because of climate change.
The trees, which were planted starting in 2012, took years to mature and then faced a few bumpy seasons due to bad weather.
[ Move over, D.C. — Chicago will have its own cherry blossom season this year ]
Chicago got its first full-blown cherry blossom season in 2021, with tree after tree in full bloom and clouds of pale petals. Last year thousands of people came to see the pink and white blossoms ringing the Columbia Basin lagoon, just south of the Museum of Science and Industry.
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The nonprofit Project 120 and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago planted 120 trees to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the 1893 World’s Fair and another 50 trees to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the chamber of commerce.
Another 30 trees have been planted in the past year, Szyjka said, and the Park District is planning on planting another 60 in the next few years.
“And part of the reason why that sounds like a lot of trees is that cherry trees do not have a really long shelf life,” she said. “People think that they last forever, but they don’t. So, it’s a matter of keeping the space full and beautiful, and recognizing that it has to be tended to.”
Cherry blossoms can last for up to two weeks, or disappear in a day.
The trees in Jackson Park were planted specifically for hanami, or the traditional Japanese practice of cherry blossom viewing, a big seasonal event in which people picnic under the trees and enjoy their fleeting beauty.
“Since the planting in 2012, (interest) has built up significantly because of the fact that the trees have now matured and they have more of a show to put on,” Szyjka added. “It really is magic.”
Last year — the best year the trees have had yet, in terms of blooming, Szyjka said — thousands of visitors would stop by Jackson Park every day over a two-week period during peak cherry blossom bloom time. Suburban residents and tourists from out of state show up to see the trees, some even striking up friendships with the park staff as they return over the years.
But viewing the trees is more than just about admiring beauty — it’s about recognizing it even in its fleetingness, even in change.
“At least for myself, what makes it really special is how it evolves and how it represents the fragility of life, how it signifies love, beauty and endurance with the Japanese, and that the lessons of mindfulness and looking at it as the whole process is a metaphor for life,” Szyjka said. “It helps us to kind of look at life and appreciate all the different stages and all the different parts of life that are just as beautiful as the next.”
Goehler pointed out that higher temperatures, on their own, might not affect some of these trees significantly. This is because ornamental cherry blossoms hail from warmer, more stable climates.
“So, from a temperature standpoint, they will most likely adapt to our warming climate.”
Rather, it is extreme, erratic temperature fluctuations that pose a risk for cherry blossoms: Unseasonably warm winters encourage blooming, but subsequent cold freezes ultimately damage the trees.
“Cherry trees are used by scientists to monitor the trends in global warming because they are one of the most sensitive to temperatures (through) their bloom cycle and their budding process,” Szyjka said.
As disillusioning as the news is that local cherry blossoms are unlikely to bloom, those familiar with the trees encourage tourists and residents alike to go out and enjoy the other blooms this spring has to offer.
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Szyjka said visitors at Jackson Park can admire plenty of ephemeral flowers like Virginia bluebells, as well as fragrant crab apples, vibrant redbuds and large dogwoods. She made a point of mentioning the “absolutely spectacular” American plum planted in 1933 on the Wooded Island at the park, opposite the Japanese Garden.
“Something that I would love, for at least Chicagoans, to learn how to embrace because we’re all from a big city, and we’re all so used to having things when we want it, on time. We want things to be predictable,” Szyjka said.
“But when you’re able to really embrace the whole process, then it helps you to open your eyes to being patient, to be calm, to be appreciating of the beauty of nature.”
Goehler said the Botanic Garden is also seeing many trees, perennials and spring bulbs explode “bright and happy,” including dogwoods, redbuds, buckeyes, tulips and rhododendrons.
“I mean, nobody’s gonna be disappointed,” she said.
