Blossoms predicted to peak in three weeks, in time for festival

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - It might be hard to believe, considering that snow is still on the ground in some spots along the Tidal Basin, but the National Park Service’s chief horticulturalist predicted Thursday that the cherry blossoms should be in peak bloom in about three weeks.

It’s been a challenging winter for National Cherry Blossom Festival organizers, who announced that this year’s event will kick off March 31. Warm temperatures in December meant some flowers bloomed well ahead of schedule, prompting worried calls to the parks service. The recent freeze that settled into the area in January and made a late return this week also wasn’t a major concern.

“The cherry trees ... are the more reliable living structures in the nation’s capital,” said Rob DeFeo, the NPS horticulturalist.

This year marks the 95th anniversary of Japan’s gift of the cherry blossom trees that line the Potomac River along the Tidal Basin. The two-week festival annually draws more than a million visitors to the District and serves as the unofficial start of tourism season. It also is a huge cash generator for the local economy. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who made brief remarks at Thursday’s announcement at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Southwest, said he expected the festival to add more than $150 million into local business coffers.

“In my own way, as a youth in the District of Columbia, I was learning about this great gift, this great start to spring, what’s special about the nation’s capital,” Fenty said.

Fenty also said he already is training for the festival’s 10-mile run, an event he has participated in the past two years.

“I would love to get as close to 70 [minutes] as possible” for his time this year, Fenty said.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com

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