Cherry blossom trees in Jackson Park’s Columbia Basin began to bloom Friday, and by Sunday the 200-plus trees near the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry were awash in vibrant pink and white.
The display marks the second straight spring the trees have flowered as hoped after two years of disappointing blooms in 2023 and 2024, when erratic spring weather kept the blossoms from fully delivering. The Chicago Park District said Friday that the buds were just beginning to open, with some flowers visible, and placed the trees in stage 3-4 of their bloom cycle. Stage 5 means many flowers are in bloom, while stage 6 means the flowers are fully open.
The best viewing window should run Monday through April 15, according to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago. That timing matters because the trees have historically bloomed in April or early May, after a stretch of warm weather, and this year’s run of pink and white is arriving right on cue.
The grove has been built up over more than a decade. The Park District started planting cherry blossom trees in Jackson Park in 2013 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Fifty trees were added in following years to honor the relationship between Chicago and Japan, and in fall 2022 the district planted another 34 cherry blossom trees bordering the science and industry museum, bringing the city’s total to 190. Since 2024, the Japanese chamber has added 20 trees per year, with a goal of reaching 250 cherry blossoms by this year.
The tension behind the spring show is simple: these trees do not bloom on a fixed schedule, and the same weather that can hold them back one year can also make the display vanish quickly once it starts. For now, though, Jackson Park has what it waited two years to see — a full, reliable bloom that should hold for several more days and give Chicago one of its most photographed seasonal scenes.
