So, yes, January is a very early time to see cherry trees start to blossom but what you’re actually seeing are plum trees.
Now both kinds of trees are pretty much the same thing, so no biggee, but plums come out earlier than cherries – global warming doesn’t have anything to do with that.
Oh, here’s what they look like, rather a bit more pink than cherry, in my experience.
Near Clay and Davis, Financial District:
And here’s a nice shot from Flickr:
Look at dude in Civic Center.
His hat isn’t necessarily Russian, but that red star atop oak clusters means something, right Komrade?
I dub him Sky Admiral Krul:
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And the funny thing was that it was a pretty nice day, rather warm, in fact…
See?
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My campaign to get area residents to call plum trees “plum trees” is picking up steam. Now, remember back in aught-eight, when some people called mountain lions “cougars?” Good times,* right? Well, those days are history. And, similarly, tout le 415 will be calling cherry trees “cherry trees” by January 2014 at the latest.
You’ll see.
*”Cougar corners St. Mary’s Hoopster in Danville” – that kind of thing.
First started noticing these blooms a couple of days ago:
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Some people think they are cherry blossoms. Check it:
Well it’s late January in San Francisco so it’s time for our sidewalk plum trees to begin blossoming. Yeah, they look a lot like cherry trees and that causes people around town to start talking about how global warming / climate change is making the cherry trees of April wake up three months early or something.
You can double-check with the Friends of the Urban Forest if you want, but I’ll tell you, those flashes of pink you see brightening up the otherwise-dreary Streets of San Francsico these days are early-rising Prunus blireiana, aka Flowering Plum trees, or something similar.
Be patient and you’ll be rewarded with real cherry trees in March – check out the sked at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.
If this January blossom is cherry, I’ll eat my hat:
This will be the scene in the Financh in a couple of months – our wild parrots love all kinds of prunus blossoms of course.
Take heart, Spring is just around the corner…
You see, even the cooler rooms of the Conservatory of Flowers are pretty warm.
And remember, the Garden Railway leaves March 13, 2011.
See you there!
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Well it’s late January in San Francisco so it’s time for our sidewalk plum trees to begin blossoming. Yeah, they look a lot like cherry trees and that causes people around town to start talking about how global warming / climate change is making the cherry trees of April wake up three months early or something.
You can double-check with the Friends of the Urban Forest if you want, but I’ll tell you, those flashes of pink you see brightening up the otherwise-dreary Streets of San Francsico these days are early-rising Prunus blireiana, aka Flowering Plum trees, or something similar.
Be patient and you’ll be rewarded with real cherry trees in March – check out the sked at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.
If this January blossom is cherry, I’ll eat my hat:
This will be the scene in the Financh in a couple of months – our wild parrots love all kinds of prunus blossoms of course.
Take heart, Spring is just around the corner…
The Great Blue Herons of Golden Gate Park like to wake up and get their stretching in as soon as they can.
What a funky chicken. Click to expand:
Don’t miss your chance to see these critters this season via San Francisco Nature Education, the non-profit founded by attorney Nancy DeStefanis. They have some programs, like Heron Watch and Birding for Everyone. Check their calendar or this one on SFGate.com.
The Great Blue Herons of Golden Gate Park sometimes like to get up high and ball up. I guess they do that to warm up in the sun after a cold night.
Don’t miss your chance to see these critters this season via San Francisco Nature Education, the non-profit founded by attorney Nancy DeStefanis. They’ll have some programs, like Heron Watch and Birding for Everyone going on tomorrow, May 2, 2009, and on into the future. Check their calendar or thisone on SFGate.com.
Can you see the beak? Click to expand
Well, considering our balmy January, 2009 it’s only natural to expect the fruit trees of San Francisco, like your cherry and your plum, to start awakening for Spring. That’s good news for the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, anyway.
Now the cherry trees near the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park still have no buds, but a lot of other trees in the city are already going like gangbusters. Will we have cherry blossoms on Post Street this April, when the annual Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival rolls around?
This is what some trees near Stow Lake looked like in January, 2009
Only Punxsutawney Phil knows for sure.
Don’t tell the wild parrots about the blooms. The wild parrots of San Francisco love to eat flowers, num num:
Happy Ground Hog Day, San Francisco.
