Here's when High Park cherry blossoms are expected to bloom in Toronto in 2026

With spring now in full swing, it's only a matter of time before the awe-inspiring cherry blossom trees begin their colourful annual display at Toronto's High Park. 

Each year, weeks before they reach peak bloom, Toronto-based cherry blossom expert, Sakura Steve, provides regular updates on his website, Sakura in High Park, documenting the stages and appearance of the buds as they inch closer and closer to their short-lived bloom.

In his second update of the season on March 21, Sakura Steve noted that the cherry blossom buds continue to "look great in the current first stage of development." Since the first update, the buds have maintained their bronze colour, light-coloured tips, and have swelled slightly more than the week prior. 

"Visiting the trees lining the Sports fields and along Cherry Hill, they all showed the same level of abundance, which bodes well for a great bloom to come," Sakura Steve wrote, noting that since the trees are still in their early stages, it's difficult to make a definitive prediction for when they'll bloom. 

Following the first stage of development and roughly 14 days before peak bloom, cherry blossom buds swell, and florets start to become visible. After this, the florets begin to extend out of the buds, and eventually the peduncles (or flower stems) get longer. 

Approximately four to six days before the peak bloom, the fluffy white blossoms begin to open, and "peak bloom" starts when at least 70 per cent of the blossoms are open. Flowers only last between four and 10 days once open, although calm weather conditions can extend this period. 

Source: High Park Nature Centre.

Over the past few years, the date of High Park's peak bloom has varied, falling on May 3 in 2025, April 22 in 2024, April 20 in 2023, May 5 in 2022, April 22 in 2021, and May 2 in 2020, according to the High Park Nature Centre. 

In the past two decades, the earliest date the peak bloom occurred was back in 2012 on April 13, and the latest it fell was on May 14 in 2014. 

Currently, Sakura Steve says the usual late April to early May window seems likely this year, although weather patterns in the weeks ahead will determine when the buds will actually bloom. 

If Toronto sees warmer and sunnier days in the month ahead, the peak bloom might occur in mid to late April, but if chilly conditions persist, this timeline will most definitely be pushed to May.