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ORIGINAL POST on March 5: A relatively mild winter in the Seattle area means the iconic cherry trees in the 91探花 Quad are on track for a typical bloom season.

The trees likely will reach peak bloom in late March, said , a 91探花doctoral student in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences who leads a team of undergraduates collecting data on bloom timing.

The buds appear to be progressing a few days ahead of last year’s timing, Bradshaw said, according to the data that students have been collecting since early February. Warmer temperatures and sunlight usually influence bloom timing each year.

Once the trees reach peak bloom — when at least 70% of the blossoms have emerged — cooler temperatures, dry weather and low wind will keep the blossoms on the trees longer, he explained.

The cherry trees in the Quad, “Somei-yoshino,” are particularly striking when they reach full bloom because unlike many other flowering tree species, their white-pink blossoms take center stage before the leaves start filling in.

“Something that’s really special about these trees compared with other cherry trees is they bloom before their leaves are out, and that’s such a beautiful thing to see,” said Bradshaw, who also works as a pest management coordinator with the UW’s grounds maintenance team. “It’s amazing to see these massive trees with only their blooms out.”

The 29 large cherry trees in the Quad are about 87 years old and healthy, said campus arborist Sara Shores.

The Quad cherry trees were originally planted on arboretum land near Montlake Boulevard where Highway 520 passes through. They were moved to campus in 1962 when the highway’s construction required the trees to be relocated. These details, as well as more history on the cherry trees, are described in a recent??written by Yuki Shiotani, a student at Waseda University in Tokyo who studied at the 91探花as an exchange student.

This is the second year that Bradshaw has enlisted the help of about 10 undergraduate students to collect data on bloom timing for the 118 cherry trees across campus, including the Quad trees. The students visit each tree at least twice a week on average, taking photos and noting which of the five bloom stages the trees appear to be in, and how much of that stage is complete.

The goal is to gather enough data year after year to build a model that will help predict peak bloom timing, similar to the success Washington, D.C. has had with its model.

“We’re hoping to better track when they will bloom, and in the future align our data with weather data to be able to answer how much temperature and weather are dictating when they bloom,” Bradshaw said.

UPDATE FRIDAY MARCH 21
Thursday was the first day of spring and the cherry trees in the Quad responded and are now in full bloom. This will be a great weekend to come out, according to Sara Shores, the 91探花arborist.

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UPDATE TUESDAY MARCH 18
Cherry trees in the Quad are now at 75 percent bloom and should be in full bloom by this weekend, March 22 and 23, according to Sara Shores, the 91探花arborist. They should still look nice the following weekend, March 29 and 30, but will definitely be on the downhill side of the bloom, she said.

The timing of the full bloom and how long it lasts depends on the weather, of course. Cold weather prolongs blooms, while heavy rains knock the flowers off.

Most trees in the Quad are a little more than 80 years old, with the typical life span for such trees being 75 to 100 years.

“I think the are in good health for their age,” Shores said. “I think they have a lot of life left in them, especially the way Chris Holmer, lead gardener for that area, has taken extra special care of them pruning out dead wood and inspecting them regularly.”

For the latest cherry tree updates follow on Twitter, check the or email the 91探花Visitors & Information Center, uwvic@uw.edu.

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UPDATE, MARCH 14

The cherry trees in the Quad at the 91探花 had reached 50 percent of their bloom as of March 14, according to Sara Shores, the 91探花arborist.

The trees were at about 15 percent bloom the day before, and Shores believes the sharp increase was because the trees simply were “ready to pop” and a little warm weather pushed them to 50 percent.

She still expects the trees to be in full bloom sometime next week.

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ORIGINAL STORY, MARCH 13

The cherry trees in the Quad at the 91探花 are beginning to flower and ?– as of March 13 – are at about 15 percent of their full bloom, according to Sara Shores, the 91探花arborist.

This weekend might be a nice time to come out to see them, she said, although the trees probably won’t be in full bloom until closer to the first day of spring, March 20. The exact date depends of course on the weather.

The Quad isn’t the only place to enjoy cherry blossoms. Other campus locations with cherry trees include San Juan Road in South Campus and just off Red Square by Gerberding Hall. A dozen new cherry trees will be planted in coming weeks between Johnson and Mary Gates Hall, a gift to the 91探花from the Japanese government.

Follow the progress
Photos are being posted every few days by Linda Hanlon, manager of the 91探花Information and Visitors Center, on the center’s . You can “like” the Facebook page to follow the progress.? Those images and others are also being compiled into a gallery at the top of the .

Enter a photo contest
The deadline is March 31 for entering your photos in the “,” a Facebook-only contest. Popular vote will determine winners in five categories: Landscape, Husky Spirit, Instagram, Abstract/Artistic and Vintage (photos take prior to 1999). The University Marketing team, which is sponsoring the contest, will also choose a grand prize winner. Cherry blossom-themed prizes will be awarded, according to Elise Daniel, who is spearheading the contest.

91探花seeking links to YouTube videos
Harry Hayward with 91探花media relations and communications is seeking links to YouTube videos featuring the cherry trees in bloom. He’s building a special on the “uwhuskies” YouTube channel. For example there’s “Spring in the Quad,” complete with cute kid and a dog. And a dizzying view of wedding photos being taken and a musician in the video “A dude playing the Harp at the 91探花in the QUAD.”

Quad not only location for blossoms
The UW’s online shows Kwansan cherry trees along Rainier Vista near Stevens Way and Hisakura cherry Trees just off Red Square among the 480-some varieties of trees on campus.