Emily Kwong

Okay, so stage one, green bud, where a flower bud emerges, but it's protected by green leaves.

Yes, protected but aware.

So the florets are peeking out.

What then happens in stage four?

You're definitely not going to guess this one.

This is so cool.

So how do folks at the National Park possibly predict this?

Like, are they just running around checking all 3,700 cherry trees to see what kind of stage they're at?

Oh, okay.

Compared to something that blooms later in the spring, which may have a larger bucket of warmth.

Exactly.

You know, this kind of reminds me of baking.

You know how you have to chill dough in order to bake it?

The trees have to chill a little bit before they'll bloom in the heat.

Okay, so Elizabeth is saying to bloom, there needs to be a combination of triggers.

Trees need the winter cold, they need the spring warmth, and they need longer days in order to begin the blooming process.

Yeah, exactly.

You know, we have had a really strange winter in D.C.

There's been this pendulum swing between multiple snowstorms and then warm 70, 80 degree days.

So did any of the folks who work with the trees describe how this weather is affecting the cherry blossoms?