Tree BuddingExample: The Cherry Trees of Washington, DC

Images and information from http://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/index.php?id=390

Tree Budding• 2009 Bloom Watch

• Average Peak Bloom Date: April 4

• 2009 Blooming Period: March 28 – April 11, 2009

• 2009 Peak Bloom Date Forecast: April 1 - 4, 2009

• The Cherry Trees of the Tidal Basin were a gift from Japan in 1912.

• The blossoms are pink and white and signal the much awaited arrival of spring.

• Blooming Period: is defined as a period that starts when 20% of the blossoms are open and ends when the petals fall and the leaves appear.

• Peak Bloom Date : 70% of the blossoms of the Yoshino Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis) trees are open.

Budding Stages

• Stage 1: Mid to Late February to Early March

• Green Color in Buds

• Stage 2: Early to Mid March, Av. 16-21 days to Peak Bloom

• Florets Visible

Budding Stages

• Stage 3: Av. 12-17 days to Peak Bloom

• Extension of Florets

• Stage 4: Av. 5-10 days to Peak Bloom (Frost Critical)

• Peduncle Elongation

Budding Stages

Bud Development• Buds are formed the previous summer while the

tree is in its growing phase.

• The buds remain dormant through the fall and winter.

• In the spring, the buds start to grow again and burst open, cracking open the protective scales that cover them.

• Some trees make flowers first while others make leaves first, but they both come from buds.

Basic Parts of a Twig

• terminal bud — a bud that is at the tip of a stem or branch

• bud scale — a small modified leaf on the outside of a bud

• lateral bud — a bud that is situated along the sides of a branch and not at the tip

• leaf scar — the scar left on a twig when a leaf falls

• pith — central, usually soft portion of a twig

http://www.clemson.edu/extfor/publications/bul117/characteristics.htm

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