National Cherry Blossom Festival Fun Facts

The National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates a gift of flowering cherry trees presented by the mayor of Tokyo City to Washington, D.C. in 1912. In Japan, the trees are esteemed as a symbol of the brevity and beauty of life.

Weeping Japanese cherry trees, Sargent cherry trees, and Usuzumi and Autumn Flowering cherry trees also grow in the festival area. Their pink and white blooms make a showy backdrop for the yearly parades, fireworks, and other events and activities.

In 1885, Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, a board member of the National Geographic Society, suggested planting flowering cherry trees along the Potomac, but a donation from Japan didn't arrive until 1909. Unfortunately, those first 2,000 trees had to be destroyed due to disease and pest infestation. The replacement gift of healthy trees was made in 1912.

About 1800 of the trees donated by Japan were the Somei-Yoshino variety. Most were planted around the Tidal Basin. Eventually, 11 other varieties, and the rest of the Yoshinos, were planted in East Potomac Park.