What’s that, when you were a mere pup cherry trees blossomed in March or April and now you’re seeing blooms in late January and the start of February?
Like here on Grove yesterday, and all over SF pretty soon:
But actually, the trees you’re seeing are actually flowering plums, which are known for their early blooms. So what you’re doing is comparing apples with oranges, or cherries with plums.
And actually, the plum blossoms are late this year, at least compared with recent history.
What’s that, plum and cherry are basically the same? NOPE. They’re in the same family, of course, but the flowering plums that you think are cherries are famous for early blooming.
What’s that, you just saw the blooms in Japantown, so you know you saw cherry trees? NOPE. J-town has a lot of new plum trees, for whatever reason.
What’s that, global warming IS happening? Well, no doubt, but that’s not the reason why you think the cherry trees of your youth are blooming three months earlier these days.
I’ll agree that these trees are closely related and that they look very similar.
(If you still don’t believe me, check the Urban Forest Map.)