New York Blooms Report

In New York City, staff at Riverside Park Conservancy in Manhattan report that magnolias and tulips are in full bloom, and early blooms are appearing on cherry blossoms.  Learn more about the park’s cherry blossoms here. Observers in Central Park report that cherry blossoms and tulips are in full bloom, and early blooms are appearing on magnolias and lilacs. Check out the park’s cherry blossom tracker for real-time updates, and sign up for the park’s daily Cherry Blossoms on the Reservoir Tour to experience the blooms with an expert guide.

In The Bronx, staff at the New York Botanical Garden report that all saucer magnolias are at peak bloom, with yellow flowering and other colorful hybrids beginning to break bud. Early blooms are appearing on Yoshino, Akebono, and weeping cultivar cherry blossoms, and early season rock garden tulips are in full bloom or days away from flowering. Lilacs at the garden are budding. Fragrant Viburnums should begin blooming at the end of this week, and the garden’s daffodil hill will be at peak bloom for the next few weeks. The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism, celebrating the colors, architecture, and flora of Mexico, is open at the garden until April 27. In Staten Island, at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, magnolias, cherry blossoms, and tulips are in full bloom, and lilacs are budding. At Snug Harbor’s Peony Walk on May 1, visit their Chinese tree peony collection and learn why these flowers have inspired gardeners, artists, and poets for over a thousand years. On May 8 and 10, Snug Harbor hosts its 2025 Spring Flowers Walk.

Staff at Brooklyn Botanic Garden report cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden in full bloom, while those in the Cherry Esplanade have yet to blossom. Early blooms are appearing on tulips, and the garden’s magnolias are slightly past peak but still looking good. The garden’s Weekends in Bloom event takes place weekends, April 29 – May 11. Also in Brooklyn, magnolias and cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and early blossoms are appearing on tulips, at The Green-Wood Cemetery. Buds and Blossoms: A Spring Walk at Green-Wood is taking place on May 18.

On Long Island, magnolias are in full bloom, and early blooms are appearing on cherry blossoms, at Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park in Great River. Early blooms are appearing on magnolias and cherry blossoms are budding at Sands Point Preserve in Sands Point. Also, periwinkle is in bloom on the preserve’s woodland trails. The preserve will host Guided Nature Walk: Search for Spring on April 26. Celebrate all things magical and natural at the preserve’s 3rd Annual Long Island Fairy Festival on May 3. Tulips are budding, and a small number have started to bloom, at Waterdrinker Family Farm in Manorville and Riverhead. Other notable blooms at the farm include daffodils and hyacinths. The farm will be hosting a Golden Egg Hunt, April 19-20 in Manorville, and the Long Island Tulip Festival later this month in Manorville and Riverhead.

At Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay, stunning pink, fragrant white, and yellow magnolias are in full bloom on the West Lawn. Also in full bloom are hundreds of cherry blossoms, which can be found throughout the 409-acre site, and tulips. Other notable blooms this week at Planting Fields include darling bleeding hearts by the Cloister Garden, hardy camellia throughout the grounds, azaleas providing vibrant hues, hyacinth along the Vista Path, plus daffodils, forsythia, and Japanese kerri. Upcoming events include Natural Sensory Celebration Week, April 14-18;  Wednesday Workshops for Kids: Framing Flowers, May 14; A Moveable Feast 2025, May 17; Little Learners: Flowers, May 23; and First Fridays: Among the Arbor, Love at Planting Fields, June 6.

In the Hudson Valley, magnolias, cherry blossoms, lilacs, and tulips are budding at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz. Additionally, hellebores, daffodils, forsythia, and crocus are in full bloom. The Mohonk Tulip Festival is taking place April 28 - May 9. In Yonkers, staff at  Untermyer Park & Gardens report that cherry blossoms are in full bloom and lilacs are budding. In Kerhonkson, magnolias, cherry blossoms, lilacs, and tulips are budding at Kelder’s Farm. Kelder’s will be hosting the Hudson Valley Tulip Festival April 24 – May 11. At Lasdon Park, Arboretum and Veterans Museum in Katonah, saucer magnolias should be in full bloom this weekend, while star magnolias are now past peak. Cherry blossoms should also be in full bloom, with lilacs and tulips continuing to bud. Other notable blooms include early azaleas, andromeda, tropical courtyard, winter hazel, hellebores, spiraea, stachyrus, and minor bulbs. Lasdon Park hosts Yoga in the Tropical Courtyard on Sundays and will host their annual plant sale May 17-18.

In Garrison, cherry blossoms, lilacs, and tulips are budding at Boscobel House and Gardens. Upcoming events at Boscobel include Earthfest on April 26 and Mother’s Day Tea on May 11. In Hudson, staff at Olana State Historic Site report red maple, hyacinth, Siberian squill, and periwinkle blooms. Olana will be hosting a Special Earth Day Third Thursday on April 17, and a free Spring Honey Tasting and Pollinator Talk on May 15 with beekeeper Chris Layman of Fox Farm Apiary. Email education@olana.org to learn more. At Clermont State Historic Site in Germantown, star magnolias (Magnolia stellata) are in full bloom, with saucer magnolias expected to follow soon, and lilacs on site are budding. Other notable blooms include native spicebush (Lindera benzoin) in full bloom, along with trilliums, Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), and Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), plus spring bulbs such as daffodils, muscari, hyacinths, and glory of the snow brightening the site’s woodland paths and Wilderness Garden.

In the Finger Lakes, staff at Mackenzie-Childs in Aurora report budding cherry blossoms and lilacs. Tulips are still not budding, but most have broken ground. Star magnolias are budding at Sycamore Hill Gardens in Marcellus and should be open by the weekend. Hundreds of early spring bulbs are already in bloom along with forsythia. Additionally, tulips at the gardens are budding. Upcoming events include Baltimore Woods Nature Center's annual Mother's Day Garden Tour on May 11. Reserve a self-guided tour at Sycamore Hill Gardens by visiting this link. In Ithaca, staff at Cornell Botanic Gardens report early blooms appearing on star magnolias, and budding cherry blossoms. Additionally, more than 100,000 daffodils are currently blooming from 56 varieties in the gardens’ collections. The gardens will host a Mindful Botany Walk on April 25, and Gardeners’ Labyrinths: On Plants, Poetry, and the Printed Book (Lecture) on May 1.

Observers in Rochester’s Highland Park report that some of the star magnolias have started to bloom, with saucer magnolias expected to follow soon, while lilacs and cherry blossoms continue budding. Other notable blooms include striped squill (Puschkinia scilloides) and Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas). The park will host the Rochester Lilac Festival, May 9-18, and nearby Genesee Valley Park will be hosting an Arbor Day celebration on April 25. Also in Rochester, early blooms are appearing on ice stick tulips, and magnolias, at the George Eastman Museum, while cherry blossoms and lilacs continue budding.

In the Greater Niagara region, magnolias, cherry blossoms, and tulips are budding at Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. The conservancy is hosting the 12^th Annual Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival April 26-27 in Delaware Park, with an evening tea tasting on April 16. At Niagara Falls State Park in Niagara Falls, daffodils and squills are blooming along the road into Niagara Falls State Park opposite the rapids in the upper Niagara River.

In the Capital-Saratoga region, staff at Landis Arboretum in Esperance report that magnolias are budding and close to blooming. Lilacs and cherry blossoms on site are also budding, and the first daffodil flowers are appearing.  Landis will host their 2025 Signature Spring Plant, Book, and Bake Sale May 17-18. In Slingerlands, staff at Pine Hollow Arboretum report early blooms appearing on magnolias and cherry blossoms.

In the Adirondacks, staff at Fort Ticonderoga’s King’s Garden in Ticonderoga report that magnolias are budding.

No significant activity reported this week from partners in the Central New York region.

No significant activity reported this week from partners in the Thousand Islands-Seaway region.

No significant activity reported this week from partners in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region.

No significant activity reported this week from partners in the Catskills region.