A horrible winter is turning into a cherry nice surprise!
The winter may have been brutal, but it’s going to have a beautiful payoff this spring — as the snowy season is leading to an especially bright blooming of cherry blossoms, according to Central Park’s tree caretakers.
The good news for tree-lovers comes as the Big Apple arborists prepare the park’s trees for yearly time in the limelight.
“The [snow]storms didn’t really impact the cherries, but we got so much moisture over the winter that it was actually really good for the trees in the spring,” Central Park Conservancy arborist Dylan Barrett-Smith told The Post.
“So the blooms have been really good, I think.”
Snowfall can also lengthen blooming periods, ensuring New Yorkers have more time to enjoy the showstopping saps.
Barrett-Smith is one of just six of the park’s tree specialists tasked with maintaining its 843 acres, which include some of New York City’s most famous arbors – such as roughly 1,000 dazzling cherry blossoms reaching peak blooms this month.
For the tiny team, it was a race against time – and unseasonably arctic temperatures – this season to keep the famous cherry buds camera-ready for springtime.
“We try to have it all done before the spring, because we don’t want to be working in here when people are trying to enjoy them,” he said.
To ensure the cherries are relished by tourists and locals alike, Barrett-Smith and the rest of his team remove dead branches, replace dead trees and check for disease.
“We’ll take some weight off the tips of the branches if we feel they’re too heavy,” he said. “We always try to keep on top of any sort of maintenance.”
The park’s dazzling blooms, which are expected to continue into April until mid-May, have become such an attraction that the conservancy launched a Cherry Blossom Tracker tool in 2023.
Several popular photo ops include Pilgrim Hill and the “iconic” Cherry Hill, Barrett-Smith said, adding that the Alice in Wonderland statue can serve as a more tranquil “hidden” gem.
Another hotspot for bloom-viewing is a serene walking path along Fifth Avenue, where century-old Yoshino trees — a 1912 gift from Tokyo, Japan — are preserved.
The Big Apple’s cherry trees have become so popular in recent years that park staff at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden had to shoo away influencers – who were vigorously shaking branches – 40 to 50 times a day.
But the arborist at Central Park said the Manhattan crowd is on their cherry best behavior.
“We always remind people to be careful around the trees,” Barrett-Smith said, “but people are pretty respectful.”
Aside from manicuring the beloved cherries, the tree-care team also regularly inspects the “general health” of its trees – some of which predate the Civil War.
The Boston, Massachusetts native called the role a “dream job.”
“I did always love trees,” he said, noting his favorite in the park is a 130-year-old elm tree in “perfect condition.
“I love how bold they are, and it’s amazing to think about what these trees in the park have seen,” he said.
“Just being a steward of that collection is an awesome responsibility.”
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