Where are the Flowers?

Perennials are the ones that grow like weeds, biennials are the ones that die this year instead of next and hardy annuals are the ones that never come up at all - Katherine Whitehorn

Mary was saying, just the other day, that the Winter Flowering Cherry (WFC) tree was devoid of blossom; as can be seen in Photo 1 taken on the 27th February 2026. Indeed, it is fair to say that Mary was more than a little worried that there was something wrong with the WFC tree.

I can tell you when fruit and vegetables need to be sown and harvested but I don't have that superpower when it comes to inedible plants. Last year was very warm overall with the months of October, November, and December also warm. Does winter season warmth encourage flowering?

Photo 1: Back Garden on 27th February 2026

I have photos of the WFC tree going back to 2021 as part of my View from the Rear Window series of blog posts. So let's see what the flowering status of the WFC was in previous years at the end of February. Starting with 2021 ...

Photo 2: Back Garden on 27th February 2021

Photo 3: Back Garden on 27th February 2022

Photo 4: Back Garden on 24th February 2023

Photo 5: Back Garden on 27th February 2024

Photo 6: Back Garden on 27th February 2025

We can see from the above pictures that the WFC had the most blossom in 2023. Note the earlier date for the February 2023 photo as we were on snowdrop tour in late February/early March of that year; see here, here, here, and here. However, as a general rule, blossom levels are very low at the end of February.

Does Mary's 'blossom clock' need re-calibrating? I think so! Looking through past photos of the WFC tree, it seems the end of March is when peak blossom-time occurs. Here, for example, is the WFC at the end of  March 2021 ...

Photo 7: Winter Flowering Cherry, 31st March 2021

... and at the end of March 2022 ...

Photo 8: Winter Flowering Cherry, 31st March 2022

... and at the end of March 2023 ...

Photo 9: Winter Flowering Cherry, 31st March 2023

... and at the end of March 2024 (note: peak blossom had already passed by this time as it had with our neighbour's tree in the background) ...

Photo 10: Winter Flowering Cherry, 31st March 2024

... and at the end of March 2025 ...

Photo 11: Winter Flowering Cherry, 31st March 2025

So how had Mary's blossom clock gone so out of kilter? Possibly the extreme 'greyness' of this past winter with little in the way of sunshine to brighten one's mood. We have emerged from the gloom of winter as the mornings and evenings are brighter.

At some point, I shall look at the WFC blossom times in more detail to see if it is possible to identify how weather and climate influence their flowering times. In the meantime, Mary is reserving judgement on whether the WFC tree is on its way out.