Cherry Trees Unseasonably in Bloom in Japan

October 18, 2018

Tokyo- Cherry blossoms, a symbol of spring, are being observed in many parts of Japan now, in the middle of autumn, apparently due to the fallout of record-breaking heat in summer and recent strong typhoons.

According to Weathernews Inc., Somei-Yoshino cherry trees came into bloom recently in 39 prefectures, including the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, Tokyo and Kagoshima, southwestern Japan.

As the scale of the unseasonable cherry blossoms is very limited, the ongoing phenomenon will probably have no impact on the trees' blooming in spring next year, an official of the weather news service company said, to the relief of people who look forward to the 2019 cherry blossom-viewing season.

Information on cherry trees in bloom started to reach Weathernews around Oct. 9.

In a three-day survey conducted until Sunday, the company received a total of 354 cherry blossom reports from 39 prefectures, mainly from the Kanto eastern region, the Tokai central region and the Kinki western region. Inland prefectures, such as Gunma and Nagano, are also seeing out-of-season cherry blossoms.

According to an official of the Flower Association of Japan, flower buds of cherry trees start to develop around July. At this stage, a plant hormone called abscisic acid is sent from leaves at the base of the buds to restrict their growth. Therefore, the buds usually do not open into flowers in autumn.

This year, however, cherry leaves were blown off by violent winds from powerful Typhoons Jebi and Trami, which hit Japan in September, or damaged by salt from seawater blown up by the typhoons, after the leaves were withered by the scorching summer heat wave.

It appears that the plant hormone did not work sufficiently as a result, and the cherry trees are believed to have bloomed as temperatures remained relatively high recently, the official said.

It is rare for cherry trees to bloom across the country in autumn, the official said. Unseasonable cherry blossoms are seen if caterpillars increase sharply and eat cherry leaves massively, weakening the function of the hormone, according to the official. Jiji Press