7 types of sakura to look out for during cherry blossom season

Easily the most recognisable sakura type, the humble Somei Yoshino is composed of five whitish-pink petals, each with a little notch at the end. They’re the most widely planted variety in Japan and can be found practically anywhere in the country. Known for their frailty, these dainty blossoms don’t stick around long once they’ve bloomed, so appreciate them while you can.

Rose-pink and voluminous, this human-made cultivar is a type of yaezakura (multi-layered cherry blossom), and can have anywhere from 30 to 50 petals. As such, it’s a bit hardier than the aforementioned Somei Yoshino. If you’ve ever had a cup of sakura tea, it may have been made from salted Kanzan petals.

With 20 to 50 petals per flower, the Fugenzo is another kind of yaezakura. Its petals are pink on the inside and white on the outside, but as the season progresses, the pink slowly fades to white to leave a beautiful pure-white flower. Mid-April to early May tends to be the time to look for this variety, as it blooms a bit later in the season.

Weeping willow, eat your heart out. The Shidare-zakura (literally ‘weeping cherry tree’) bloom is another human-made cultivar, but has been around for at least 1,000 years. Its long, thin branches yield blossoms that can range from pure white to vivid pink. Fun fact: the Shidare-zakura is the official flower of Kyoto.

Light yellow with a red center, the Ukon has anywhere from 10 to 18 petals per flower. Like most late-blooming sakura varieties, the Ukon’s leaves appear around the same time as its blossoms, instead of waiting until after the petals have bloomed. By the way, those leaves turn a breathtaking shade of red in autumn.

This is one versatile tree. Many popular sakura types are actually hybrids derived in part from the Ohshima-zakura variety, including the Ukon, the Kanzan and even the Somei Yoshino. As for the Ohshima-zakura itself, it boasts large petals of pure white, and blooms a bit later in the cherry blossom season than the Somei Yoshino.

The flowers of this late bloomer tend to appear in mid-April, but are worth the wait, as their yellow-green petals are an interesting contrast to the usual white and pink cherry blossoms that dominate the hanami season. As the Gyoiko’s flowers mature, pink lines will begin to radiate from the center, but the rest of the blossom maintains its gorgeous green hue.