High Park's cherry blossoms are coming early this year. Here's when you can catch peak bloom

Toronto's High Park cherry blossoms are blooming early this year.

The fleeting annual spectacle created when the buds of the Japanese sakura trees blossom into white and pink flowers is well underway, hastened by a burst of unseasonably warm weather last week.

According to the High Park Nature Centre, many of the buds on trees around the park have entered their fifth stage of growth, meaning the blossoms have begun to open. 

"The buds have emerged far enough now that the white petals are visible and they're just ready to burst out into blossoms where you can see those five white petals and the beautiful pink centre of the bloom," said Sara Street, the centre's executive director.

The centre predicts "peak bloom," when 70 per cent of the blossoms open, will begin Thursday.

Sakura enthusiast Steven Joniak, who runs a website that tracks the trees' progress each year, said peak bloom normally happens in late April or early May.

It's coming early this year as a result of a stretch of days last week where daily high temperatures surpassed 20 C, he said.

"Once you start going up to 28 C like we were having last week, that just really accelerates everything," Joniak said. 

"So instead of going from stage three to four or even five in about a couple of weeks, that ... took less than a week."

The City of Toronto expects tens of thousands of people to visit the west-end park in the coming days to catch a glimpse of the blossoms.

As a result of the expected surge of visitors, the city is closing the park to vehicle traffic starting Thursday. The closure will last throughout the peak bloom period, which typically lasts four to 10 days, depending on the weather. TTC Wheel-Trans vehicle are excepted, the city said.

People hoping to access the park can take public transit, walk or cycle.

Street, director of the nature centre, is encouraging people to respect the environment during their visits.

"High Park isn't just a recreational park. It's home to a globally rare ecosystem," she said. "It's all about making sure that we're respectful of the plants and wildlife that call High Park home."

Street says visitors will be greeted by signs telling them not to touch the trees when taking photos. Here are some additional rules to follow:

• Don't pluck branches or climb trees.
• Stay on paved trails.
• Keep dogs on a leash.
• Take trash with you.
• Don't feed the wildlife.

Many of the cherry blossom trees in High Park are roughly 60 years old. The first ones were a gift from the Japanese ambassador to Canada on behalf of the citizens of Tokyo. The trees were planted in appreciation of Toronto accepting re-located Japanese Canadians following the Second World War.

Cherry blossom trees can be found at 15 other locations across Toronto. For a full list, visit the city's website.