Not all pink flowers with five petals that bloom during the spring are cherry blossoms. There are actually two more flowers that fit this description of the sakura - plum blossoms and peach blossoms.
These three flowers blossom at different times during the spring but at times, they tend to overlap, giving the impression that they are all the same. The plum blossoms come in mid-February while the peach blossoms bloom in mid March and lastly, the sakura or cherry blossoms come in late March. It may be hard to distinguish which kind of flower you are looking at based on the date but we’ve created a guide for you to know whether you’re admiring plum, peach, or cherry blossoms!
The easiest way to distinguish the three flowers is through their petals. Plum blossoms are round while peach blossoms are tear shaped. The sakura, has a cleft on the upper part of its petal and usually has long stems and grow in clusters. Plum blossoms grow directly on the branch of the tree and the peach blossoms bloom in pairs with shorter stems.
It gets trickier when you look at the colors of the flower. Plum blossoms can be have the shade of purple and it can also have the darkest shade among the three. Peach blossoms and cherry blossoms can be both white and pink. But all of them may have the famous sakura pink color during their blooming season.
So whenever you’re going to a hanami during the spring, make sure you know what flower you’re admiring - plum, peach, or cherry blossom!
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