As we start to get into the swing of Cherry Blossom season here in Japan we are always treated with a nice showing of Plum Blossoms. The problem is that Plum Blossoms and Cherry Blossoms don’t flower across Japan at the same time so depending on where you are or where you are going you can sometimes be mistaken on what you are actually looking at, Plum or Cherry Blossoms.

The difference is pretty easy to spot once you know, and I have included a couple of image examples for your reference.

Basically Japanese Plum Blossoms have 5 oval shaped petals while Japanese Cherry Blossoms have 5 round circle petals that generally have a split at the end.

Another difference is the time of year you will see the two different types of blossoms. From Late February to late march you will see Plum Blossoms and from late March for 2 weeks only you will see Cherry Blossoms.

Japanese Plum Blossom photos (click for larger image)

Japanese Cherry Blossom photos (click for larger image)

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