Vancouver's cherry blossom trees have amassed awe all over Vancouver, but some Vancouverites have different ways of showing it. While some visit the pink parks and streets to appreciate their beauty, some go as far as snapping a branch for the perfect Instagram pic.
One Japanese resident was visiting Stanley Park when they saw another admirer casually break off a branch.
"I felt at home even though I’m thousands of miles away, seeing these flowers evoke a sentimental feeling in Japanese people as it is part of our culture to appreciate them, we have a longing feeling every year to be able to see them once more," user @purebutterwalkers relayed on Reddit. "People [were] pulling the branches down to the point they were very close to [breaking] them just to get a picture taken... the worse of all was this woman who blatantly ripped apart a branch from the tree for the sole purpose of getting the perfect picture."
Sam Chapman, who owns Heritage Tree Service, agrees. "It doesn't show a lot of respect for the tree that is loved," he says.
The damage caused for a photo is not only unethical but hard to repair. "Torn wounds on a tree will not heal at all really, and certainly won't heal as well as a proper pruning cut in the right place on the branch. Yanking on the poor tree's branches is not a great thing," adds Chapman.
The only instances when a cherry blossom tree would need to be cut is when the canopy gets in the way, according to the arborist.
He points out Vancouverites still have to live around the trees, explaining: "Sometimes we want them a little bit smaller or a little bit thinner or something like that. But you never really want to exceed that 25 per cent reduction of the canopy."
Chapman explains that chopping off any further than 25 per cent will create a lack of foliage which impacts the tree's ability to feed the root system and the tree itself. "It gets in the way of the natural living process of the tree," he adds.
With cherry blossom trees still blooming around the city, it is probably ideal to admire from a distance.
