Flowering does not have fixed dates, which is why Quinta de los Molinos is once again, for another year, the most photogenic barometer of spring in Madrid, and 2026 comes with an important nuance: the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) insists that if you want to see the almond trees at their best, you have to look at the sky… and the calendar. According to the agency’s phenological studies, in recent decades a clear trend has been detected in the center of the peninsula towards an earlier spring for many species, such as almond trees. Due to climate change, they are sprouting earlier and earlier , and the window for enjoying the blossoming is getting shorter. In a “normal” year, they explain, the first flowers appear around the first week of February and the great white and pink explosion usually concentrates between the end of February and the first days of March, although it all depends on how the temperatures behave in January and February.
This year, after a few weeks of cold and rain that have slightly delayed the process, experts are pointing to a fairly specific calendar: the first buds began to open in early February and the peak of flowering is now expected between the end of February and the first week of March, provided that there is no new spell of storms that knock the flowers off prematurely. Aemet points out that almond blossom is “a spectacle as brief as it is intense.” In favorable conditions, the park is at its most beautiful for around 15 days, but if there are consecutive days of wind, rain, or unusual heat, this period can be reduced to just over a week.
Flowers that indicate climate change in Madrid
Editorial credit: David Gómez (Getty Images)
Meteorologists also insist that it is not enough to look at a fixed date on the calendar; the key is to follow the evolution of the weather. Years with mild winters, full of warm days, bring flowering forward several days compared to the average, while cold winters, with frosts and storms such as Filomena in 2021, tend to delay it until well into February or even March.
This extreme sensitivity to temperature explains why Aemet uses almond blossoming as an indicator of climate change. In its records, the first flowers tend to appear earlier than the “typical date” in early February, and at the same time, the duration of the entire process is reduced . In practical terms, this means that scenes that were once enjoyed comfortably over three weeks are now concentrated in just ten or fifteen days, and that missing the peak of flowering by a few days is increasingly easy if you rush your visit too much.
For visitors, the recommendation is, on the one hand, to pay attention to the announcements and notices from Aemet and the City Council, which usually indicate when Madrid’s hanami begins and when peak flowering is expected; on the other hand, to take advantage of the first days of stable weather after the announcements that “they are already blooming.” Any time of day is good for strolling among the almond trees (the park is open from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.), but the early morning and late afternoon are ideal for avoiding crowds and enjoying the park in peace.