with this helen taft variety, we made the cross back in 1981. a long-term endeavor. >> wow. >> in fact, are there some 70 varieties of the cherry blossom trees right now? >> well, it depends on what you call variety. at the arboretum we've got over 400 different geno types. so there's a lot. a lot of diversity. >> and one more to add. >> that's right. >> and those trees are out now, or when can we expect to see them? >> the helen taft variety is just now in the hands of those trying to get it propagated, so about five years before it's available at retail places. >> margaret pooler, research leader with the usda and the national arboretum. thank you so much. >> fascinating. thank you. very cool. >> it is. guess what? we have more coolness from the tidal basin coming your way, and we'll check with headlines and chris wallace as well, congressman paul ryan is on the show talking about the budget battle on the hill. lots more to come here on fox 5 morning news. >> we'll be right back. Ñ [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird

march 27th, 1912 was the big day for the gift, shovels to soil first lady helen taft and the japanese ambassadors wife presiding. >> none of us were around then obviously the people who planted the trees then are no longer with us now so there is that connection that literally timeless connection we have. >> reporter: 100 years later these cherry blossoms have some how managed to live beyond their 50 to 60 year lives surviving vandals after pearl harbour, to hungry beaverthe duck of the head of millions. >> yep with all the deterioration in the middle they have the shell around the outside and keep trying to bloom and be beautiful. >> good to have sharp tools. >> reporter: this is a survivor story that starts small. >> these will probably take 4 to 6 weeks then start growing roots. >> reporter: a new cherry tree born. >> propagations we made are going to be used to replace some of those original trees. >> reporter: at the national arboretum the lineage of those cherry blossoms planted so long ago endures. >> a lot of these cherries are such perfect specimens we are just trying to pres

the first lady helen taft and the japanese ambassador's wife presided. >> none of us were around theno planted the trees then are no longer with us now. and there is that connection that literal timeless connection we v. >> reporter: 100 years later, the cherry blossoms have managed to lybeyond their 50 to 60-year highways. surviving everything from vandals after pearl harbor to hungry beavers and the duck of the head of millions. >> yup. with all of the deterioration in the middle, they have the shell around in the outside and keep trying to boom and -- . >> it's good to have sharp tools. >> reporter: this say survivor story that starts small. >> a lot of these visuals will take four to six weeks and they'll grow rots. >> reporter: a new cherry tree form. >> the propagations that we made are going to be used to replace some of the original trees. >> reporter: at the national ash rightum, the lineage -- arboretum, the lineage endures. >> the cherries on the tidal basin are perfect specimens that we're trying to preserve the exact genetics of the plants. >> reporter: new trees with pie

the first planted trees were by first lady helen taft. >> are pleased to have families participating in centennial events to honor their ancestors in bringing the trees to washington. >> the pink and white flour iwers. the extremely mild winter weather could have left the festival without its star attraction, the blossoms. expect to see the flower buds open any day now. this man is hoping for early blooms -- this woman. she is a recent transplant from philadelphia. >> i have heard it's beautiful. i'm really excited for spring. >> some of the nutria is replacing some of the damaged trees from a few years ago aand some of the buds are out already. -- some of the new trees. >> coming up -- >> it is wrong on public property to tell a president of the united states to go to hell. >> outrage over controversial a d and why metro says it stays >> . passengers from another disabled cruise ship are back on dry land. >> and adam caskey has a look at man: we need a good night's sleep. woman: which means a little heat to keep us warm. and a good dose of support for my back. some over-the-top comf

it was held near the planting of the first planting held by first lady helen taft. >> so many years these trees have served as a symbol of the great friendship between the united states and japan, and as a reminder of our shared hopes, dreams and aspirations. >> the first lady said that on this historic anniversary the american people don't just admire the tree's beauty but also their resilience. ♪ framed by the cherry trees, there was a performance of the japanese traditional music. >>> and next, rachel ferguson with weather. >> hi there. it's look like it's going to be fairly wet across much of china as we head into thursday. you can see the cloud moving across. this is going to be bring something intense showers. maybe as much as 50 millimeters of rain in just a 24-hour period. however, the further east that that area of rain moves, the waechter will get. hot on its heels is yet another round of wet weather. starting off with snow in the upper elevations of southwestern china turning over to rain. towards the north, a lot of this will be snow as well. intensifying over northeastern chi

. >> reporter: first lady helen taft planted the first cherry blossoms here in 1912. this makes that i centennial celebration and we now know the peak bloom dates. >> my forecast this year for when we'll reach peak bloom when 70% of the blossoms are open will be between march 24th and march 31st. >> reporter: one weak of peak bloom but the trees typically now fore a total of two weeks. this year, the celebrations are going to go beyond the blooms. it started overnight when several buildings around d.c. including the newseum lit up in pink. this year's festival is expanded from the usual two weeks to fie. organizers promising spectacular events and muchances from march 20th to april 27th. a big kickoff at the convention center will feature -- >> top headliners and thanks to the government of japan's support, we are going to bring pop star misha here. >> reporter: the trees air symbol of friendship between tokyo and washington. >> the american bus association says this is the number one tourist attraction, not just in this area but in the nation. >> reporter: what is be

. >> it is called helen taft. >> reporter: in a city full of sights, elderly cherry blossoms live on. >> 100 is like a huge landmark for anything. to see they're so well preserve ped and even like this tree right here, it has so much character. >> reporter: trees with bumpy bark, twisted trunks, faces only a mother could love. but instead are loved by all. lee powell, the associated press, washington. >> who knew? >> it is interesting to see the work that goes into sustaining them and keeping them growing for all these years. >> looks like we just got a trip to the garden club this morning. very interesting though. >>> need some quick cash? pawn shops are always popular but times are changing. >> pawn shops going online and are they better than traditional ones? we'll have that story coming up. when your deep-dish masterpiece doesn't stay in the dish easy-off oven cleaner cuts through five times more grease than the leading all-purpose cleaner. cook with passion. clean with easy-off. [ female announcer ] therese uses dove. molly, ordinary soap. would they switch? notice a difference?

. >> reporter: first lady helen taft planted the first cherry blossoms here along the tidal basin backkes this national cherry blossom festival a centennial celebration and we now know the peak bloom dates. >> my forecast this year for when we'll reach peak bloom and that's on 70% of the blossoms are open is going to be sometime during march 24th through march 31st. >> reporter: one week of peak bloom, but the trees typically flower a total of two weeks and this year as we mark the 100th anniversary of the gift from japan, the celebrationsing going to go beyond the bloom -- the abrasions are going to go beyond the -- the celebrations are going to go beyond the blooms. the museum was lit up in pink and this year's festival is expanded from two weeks to five. organizers promise spectacular events and performances from march 20th to april 27th. a big kickoff at the convention center will feature headliners including fair berelus and thanks to the government of japan's support we are bringing pop star misha here. the trees are a symbol of friendship between tokyo and washington, japan help

helen taft wanted very much to have recognition. so i think that even had they wanted to, they had already given up a great deal of their privacy at that time. and now she says, they did take steps to burned letters. the great friend of woodrow wilson bought a lot of the mary peck letters after woodrow wilson's death. he kept some of them and put them in the library of congress, but he also burned a lot of the. so i have a feeling that whenever they left they knew was going to be there and that they did know that the family would be in the public street me forever. >> i don't think i could have written this book had a of twain's descendants still belli. his only grand daughter committed suicide in the early 60's. so there are no more direct descendants. his daughter would have just been passed. she would have immediately sued me. in fact, atwain instructed her to keep lawyers on retainer to make sure that the official store would never change . isabel line, actually, past is never passed. and when i was doing all of this research i