Well a major thunderstorm just passed through our area and all appears well at my home and the neighbors.
I wanted to conclude my recommendation for other flowering trees to consider in your landscape. Then it is time to move on to vegetable and annual flower planting for the next several blogs.
Several additional small trees to consider for late spring or early summer flowering are:
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
The Eastern Redbud is a small tree which has reddish purple buds opening to pink which appear to line the branches of the tree.
The Redbud can be used as a specimen tree, planted in groupings, worked into shrub borders or planted in a naturalized wooded setting. The tree does well in moist and well-drained soils and is generally transplanted in the spring or fall.
Chinese Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa var. chinensis)
For many people who want the flowers of the Flowering Dogwood or have trouble keeping a Flowering Dogwood alive this species of dogwood can be an alternative.
Like the Flowering Dogwood, the white bracts of the Chinese Kousa Dogwood are what people notice and inaccurately refer toas the flowers. The tree blooms later than the Flowering Dogwood around June and the flowers (bracts) appear when this variety of dogwoods is fully leafed out.
The most popular variety is ‘Milky Way’ Chinese Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa var chinensis ‘Milky Way’) as the tree's flower bracts are large and really almost overtake the green leaves of this small tree.
White Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)
There are male (flower production only) and female (fruit bearing) varieties of the tree and the tree’s flowers are referred to as being dioecious (will discuss in a later blog about flower types). Regardless, ask for the male flowering White Fringe Tree when shopping.
The flowers on the tree are fleecy long white fragrant panicles, which appear in June after the tree has leafed out. The female tree does produce a dark blue fleshy fruit, which is interesting and can be effective in September.
The White Fringe Tree is a real pleasure to come upon in the landscape when it is used as a small specimen tree or used in the shrub border.
Hawthorn (Crateagus species)
There are many varieties of Hawthornes to consider for the landscape. Hawthornes bloom late in the spring (mostly white flowering though there are some pink and red flowering) ; have reasonably attractive summer foliage, fall colors are shades of red, and there are varieties which are heavy fruiters which appear in the fall and remain on the tree through the winter.
That being said, other than a few varieties, Hawthornes produce thorns which tempers the use of the tree in the landscape.
The flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is one of the last spring flowering trees to bloom. Unlike the crabapples, magnolias, and flowering pear, the flowering dogwood will produce a colorful display in the yard for 2-3 weeks.
The flower of the flowering dogwood is not the white or pink bract, which is very visible and mistakenly referred to as the flower. Rather the flower of the dogwood is located between the four showy bracts, which will likely continue to be referred to as the flower.
With all of the above traits, the tree presents a graceful appearance in the landscape and is most often used in the home landscape as a single specimen tree.
The dogwood, oddly enough, can sometimes be a difficult tree to transplant and that is one reason in the garden center trade customers are always seeking out a tree for their yard.
A dogwood does well when moved balled and burlap and planted in a well drained and a soil with highly material. The tree does well in a partially shaded location, but can also survive in a sunny location if watered during a dry period.
Three of the most popular dogwood cultivars are:
‘Cloud Nine’ which is slow growing with a spectacular show of white flowers.
‘Cherokee Chief’ which produces ruby red flowers
‘Cherokee Princess’ which produces light pink flowers.
Last week I was picking up a good friend at his house and noted that the large old crabapple in his front yard was totally covered in fragrant pink blossoms. The tree’s colors rivaled any tree in bloom in the area, yet my friend disliked the tree because of the assured crabapple drop.
For he and his wife, the tree is a bone of contention between the two of them. He wants it removed and she wishes to keep the tree.
Today, there is many variety of crabapples grown specifically used in the residential and commercial landscape with crabapple fruit the size of a pea. With these newer varieties, the small apple no longer becomes a mess in the yard and just dissipates into the lawn or is eaten by birds.
Garden centers and nurseries carry the new crabapple varieties, and the tree tags often times will not only promote the tree’s flower color but also the fruit as being a great seasonal landscape characteristic of these newer trees.
Rather than taking the time of listing specific varieties, let’s discuss some basic characteristics and cultural needs to consider when selecting a crabapple.
Crabapples thrive best in full sun. A location of continued high noon sunshine to a very late afternoon sunshine that is normally available on the western side of a landscape could also be suitable. A crabapple planted in a shady area or an area of morning sunshine will survive but will not bloom effectively.
Crabapples are generally not small ornamental trees, however, many varieties in the commercial landscape are pruned to maintain their small size and the tree can still provide effective flowering.
However, the biggest mistake for most homeowners is to plant the tree too close to the house. My recommendation would be a minimum of 10-15 feet away from the house. The young small tree looks great, however as it becomes larger maintaining a tree planted too close to the house becomes work.
There are many different flowering colors of crabapples. A single tree (specimen) planted by itself in a landscape can be effective. A mass planting of three or more crabapples of the same variety can be very dramatic. A mass planting of crabapples of three different colors as red, white, and pink blooming at the same time is a showstopper. For those who have a large landscape, having different crabapples blooming at different times can also extend the all too brief spring flower show of the trees.
When the snow starts to fall in November, bright crabapple fruit on bare branches of a tree is an added bonus for color in the landscape. After many cold snaps, the fruit is softened and will attract birds that will clean the fruit off the tree.
In mid summer after a rainy spring the older varieties of crabapples often times will drop their leaves due to fungal problems of apple scab and fireblight. Most of the newer varieties of trees offered are very resistant to those problems and those trees, which are susceptible, are probably not offered in most nurseries today.
With blossoms totally covering the branches, the Flowering Cherries (Prunus) are probably one of the showiest and earliest of spring flowering trees.
Depending on the variety of flowering cherry, blossoms may be either white, shades of pink, or deep pink. Varieties of cherry trees may be upright growers, large weeping growers or grafted to be smaller specimens for the home and commercial landscape.
Grafted weeping or upright cherries were always a popular selling tree in the garden center; however I always warned the customer, the cherries trees do get large and often times can have some disease problems caused by fungus which could make the tree short-lived. Despite all these drawbacks, the tree was and is still very popular.
To assist you in your shopping I have listed several cherry varieties worthy of your consideration. Again there are many new varieties always being introduced by different tree nurseries.
Okame Cherry (Prunus ‘Okame’) is the tree pictured in the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival. The Okame has dark red flower buds that are showy and which open into the pink blossom tree which is most familiar of the festival cherry blossom colors.
Weeping Higan Cherry Tree (Prunus subhirtella ‘Pendula’) is not a small tree and can grow 20-30 feet tall with a 15 to 25 feet spread.
The Weeping Higan has light pink almost white flowers and has a graceful weeping habit. Like the Weeping Snow Fountain, the Weeping Higan is sometimes grafted to a taller cherry tree trunk to provide a smaller weeping form in the garden as well offer some dwarfing affect on the parent tree which does get large.
Additional Reading:
History of the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival
http://www.nps.gov/cherry/cherry-blossom-history.htm
An early flowering tree is the Flowering Pear (Pyrus calleyrana). The tree is not a small tree and can easily grow to 30 or 40 feet. The Flowering Pear has three specific seasonal characteristics, which make it a favorite for landscaping. The seasonal characteristics are the tree’s flowers, attractive summer leaves, and reliable good fall leaf color.
In the spring, the Flowering Pear is covered with white flowers. The tree is in bloom when the magnolias, serviceberries and cherries are also blooming. My personal experience has been that the tree’s flowers persist longer for up to two weeks.
In the summer, the tree has clean glossy green leaves. In the fall, and depending on the variety of Flowering Pear, there are ranges of autumn leaf colors of brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds. Though the fall colors can be great, often times, the tree changes colors after the majority of the other trees have already dropped their leaves. Sometimes the leaves will persist well into mid November. The persistence of the Flowering Pear’s leaves into November can be a problem should an early snowfall occur and the weighted snow on the leaves will cause some large branches to break off.
Flowering pear trees produce a large pea size fruit. After fall frosts or winter freezing, the fruit is softened which allows for birds clean the fruit off the tree. Flowering Pear seeds are dispersed in the bird droppings, which can account for the tree becoming a pest in some parts of the country.
Four varieties of Flowering Pears to consider for the home landscape are:
‘Cleveland Select’ which is drought resistant, grows to 40 feet, has thick branches which can withstand the weight of snow, and has a deep purple fall color
‘Aristocrat’, grows to 40 feet, has a natural pyramidal shape, and dark red or purple fall color
‘Autumn Blaze’, grows up to 30 feet and has the traditional fall foliage colors of red and orange
‘Bradford’ grows 40 feet, has a rounded shape with branches pointing upward, has a yellow fall color, and often times break during wind and snowstorms.
In the landscape, the Flowering Pear can be used as a single specimen tree or a mass planting of 3 or more trees of the same variety.
