spring flowering trees

By Barbara Arnold

As the herald of spring, one of the first great joys of the season is the flowering of trees. The beauty of the early spring display depends on the weather during the preceding seasons. A cold snap in the fall followed by a warm spell will cause many early blooming trees, like plums, to flower before winter. This doesn’t hurt the tree, but it does diminish the number of blooms in spring.

The first tree to look for is the Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, which blooms even before the forsythia. This tree is a dogwood and not a cherry; its common name is thought to be derived from its fruit, which with some imagination could look like cherries. The small, mostly understory trees, sometimes look more like large shrubs. They have golden yellow star-like flowers that run up the branches of the tree.

Plum trees are one of the earliest bloomers, flowering in early spring with white to pale pink flowers. The flowers do fade and disappear rather quickly though, due to the often-inclement early spring weather. Plums tend to be smaller trees, used mostly for their foliage, with its dark burgundy to black colored leaves.

Pear trees have delightful clouds of white flowers in early-to-mid spring. The problem with this tree is extreme brittleness of the branches, combined with narrow-angle crotches. During severe weather it is not uncommon to see the trees of entire neighborhoods with split and broken large branches. Look for new varieties that offer sturdier structure but still have the wonderful flowers.

The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. is famous with good reason. The beautiful cherry tree blooms of mid-spring are certainly worthy of the attention. The cherry tree’s flowers can be white, creamy white, and shades of pink. Found in many home gardens is the weeping cherry tree; with its cascades of light pink flowers it looks magnificent under-planted with white narcissus.

Crabapples are a huge group of flowering trees, so there’s one to suit almost any taste. Varieties of this tree can bloom anywhere from mid-to-late spring. The spectrum of flower colors ranges from white to every possible shade of pink. Tree types can be large to small, and come in different shapes, such as weeping crabapples. The flower bud color can be different from the flower bloom color.  The crabapples themselves, from yellow to shiny candy apple red, are a nice contrast to winter drabs and whites.

Redbuds, delicate-looking native trees, are seen most of the time growing wild along old wood lines. The redbud’s vibrant pink blooms appear in mid-spring, flowering all along the branches, which are gnarled and interesting on older trees. There is also a white blooming redbud that can compliment a home landscape. The redbud, being native, tolerates our Ohio soil, making it easier to grow.

Hawthorns used to be quite popular in the American landscape, but folks have been shying away from them for a couple of reasons. Hawthorns have stiff thorns that can be up to two-inches long. Plus, they get are susceptible to cedar-hawthorn rust, which is caused by a fungal pathogen that must pass between hosts to survive, e.g., from junipers to hawthorns. Look for disease resistant varieties and be tidy about the garden in the fall, being sure to rake up all fallen leaves. Hawthorn flowers on top of the foliage, meaning it blooms a bit later. These flowers can be in shades of white to shades of pink. The fruit in the fall and winter are an added bonus to this delightful tree.

Spring blooming trees have a short two week bloom cycle: a couple of days of buds opening full bloom, then a few days of blossoms falling, producing a downpour of petals. These “April showers” can be brought about all too quickly during this unpredictable season’s strong wind, rain, and yes, even the occasional bit of snow. As these unfortunate events can cut the blooming season even shorter, you may want to look for trees that provide additional seasonal interest, such as leaves, fruit and even bark, to get the most out your landscape.

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