Eight Great Flowering Landscaping Trees
Are you looking to provide your yard with shade and color? Choose flowering trees, and you can have both! Additionally, these trees attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, which are good for both your garden and the environment. Here are 8 great choices to consider for your landscaping.
Sassafras
The sassafras tree is one of the earliest flowering trees in spring. Dainty yellow-green clusters of flowers give way to dark black fruits on vibrant red stems if pollinated. Their fall foliage is splendid in shades of deep yellows and rich purples. They grow to a height of 30-60 feet.
Eastern Redbud
Showy magenta pink flowers show up in abundance in early spring. The flowers last nearly a month before giving way to huge dark green, heart-shaped leaves. Come autumn, their leaves are a bright, cheerful yellow. Redbuds grow to 25 feet.
Flowering Dogwood
These white flowers kissed with pink are a clear sign spring has sprung! Birds flock to their bright red berries in fall. Growing to a maximum height of only 20 feet, they are perfect for small spaces and terraced gardens.
Crabapple
Flowering crabapples are prolific, with showy pink and white blossoms that are buzzing with bees. Birds enjoy their fruits in early autumn. Most varieties only grow to a height of 25 feet, making it another good choice for small areas.
Fringe Tree
The fringe tree is an old-fashioned North American tree with wispy, bright white flowers that resemble a fringe. The females also produce a small fruit that birds like. The fringe tree is one of the smallest ornamentals, growing only to about ten feet.
Magnolia
Long a mainstay of the south, the magnolia tree has one of the most showy flowers. Giant saucer-sized white flowers adorn silvery leaves that glimmer in the sun. Larger specimens grow down south, but the magnolia tree can flourish as far north as New England. In northern climates, they reach a height of approximately 12 feet.
American Yellowwood
This large tree may take about 12 years to bloom, but it is well worth the wait. Tiny white flowers hang from drooping branches. The bark of the tree provides a stunning silvery smooth backdrop for the prolific flowerings stems. American Yellowwood can grow to a height of 50 feet or more.
Crape Myrtle
This multi-trunked tree is best in southern locales as it requires hot summers to fully bloom. Bright magenta blooms have yellow centers. They are perfect for providing late summer color to landscaping. They grow to a height of about 25 feet.