Bloom Baby, Bloom!

After the long gray days of winter I can’t help but get excited at the first signs of spring, the burst of yellow from emerging daffodils and bright green of the small leaf buds as they too yearn for life. But there is nothing that excites my heart more than the burst of color from spring flowering trees. I see those first tiny blooms getting ready to open and I just want to cheer, "Bloom, Baby, Bloom!" Where tulips whisper spring is here, trees like Flowering Plums, Flowering Cherries, Crabapples, Redbud and Magnolias scream it.

Some of the earliest bloomers are the ornamental flowering fruit trees. These trees typically don’t bear fruit. They are spectacular trees for their amazing spring blossoms. One of the earliest bloomers is ‘Thundercloud’ flowering plum. ‘Thundercloud’ flowering plum blooms in April covering itself with delicate pale pink to white blossoms. But the blossoms are not the most beautiful characteristic of this tree. ‘Thundercloud’ has rich red leaves that make a beautiful canopy of color. I drive past a row of mature ‘Thundercloud’ trees almost every day and always admire their beautiful burgundy leaves; they are such a nice contrast to the green leaves of most trees.

Reminiscent of a Japanese water painting, flowering cherries are deservedly one of the most popular flowering trees for the small or medium sized garden. Flowering cherries come in a wonderful variety of shapes and sizes. They are easy to grow: hardy, disease resistant, generally pest free, and need little or no pruning. Some flowering cherries attract butterflies to the garden, providing food for the caterpillars or nectar for the adult butterflies. Most flowering cherries, of the genus Prunus, originated in Japan. In 1912, the Japanese sent the US over 3000 Flowering Cherries as a gift of friendship. Tourists plan their vacations to Washington DC to see and smell these legendary trees in full bloom.
Most flowering cherry trees bloom from March to May. Their bloom color can range from light pink to dark pink, and even the purest of whites. Three of our favorite varieties this season are ‘Akebono’, ‘Mt. Fuji’ and ‘Shogetsu’. ‘Mt Fuji’ buds in pink, turns white when blooms open, and ages into a purple-pink color. ‘Shogetsu’ blooms in pale pink, often with a white center. If you have a small yard, a weeping variety of flowering cherry could look fantastic. ‘Snow Fountain’ and ‘Weeping Pink’ are two beautiful varieties of weeping cherries. They are smaller in size, and their weeping branches look like waterfalls of flowers when they are in bloom.

Another great spring blooming tree that offers four seasons of interest is the ‘Prairie Fire’ flowering crabapple. In the spring, it is one of the first to bloom, loaded with extremely intense pinkish-red blooms. The blooms do not fade all season long. The foliage then emerges purple-maroon, and becomes a more reddish-green. In fall the foliage transforms to red, orange and purple. Plus, its shiny red fruit is a favorite of neighborhood birds. ‘Prairie Fire’ can reach a mature height of 15 to 20 feet and forms a round shape.

My personal favorite of all the early blooming trees is the ‘Forest Pansy’ Eastern Redbud. I love its dark purplish branches that in the spring are literally covered in tiny, rose-purple, pea-like flowers. The flowers bloom so tightly on the branches, and cover the branches so completely that it looks like the branches have turned pink. Later it’s large heart shaped leaves emerge in a bright reddish purple color that mature to dark purple. Creating a beautiful canopy, the ‘Forest Pansy’ tree can grow 20-30 feet tall and wide. The ‘Forest Pansy’ is also available as a multi-branched shrub.

These are just a few of many spring blooming trees that have the ability to "wow" you out of the winter blues and "sing" with fragrance and color that spring has arrived.