Spectacular Flowering Trees With Year-Round Blossoms: A Continuous Display of Beauty Throughout the Seasons
Garden Bloomers: Long-Lasting Flowering Trees for Spectacular Views All Year
If you're yearning for a garden that pops with color, consider these expert-recommended long-blooming flowering trees. From summer stunners to spring showstoppers, these plants will turn your backyard into a vibrant masterpiece.
- Doug Still, consulting arborist and host of "This Old Tree" podcast
- Kathy Jentz, host of the GardenDC podcast and writer of Groundcover Revolution
Flowering Trees with Prolonged Blooms
1. Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia)
Nicknamed the "Queen of the Summer," crape myrtle delivers on its title by blooming in the harshest summer sun for an extended period. With cultivars boasting a variety of colors, the blooms range from deep purple to white, providing a stunning medley for any garden.
Garden expert Kathy Jentz raves about the flowers' "crinkled texture" and adds, "It has a crape-like appearance." Whether you're in the Southern states or not, these versatile trees can thrive in zones 6 to 9.
- Growth: About 20 feet tall
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Well-drained
Arborist Doug Still warns against topping off crape myrtles to control growth. Instead, he suggests picking a cultivar that matures naturally at a smaller size.
2. Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
Looking for a tree under 30 feet tall? Kousa dogwood has a compact and showy presence. Despite its white leaf bracts not technically being flowers, it doesn't matter—the blooms last up to six weeks starting in early June, making it a showstopper.
Arborist Doug Still calls Kousa dogwood "one of the most reliable and showy trees." With an exfoliating bark that lasts year-round, this tree is a visual treat both in blossom and bare.
- Zones: 5 to 8
- Size: 20 to 30 feet tall x 15 to 30 feet wide
- Sunlight: Partial shade
- Soil: Moist, slightly acidic
3. Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Eastern redbud produces flowers before leaves and continues blooming for months, creating a gorgeous color show. This elegant tree is a fantastic choice for smaller gardens or open spaces with spreading branches.
- Zones: 4 to 9
- Size: 20 to 30 feet tall x 25 to 35 feet wide
- Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil: Well-drained
4. Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
In warmer climates, Southern magnolia trees offer a solid month of blooms, with some varieties even blooming twice a year. With flowers spanning 8 to 12 inches and an incredible fragrance, Southern magnolia is a must-have for gardeners in the south.
- Zones: 6 to 10
- Size: 60 to 80 feet tall x 30 to 50 feet wide
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Slightly acidic
5. Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
"Vitex" is a lovely, Mediterranean shrub-like tree that produces purplish-blue blooms from late spring to fall. With fragrant blossoms and scented leaves, this low-maintenance tree is a butterfly haven. Its seeds, roots, and bark have been used in traditional medicine.
- Zones: 6 to 9
- Size: 8 to 20 feet tall x 5 to 20 feet wide
- Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil: Well-drained
6. Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
Native to the Eastern U.S., fringetree yields blossoms that last several weeks at a time. With its "fringe" of white clusters of drooping flowers in late spring, this small tree adds a delicate beauty to your garden.
- Zones: 3 to 9
- Size: 12 to 30 feet tall x 12 to 20 feet wide
- Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
- Soil: Moist, fertile, well-drained
7. Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
This fast-growing native shade tree boasts unique yellow, orange, and green cup-shaped flowers that last for up to three weeks. Though it takes 15 years to bloom, the annual show is well worth the wait, providing an exuberant color display for weeks on end. Its charming leaves resemble rounded maple leaves.
- Zones: 4 to 9
- Size: 80 to 120 feet tall x 30 to 60 feet wide
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Moist, well-drained
These long-blooming flowering trees not only provide an exciting array of colors but also add texture and interest to your garden with their unique foliage, shapes, and sometimes fruit or seed pods. Bring some permanent sunshine to your garden with these beauty queens.
Martha Stewart, a celebrated expert in home-and-garden lifestyle, would appreciate the long-lasting beauty of these flowering trees for landscaping purposes. Gardeners can experiment with flower gardens by incorporating crape myrtle, Kousa dogwood, Eastern redbud, Southern magnolia, chaste tree, fringetree, and Tulip Poplar for a breathtaking year-round spectacle in their backyards. Each tree's unique characteristics and prolonged blooms offer a diverse medley of colors, textures, and fragrances, transforming any garden into a captivating masterpiece.
