Flowering Crabapples

These are excellent ornamental trees that produce intense masses of white or pink blossoms in May, and are available in dwarf, weeping and standard size versions that run from 8 feet to 30 feet in size. Some of my favorites are Tina, Firebird, Coralburst, Sugar Tyme, Prairiefire and Royal Raindrops, Louisa is a nice weeping tree for the artistically inclined. Sparkling sprite and starlight are good new hybrid varieties.

Apple Trees

You get more bang for your buck with apple trees. Very nice white blossoms each May, and delicious fruit in late summer and fall. We carry 20 varieties and have a handy chart, available to help you figure which ones are a good fit. Plan on planting 2 or more varieties for good pollination and fruit set. Check out our list of apple trees here.

Dwarf Lilac Trees

These are lollipop trees where a dwarf lilac shrub is grafted onto the stem of a Japanese Tree Lilac to produce a small ornamental flowering tree that is winter hardy and easy to keep a small size for small spaces in your landscape. Good varieties include Dwarf Korean, Miss Kim, Scent and Scentsibility, and Bloomerang.

Japanese Tree Lilac

Nice because the blossoms come after most other spring flowers in trees – usual in June. These are tough trees that can tolerate clay soils as long as the soil is not chronically waterlogged. Large cream colored cone shaped flower clusters produce a dreamy fragrance rivaled only by the early spring cherry trees. Mature size ratings run from 12-30 feet. Good varieties include Ivory Silk, Summer Storm, Snowdance, Snow Cap, Ivory Pillar and the common Japanese Tree Lilac. Again, avoid planting lilacs of any kind in chronically soggy areas. They must have properly drained soils to flourish.