Many times I've found myself admiring the flowering trees that line the center of the streets in our area. I find it hard to dream of the day when we won't have room for the blooming stress relief.

Few people would argue that flowering trees are beautiful, and it is about the right time of year to start thinking about planting. When my husband and I started to talk about the perfect flowering tree for our home, we immediately butted heads. I don’t prefer any tree that has “red” flowers. They end up looking hot pink, and just frustrate me. Of course, though, the red crape myrtles are Travis’ favorite. I started researching some of the options available, and thought that you might benefit from everything I have learned about finding flowering trees that will add character to your yard. The flowering tulip trees are found in around the Eastern United States. You can find a few color options, but the most popular is the flowering poplar tree. It produces yellowish flowers in the spring, which are actually a light yellowish green with a splash of orange at their bases. They are very resistant to pests and diseases, which is great for the southeast where our humidity attracts far too many bugs. The wood is so strong, that it is used to make furniture, and plywood. I’ve also heard that these trees are used to make other recyclables like paper, boxes, and crates. This flowering tree is sometimes called the “tulip poplar.” I’ve also heard it called the yellow poplar which is strange because its flowers aren’t technically yellow, the saddle leaf, white wood, and canoe wood. I’m fairly confident that this flowering tree would work well in our yard, but the flowers on this tree may not be a good compromise for my husband and I. Tulip trees grow to a very large mature height. This makes them a perfect flowering tree for shade, but one of the less desirable flowering trees for mowing and roof protection.

Information you need to know about finding the right flowering tree for your yard:

Redbud flowering trees are small trees that may well fit into the shrub family. They have round and heart shaped leaves, with beautiful petals when the tree is in bloom. These pinkish-red flowers develop in the early spring. You may recognize the seedpods of one of these flowering trees; they often cover the ground below them. I love to watch these beautiful flowering trees rustle in the breeze. It is incredible to find nature this way, but we haven’t decided if the strange tree shape will work with the theme of our yard. The redbud flowering trees have few branches, and the flowers of this tree produce a deep rose colored flower, and in a few cases a white flower that resembles a pea blossom. This beautiful flowering tree is said to be the one from which Judas Iscariot hung. That’s a downer, and not exactly the conversation starter you want when you’re cooking barbeque in the back yard. We decided that may be a good enough reason to keep looking.

Staff trees, which are really staff vines, are flowering trees that have small white, pink, or greenish flowers. I felt deceived when I saw a picture of the staff tree. Not only is it a vine, it doesn’t look like a normal flowering tree at all. The staff tree is a perfect tree for attracting birds to your yard. I love nature, but my dog absolutely freaks out when we have any other animal in our yard. If we have a squirrel run through our yard, he jumps on the window blinds. This may be a great flowering tree for some families, just not ours.

The royal empress trees are the flowering trees on which Travis and I seem to both agree. I love the beautiful purple flowers. Royal empress trees grow very fast, so it won’t take long to add a mature look to our yard. For two people without a green thumb, this is a very durable line of flowering trees. Another thing I like about flowering trees such as the Royal Empress is that they keep their character all year long. Even in the winter, the branches keep small buds. These pea-sized buds explode into huge flowers once spring comes. I think this is the right option for us, but many other flowering trees also caught our attention.

The red grandiflora rose tree is my second favorite of the flowering trees we looked at. They stay very small, so they are wonderful accent trees. I was hoping to put one around the outside of some of the windows in our living room, but the colors didn’t work out with our other landscaping. I think that the rose trees are really the essence of flowering trees. If you walk into any floral shop, you’ll find flowers that look just like the buds on these trees. They are absolutely gorgeous. I told Travis that if we picked out one of these flowering trees I would feel like I got a dozen roses every day.

Mimosa flowering trees grow to about 20-25 feet. The blooms from the mimosa flowering trees are incredible. They attract hummingbirds, and look more like something you’d find in the ocean than in your yard. The blooms grow in clusters, but they are hot pink. I’ve seen flowering trees like this in several town home communities and in retirement communities. In the spring, you may hear these flowering trees called the silk tree because of the exploding flowers. The callery pear tree is one of the flowering trees that also provide fruit. The trees grow to about 45-60 feet tall, and have glossy oval leaves. They bloom white flowers during the early spring, and have a sweet smell. The fruit is very small, about dime size and very hard. Birds love this flowering tree, and that is how the tree spreads its seeds.

Flowering Trees