Episode 157: Flowering trees for every season

Due to their size and expense, gardeners tend to put a lot more thought into the trees they ultimately buy for their landscape. While a perennial might only live for 6 or 7 years, a tree might grace your garden for 50 years or more—outliving the person who so carefully selected it, in fact. Here at Fine Gardening, we feel strongly that trees should look good in more than one season (for all of the reasons above AND because they take up a lot of real estate). Therefore, on today’s episode, we may be highlighting our favorite flowering trees for every season, but these choices have more going for them than just some fleeting blooms. Listen to hear about which trees we’re willing to sacrifice a chunk of our paycheck on and why.    

Amanda Bennett is vice president of horticulture and collections at Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Georgia.  

Danielle’s Plants  

Spring: ‘Don Egolf’ Chinese redbud ( Cercis chinensis ‘Don Egolf’, Zones 5b-9)   

Summer: ‘Milk and Honey’ Japanese stewartia ( Stewartia pseudocamellia ‘Milk and Honey’, Zones 5-7)  

Autumn: Red Balloon® viburnum ( Viburnum x rhytidophylloides ‘Redell’, Zones 4-8)  

Winter:  ‘Pink Perfection’ camellia ( Camellia japonica ‘Pink Perfection’, Zones 7-10)  

Carol’s Plants   

Spring: ‘Wada’s Memory’ magnolia ( Magnolia x kewensis ‘Wada’s Memory’, Zones 5-8)  

Summer: Sourwood ( Oxydendrum arboreum , Zones 5-9)  

Autumn: Seven-son flower ( Heptacodium miconioides , Zones 5-9)  

Winter: ‘Sweet Sunshine’ witch hazel ( Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Sweet Sunshine’)  

Expert’s Plants   

Winter:  Yunnan magnolia ( Magnolia laevifolia syn. M. yunanensis , Zones 8b-11)  

Spring: Two-winged silverbell  ( Halesia diptera , Zones 6-9)

Summer:  Japanese