Updated for 2016
Flowering Cherry, Magnolias and Camellias by Karen Mariconda
Spring is a wonderful time with lots of trees and shrubs blossoming before their leaves appear during the late Spring and Summer months. Flowering cherry are one of the most magnificent blossoming trees in early Spring, towering above the camellias which have elegant ‘rose-like’ showy flowers, next to the more delicate pastel colour flowers of the deciduous magnolias. There are hundreds of varieties of flowering cherry, camellias and magnolias but some favourite and stunning flowering trees and shrubs in bloom in Spring are:-
Flowering Cherry – Prunus Cerasifera Nigra. With burgundy/purple leaves this tree is one of the very first of the deciduous trees to re-foliate. Usually the leaves would appear in late February but due to the extreme weather conditions last December the leaves are just starting to come through mid to end March this year.
Flowering Cherry Trees in Springtime
Prunus Cerasifera Nigra has elegant, delicate pink flowers which appear just before the foliage starts to come through. Can be pruned to keep shaped. Prefers a sunny/partial shade position.
Camellia Japonica – Camellias are evergreen with glossy mid-green foliage. They grow as a rounded shrub with masses of colourful flowers in early Spring. A very useful evergreen shrub either as a hedge or as an ornamental. Prefers acidic well-drained soil.
Camellia Japonica | Magnolia Stellata | Magnolia Loebneri Leonard Messel
Magnolias – the Spring flowering magnolias tend to have large globlet shaped flowers or pretty star shaped flowers. Magnolia Leonard Messel, Magnolia Stellata, Magnolia Soulangeana and Magnolia Brooklyn Yellow Bird all in full bloom in mid to late March.
If you would like to see a wonderful display of blossom and flowers early in the year then any of these flowering trees and shrubs are highly recommended.
