The best blossom trees for a blooming spring garden, from crab apple to cherry
Bursting into life at this time of year, blossom trees such as crab apple and flowering cherries, adorned with clouds of pink and white petals, are among the most inspiring sights of the changing season. Look for those small enough to grow in modest-sized gardens, or even in pots.
You can bask in the glory of spring blossom from late March to the beginning of June. Here are the best blossom trees...
Crab apple: Malus
At the start of the year, crab apple tree boughs are heavy with frothy, candy-coloured blooms, and then when the fruit comes, many varieties provide a fabulous display of colour that will continue from autumn into winter.
Thanks to its beautiful, delicate pink buds that open to fragrant white flowers, Malus 'Evereste' is a go-to tree for lots of garden designers. It can grow to 26ft, so needs a fair-sized garden and should thrive in moderately fertile soil, tolerating partial shade. The best for blossom and for small to medium-sized spaces or containers is 'Adirondak', which has waxy white flowers.
Angela Slater, gardening expert at Hayes Garden World, also recommends the following varieties: 'American Beauty', which has deep red double flowers; 'Hillieri' with bright pink semi-double flowers; 'John Downie' with white flowers and a heavy crop of bright orange flushed red fruits; and 'Golden Hornet', one of the most reliable varieties producing white flowers and yellow fruits, suitable for a large container.
Crab Apple 'Evereste'
Malus 'John Downie' Tree
Malus 'Rudolph'
Apple: Malus sylvestris
'Apple trees come in many forms, not just the orchard trees. Nowadays there are several grafted onto dwarf rootstock specifically aimed at the smaller garden,' explains Angela. 'There are fan-trained trees which are designed to be planted against a sunny wall. Step-over trees are trained onto horizontal wires and as the name suggests, they are low enough to 'step-over', they make a fantastic border to a vegetable patch. There are also patio trees designed to be grown in large containers and these have 2-3 varieties grafted onto a single tree; they pollinate each other so you will get fruit even with only one plant.'
Ornamental cherry: Prunus
Flowering ornamental cherries are very easy to grow and produce wonderful blossoms from early March to late May. There are lots of varieties which range in colour, from pure white to the deepest carmine pink and from simple single flowers to many petalled doubles.
For small gardens, vase-shaped cherry blossoms, Prunus 'Snowgoose' and 'Sunset Boulevard', are ideal.
Prunus 'Snowgoose' will grow well in a moist, chalky soil – the large flowers are almost grey-white. 'Sunset Boulevard' is well-suited to moderately fertile soil in full sun – the dark buds open to reveal white flowers edged with pink. A third smaller tree is Prunus 'The Bride', which enjoys similar growing conditions. In March and April, the pale pink buds open to a froth of large single white flowers with a vibrant deep red centre.
Angela suggests the upright pale pink Flagpole Cherry, Prunus 'Amanogawa' for small spaces. The flowers are slightly fragranced, too. 'One of the best for a small garden or container is the pale pink-flowered 'Kojo-no-mai' as it is slow-growing and an added point of interest is its zig-zag branches,' she reveals.
Other recommendations include 'Kursar', which has rich deep pink flowers and is suitable for a medium-sized garden, while 'Taihaku', also known as the Great White Cherry, is possibly the best white-flowered variety, according to Angela. However, it's not suitable for small gardens.
'Sunset Boulevard'
'Kojo-no-mai'
Prunus 'Kursar'
Wild cherry: Prunus avium
'This makes a large tree and is not suitable for small gardens or containers,' warns Angela. But if you do have the space, this beautiful tree is not only great for blossom but also for the fruit, which is an important source of winter bird food.
Prunus avium Tree
Sloe, Blackthorn: Prunus spinosa
This wild native would not be suitable as a standalone tree but it would make a fantastic addition to a wildlife hedge, says Angela, not only for the blossom, slow gin and impenetrable spines, but also for the refuge it gives to small birds and mammals.
Blackthorn Hedging
Hawthorn: Crataegus monogyna
'The common hawthorn is a very tolerant tree of both dryness and excess moisture and they are also suitable for coastal windswept gardens,' explains Angela. 'There are hybrid varieties available which give slightly larger and double flowers. Try Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet' with double scarlet flowers, or C monogyna 'Compacta', a small variety suitable for growing in a container.'
Crataegus monogyna Tree
Quince: Cydonia oblonga
The most widely sold variety of this small fruit tree is 'Vranja', which gives fragrant yellow fruit. This is not to be confused with the ornamental quinces, Chaenomeles japonica, which is grown as a shrub, Angela warns.
Quince Vranja Organic Quince A Rootstock
Pear: Pyrus communis
Pear trees are available in the same forms as apple trees and, like the apples, need a sunny site and good humus-rich soil to thrive.
Pyrus communis Condo - Pear Tree
Follow House Beautiful on TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest
You Might Also Like
