Photograph by Christine Arpe Gang
green thumb 2-28-14
Yoshino cherries annually dazzle drivers on Cherry Road.
Spring doesn’t officially arrive until March 20th, but our blooming season arrives much sooner, depending on the whims of that respected mom, Mother Nature.
In early January when we talked, Mark Pitts was enjoying the pink blooms on the flowering apricot in his front yard. Although it is more widely seen elsewhere, flowering apricot, or Prunus mume, is rarely seen here. Its fragrant flowers may be white, red, or pink; single or doubles. Pitt has been enjoying the tree in his garden for 20 or so years.
“It’s one of the earliest trees to bloom and consistently flowers in January for me,” said Pitts, a former nursery owner who now propagates plants at Dabney Nursery. “Its fragrance fills the front yard.”
We mused a bit on why nurseries might not stock largely unknown winter bloomers and decided gardeners aren’t hanging out in nurseries in January and February so they don’t see some great trees in bloom. But there are other places to look for winter wonders. Both Memphis Botanic Garden and The Dixon Gallery and Gardens offer an eye-opening array of winter-blooming plants that are typically well labeled.
Deep into the Botanic Garden’s 96 acres, the Magnolia Trail becomes a dazzling wonderland of white and pink flowers on branches that arch over your head or hug your sides. The flowers are produced by star and saucer deciduous Asian magnolias. Because the peak bloom time typically occurs on the chilly days of late February or early March, it’s difficult to charm visitors into taking that long walk. That’s a shame because a nice collection of camellias intermingles with the magnolias and many bloom at the same time. Fortunately you can’t miss some of these magnolias (often called tulip trees because of their cupped pink flowers) in residential landscapes around the area.
I asked Pitts to recommend blooming trees that guarantee a progression of spring flowers and he provided some specific cultivars to look for, too.
- Star magnolia, the earliest blooming Asian magnolia, has white, star-like fragrant flowers. Look for “Water Lily,” whose abundant double white flowers open from pink buds about two weeks later than most others, making it less susceptible to a literal nip-in-bud from frost. “Royal Star” also has double and highly fragrant white flowers. Both are compact trees reaching only about 12 to 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide but contribute hugely to our winter landscapes. “Jane,” a saucer magnolia of similar size, has large reddish-purple flowers with white interiors. Her slightly shorter sister “Ann” has similar reddish-purple flowers.
- Flowering almond is a fast blooming shrubby tree that tolerates drought once established. It’s prized for the profusion of double pink flowers appearing on otherwise bare branches.
- Yoshino cherries usually burst forth clusters of light pink to white flowers around the third week in March. They are glorious to behold especially when planted in mass as they are on both sides of Cherry Road as it bisects Audubon Park. ne evening on what seemed like the peak of the bloom, I was astonished to see numerous people stop their cars, get out, and begin taking photos of their families and friends under the bloom heavy branches of those trees. hese trees have lifespans of just 20 to 25 years but they pack a lot of beauty into their brief time on earth. Thankfully, members of the Little Garden Club, who bought the original trees planted in 1950, have purchased and installed more as the original trees died off over the years.
- I’m always glad to see the pink blooms on our native Eastern redbud trees, which often grow on the edges of forests. The flowers are bright and edible — some say they taste nutty. To me their blooms are leading a parade that will soon bring the dogwoods and azaleas to pass by. “Forest Pansy,” a widely planted redbud in our area, is valued not only for its rosy pink flowers but also for foliage that emerges in a scarlet-purple hue and matures to maroon. itts also likes “Rising Sun,” a new redbud cultivar that has the flowers we all expect in early spring but then pushes forth foliage in hues of apricot, gold, and tangerine before settling in on a lime-green shade all summer. ll redbuds have heart-shaped leaves but after flowering the red leaves of “Hearts of Gold” turn (as you might expect) to a vibrant gold.
- Flowering dogwoods grow wild near woodsy areas and will pop up as volunteers in your garden if a bird is kind enough to deposit a seed along with his droppings. I don’t care how they get to me; to my mind, they’re all good. ut the dogwood known as “Cherokee Princess” is noted for blooming consistently early and heavy with large white flowers. In the fall its leaves turn rust-red. Kousa dogwoods, which are native to eastern Asia, bloom after the native flowering trees when the tree has its leaves. “Milky Way” is a popular variety with profuse creamy white flowers followed by large edible red berries. Its dark green leaves turn orange-red to scarlet in the fall.
There are many more worthy flowering trees so you may want to consult a nursery, arborist, or landscaper for advice before purchasing one.
Master gardener Tom Rieman has compiled a list of flowering plants for this area and their likely bloom times. It is published in the 2018 calendar put out by Memphis Area Master Gardeners. A few may still be available at local book and gardening supply stores. The chart can also be viewed at the website of the Memphis Horticultural Society at memphishorticulture.org.
