Spring-flowering trees

Nothing captures the idea of spring overcoming

the bleakness of winter better than a spring-flowering tree.

In what seems like a miracle, clouds of

blossoms cloak bare branches -- clouds that look as if

they might be blown away by a single puff of wind.

Some of the earliest blooms have a particularly fragile,

fleeting quality, perhaps because of their inevitable war

with what remains of winter. Late snowfalls or freezing

rain sometimes does its

best to spoil the moment.

In other springs,

however, the magnolias and

cherries burst into blossom

during a halcyon

period of warm, sunny

days that last and last.

These are the truly magical

times that cause so

many gardeners to go

dashing off to nurseries

to buy a few more flowering

trees. Considering

their vast number and

diversity, choosing an

ornamental tree can be difficult.

CHERRIES AND PLUMS

Ornamental plums are

among the best small

trees for home gardens.

Plums belong to the large

genus Prunus, which also

includes almonds,

apricots, peaches and cherries.

In my area of the country, the northeast Georgia

mountains, plums usually come to life in March. Their

dark, twiggy branches cloaked with soft, feathery-looking

flowers have always reminded me of Oriental paintings.

The flowering plum (Prunus x blireiana, winter hardy

to U.S.D.A. Zone 5) is one of the first of all flowering

trees to bloom. It bears masses of double pink flowers,

often mistaken for those of a cherry. The blossoms

appear before the bronzy-red leaves and are so profuse

that they nearly hide the stems.

The leaves of the purple-leaf plum (P. cerasifera

`Atropurpurea,' Zone 3) remain a distinctive purple-red

throughout the summer. This unusual color make this

tree highly ornamental; however, the purple-leaf plum

also has other pleasing attributes. The tree itself grows

into a graceful fanlike form, usually 20 to 25 feet tall.

Single, pale pink flowers

are followed by attractive

purple fruits that are small

but edible.

Ornamental plum trees

may be planted in any well-drained,

fertile soil in full

sun or light shade.

In general, plum trees

are described as having an

elegant yet rugged appearance;

their flowering creates

a subtle effect in the

landscape. Less subtle are

the flowering cherries.

Flowering cherries are

admired the world over,

but perhaps nowhere more

than in Japan. Japanese

gardeners value not only

the soft, luscious-looking

flowers, but also the general

artistic effect of the

trees -- their form, bark

texture, foliage and color.

The best-known flowering

cherries on this continent

are those surrounding the Tidal Basin in Washington,

D.C. Prominent in this planting is the Yoshino cherry

(Prunus yedoensis, Zone 5) -- a tree that inspires fanatical

devotion. I know a gardener whose main objection to

moving from the handsome older home where she had

lived for 20 years was the idea of being parted from her

own Yoshinos. This cherry possesses an exquisite beauty:

its profusion of small, faintly fragrant flowers range from

soft blush pink to white and give an ethereal, misty effect.

These flowers open in early spring, like those of the plum,

even before the leaves appear. The Yoshino is a

fast-growing, bushy tree, often achieving a height of 25 feet.

The cherry I am especially devoted to is the weeping

Higan cherry (Prunus subhirtella `Pendula,' Zone 5). Last

spring my own weeping cherry, which I had planted about

six years before, finally achieved a degree of glorious

maturity, with branches cascading to the ground. It

looked for all the world like a shimmering pink fountain.

"Please don't carry on about it any more," members of

my family begged after hearing my frequent rhapsodies

of admiration for the tree. I must state, however, that it

was an incredible sight against the green of

spring grass or a clear blue sky. It is hard to

envision a better specimen tree, graceful and

elegant throughout all seasons. I also enjoy the

muted color of its foliage in the fall; the leaves

turn a subtle yellow with overtones of apricot

and peach.

The list of lovely cherries goes on and on.

The showy, ruffled flowers of Prunus serrulata

`Kwanzan' (Zone 5) are a deeper, rosier pink,

sometimes criticized as being "unsubtle." This is

one of the easiest-to-grow ornamental trees,

often reaching the impressive size of 30 feet or more.

Prunus serrulata `Shogetsu' (Zone 5) gives an airy,

delicate look to a garden, almost as if a cloud has come down

to rest. Its many-petalled flowers are pale pink and white.

Almost all cherries prefer full sun or light shade and

should be planted in moist, well-drained soil.

CRAB APPLES

A treat last spring was to see a wild crab apple tree

blooming in a neighbor's country garden. Admiring its

blush-pink blossoms, sweet-smelling and swarming with

bees, I was reminded of a white-blossomed tree at my

childhood home. My mother chose and planted it when I

had barely begun grade school; I believe it was a Sargent

crab apple (Malus sargentii, Zone 4). I still remember the

dark red "fairy apples," as I called them, that spilled on

the ground every fall.