Spring-flowering trees

Flower & Garden Magazine, March-April, 1998 by Molly Dean

or deep reddish violet. The fruits, attractive to

birds, are usually 2 inches or less in diameter. Most

varieties produce edible fruits that can be used for jelly,

butter or pickles.

Being relatively small trees, crab apples are appropriate

choices for intimate settings. Despite their lovely

appearance, most have the ability to withstand city problems

such as traffic fumes and pollution. They are not

fussy about soils or cold winters (most are hardy to Zone

4). Leaf diseases can be a problem; look for varieties that

are resistant to apple scab, fireblight and cedar apple rust.

The Japanese flowering crab (Malus floribunda) is

noted for graceful, curving branches and fragrant, profuse

pink flowers. `Brandywine' has deeper tones than

others: warm rose-pink flowers and dark foliage flushed

with red. `Red Jade' is spectacular in fall with its bright

clusters of fruit, hanging heavily from arching branches.

This cultivar bears single white flowers that open from

deep pink buds.

MAGNOLIAS

A scene remains etched on my mind from years ago: a

glimpse into a walled garden in Suffolk, England, with a

white rope hammock strung between trees and encircled

with a grove of saucer magnolias. Above, blossoms like

great rosy-purple tulips still clung to leafy branches. The

grass below was covered with a carpet of their petals.

For sheer visual impact, it is hard to beat the magnolias.

These small, generally slow-growing trees produce

fragrant flowers with a uniquely exotic look. The strong

fragrance is difficult to describe; sometimes its seems to

have a hint of lemon, sometimes the heavy sweetness I

associate with Oriental lilies.

One of the first magnolias to bloom is the star magnolia

(Magnolia stellata, Zone 3). Furry buds are discernible

on the tree during the winter; then come the double white

blossoms, which have, indeed, a very starry effect.

Because of its low branching habit, the star magnolia is

often grown as a large shrub. I have seen specimens 20

feet tall, with lower branches trailing to the ground.

My family enjoys a `Merrill' magnolia (Magnolia

x loebneri `Merrill,' Zone 4) as a specimen tree on a

section of lawn next to a white bird bath. This is a

white-flowering magnolia, loosely pyramidal in shape and

faster-growing than other varieties. Another early

magnolia, it comes into bloom a week or more before the

popular saucer magnolias.

The saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana, Zone

5) must be one of the most photographed flowering trees.

Its leathery-textured, long-lasting flowers are rosy-purple

on the outside and white inside. Smooth, silvery-gray

bark and shapely branches give the tree visual appeal in

winter. Many good cultivars exist, including the

late-blooming `Alexandrina.'

One of my goals is to plant one of the yellow-flowering

magnolias, which look so appealing in catalogs. Magnolia

acuminata cordata `Miss Honeybee' (Zone 5) is one I've

admired; it has unusual blossoms of a clear, bright yellow

with twisted petals. This variety of the yellow cucumber

tree is unusually vigorous and may eventually attain a