Turn Your Backyard Into A Beautiful Floral Display: Grow Ornamental Flowering Trees

You can grow a variety of flowering ornamental fruit trees in your yard and enjoy a lovely floral display in spring and winter. Whether you choose flowering cherry, peach, or plum, you can cut branches and use them for indoor floral arrangements. With some TLC and the right location, you can easily grow ornamental members of the genus Prunus, which are ornamental, non-fruiting tree varieties. 

Flowering Cherry

Flowering cherry trees bloom in early to mid-spring, depending on variety. Blooms usually appear before tree leaf out, but some may blossom with new leaf growth. All varieties are good trees to garden under. You can choose larger varieties, like Great White Cherry for shade and fall color, or smaller varieties, like Weeping Higan Cherry for a Japanese garden. 

All varieties have the same cultural needs:

• Fast-draining, well-aerated soil
• Moderate water
• Sunny location
• Pruning to remove awkward or crossed branches

You can pinch back aggressively growing shoots to force branching. 

Flowering Peach

Flowering peach blooms in late winter to early spring, before leafing out. It is identical to fruiting peach trees in terms of size, cultural needs, growth habit, and pruning requirements. To ensure a healthy tree it needs proper care, including:

• A location with good drainage
• Full sun to partial shade
• A regular fertilization schedule

Place flowering peach trees where they will appear striking while in bloom but unobtrusive when out of bloom. Trees make good screens for several months out of the year. 

Flowering Plum

Flowering plums bloom in midwinter and mid-spring, usually before new leaves appear. Many varieties have purple foliage. These trees are less particular about soil than other ornamental trees and have the following cultural needs.

• Moist soil
• Full sun to partial shade
• Little, if any, pruning

Flowering plums make good screens and specimen trees. They are safe to plant beneath power lines and offer good fall color. 

Cutting Branches For Indoor Color

To enjoy long-lasting blooms indoors from flowering trees, cut branches just at the buds have opened or when they first begin to show color. Take your branches indoors and place them in a deep container of water. Make sure to strip off any flower or buds that would be below the water level. Use them in arrangements or alone to bring some of the outdoor beauty indoors. 

Flowering fruit trees make lovely additions to your yard. There are other Prunus varieties: flowering almond and flowering apricot. You can contact a local tree service like Done-Rite Tree Company Inc. for assistance in choosing the best ornamental flowering fruit trees for your landscape needs. 

Share