Plant Winter Flowering Trees for Color in Your Winter Landscape

Winter Flowering Trees: There are fewer trees to choose from that bloom during the coldest time of year, but the choices are beauties.  There are early dogwoods that bloom brilliantly in yellow to dispel the gloom of winter.  Early blooming cherries and flowering apricots also delight in shades of pink.

Some of these will be early spring bloomers depending upon where you live, but in the South where I am, they typically bloom in late winter.  And by that I mean before the official end of winter around March 20-21.

Cornus mas, corneliancherry dogwood, Zones 4-7. The tiny yellow blooms that cover this small winter flowering tree before the leaves emerge create a lovely glow to herald the approach of spring. Makes a nice specimen or screen and is most effectively using against a darker background to showcase the spring color. "Redbird' is a good one to try.

Cornus officinalis, Japanese Cornel dogwood, Zones 5-8. This member of the dogwood family is similar to Cornus mas and blooms a little earlier, though the flowers are a showier and the bark is more ornamental.  It produces the same red fruits as C. mas, but they ripen in the fall.  This type is a better choice for Southern gardens as it is a bit hardier.  ‘Kintoki,’ a Japanese cultivar, has vivid yellow blooms and makes a showier specimen than the species.  ‘Spring Glow’ is another excellent ornamental choice for bright yellow flowers in late February, interesting bark, edible red fruits, and maroon fall color.

Magnolia zenii, Zen's magnolia, Zones 6-8. This winter blooming magnolia, from China, is a recent introduction to the United States, and is one of the first magnolias to bloom (January to February) with flowers similar to M. X soulangeana and fragrant.

Parrotia persica, Persian ironwood, Zones 4-8. This member of the witchhazel family is an outstanding small winter blooming tree or large shrub that deserves wider use. Not only does it provide winter flowers of deep red (though small, actually the stamens) that are long-lasting, but the new leaves emerge reddish-purple, it has beautiful exfoliating bark, and the fall color is outstanding too. A tree for all seasons.

Prunus mume, Japanese flowering apricot, Zones 6-9. An interesting small winter flowering tree that produces pale pink winter flowers on bare green branches.  ‘Peggy Clarke’ has double cup-shaped rose-pink fragrant flowers; ‘Rosebud’ has pale pink double flowers.

Prunus 'Okame,' Zones 6-8. One of the loveliest of flowering cherries for winter and one of the earliest to bloom is 'Okame,' a hybrid between P. campanulata and P. incisa with lovely deep pink blooms and greater hardiness from its P. incisa parent.

Prunus subhirtella var. autumnalis, autumn flowering cherry, Zones 5-8.  Some of the delicate pale pink flowers open in the autumn and sporadically during a mild winter to finish with a flourish in late winter to early spring. A lovely winter flowering tree to use as a specimen in the garden.

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