Trees with white flowers have a way of lifting and lightening a garden’s mood—as well as soothing the mood of the gardener. In the evenings, their glimmering nocturnal presence is a comfort, and by day their pale petals, augmented by bare branches or the textural contrast of foliage, are an elegantly calming balm. For the final chapter of our series, here are some of our favorite trees with white flowers for you to consider as sentinels among your perennials and shrubs. They range from small to statuesque, and can offer blossoms from very early spring through the first frost.
Photography by Marie Viljoen.
1. Star Magnolia
Above: Star magnolias are the first magnolia to break bud in early spring.
Bursting from their velvet bud capsules, star magnolias (Magnolia stellata) are small to medium-sized trees and one of the earliest to bloom in spring. The flowers appear against a fretwork of bare branches and are gently scented (as well as edible in a gingery way). Star magnolias are hardy from USA growing zones 4 to 8.
2. Serviceberry
Above: Serviceberries are one of the earliest native trees to flower.
Native Amelanchier species range from shrubs to medium trees and are known variously as serviceberry, shadbush, shadblow, saskatoon and juneberry. Amelanchier canadensis, A. arborea and A. x grandiflora are tree-forms of the genus, and their white flowers are one of the earliest of the year. (In areas where shad run (or ran) up stream to spawn in spring, the flowers coincide with their journey.) The delicate blossoms are followed by sweet, edible fruit in early summer. Amelanchier species are hardy from USDA zones 4 to 9.
3. Crabapple
Above: White cultivars of crabapple offer scented confetti for two weeks of bloom.
White forms of crabapple (whose apple blossoms also range from the palest of pinks to deep burgundy) are plush with scented flowers in mid-spring, their ruffled blossoms offset against fresh new foliage. Crabapples are hardy from zones 4 to 8.
4. Hawthorn
Above: Hawthorn flowers pop against a backdrop of beech leaves.
Hawthorns are species of Crataegus and flower in late spring. The trees bear scarlet and orange fruit well into late autumn. Crataegus viridis is a North American native species and one of the most widely used in gardens. Hawthorns are hardy from USDA zones 4 to 7.
5. Native Cherries
Above: Native black cherry develops into a very tall tree, and requires space.
Above: The upright panicles of bird cherry flowers.
The white flowers of native American cherries like statuesque Prunus serotina (black cherry) and slightly less imposing P. padus (bird cherry) flower a month or more after the famous cherry blossom displays of Asian species. These trees are very valuable food sources for pollinators and wildlife, and the ripe fruit is useful for humans, too. Very cold-tolerant native cherries are hardy from USDA zones 3 to 9.
6. Native Dogwoods
Above: The white flowers native dogwoods attract pollinators.
Native dogwoods like Cornus sericea and C. racemosa bloom in early summer and both small trees (or large shrubs) are adaptable to semi-shade. They are hardy from USDA zones 3 to 7, and 4 to 8, respectively.
7. Blackhaw
Above: Elderflower lookalike blackhaw is a viburnum with sweet, early fall fruit.
Like serviceberry, blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium) is another of the small native trees with white flowers that is deeply appealing to birds, other wildlife, and also to humans. This viburnum’s large clusters of tiny flowers give way to sweet, purple-black fruit in late summer and fall. Blackhaw is hardy from zones 3 to 9.
8. Black Locust (or Acacia)
Above: Racemes of perfumed black locust flowers.
North America’s black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) is known as acacia in Europe, where the trees have naturalized and become invasive. Their perfumed (and deliciously edible) white flowers appear in late spring and are the source of acacia honey (the name is acacia is very confusing since it bears no relation to the genus Acacia). Black locust are large trees, although they can be pruned while young to maintain a more moderate size. They are hardy from zones 3 to 8.
9. Fragrant Snowbell
Above: Fragrant snowbell is spectacular in bloom and heavily scented.
Among these trees with white flowers, the long, flower-strewn racemes of richly-scented fragrant snowbell stand out as they buzz with bees. Styrax obassia is a small tree with large velvety leaves,and hardy from USDA zones 5 to 8. It flowers best in full sun.
10. Fringe Trees
Above: Chionanthus virginicus
Above: The scented flowers of Chionanthus retusus can resemble star jasmine.
The airy white flowers of medium-sized fringe trees bloom in early summer and are followed by blue fruit in fall. There are dozens of species of fringe tree, and native Chionanthus virginicus is well known in the nursery trade; it is hardy from zones 3 to 9, while Asian species grow well in zones 5 to 9.
11. Magnolia sieboldii
About: The cup-shaped flowers of M. sieboldii.
Above: Magnolia sieboldii’s downturned and graceful white flowers.
The striking, peony-like flowers of M. sieboldii appear in early summer and then intermittently through fall. The small tree grows well in partial shade and is hardy from UDA zones 6 to 8.
12. Stewartia
Above: Stewartia blooms in midsummer.
Stewartia trees’ white flowers appear in midsummer. The Asian species S. pseudocamellia is hardy from zones 5 to 8 while the US native S. ovata grows happily in zones 5 to 9. Both trees bloom reliably in half a day of sun.
13. Southern Magnolia
Above: The luminous blooms of southern magnolia.
The dramatic blooms of evergreen native Magnolia grandiflora flower through summer. The waxy, dinner-plate sized blooms are perfumed and very attractive to native bumblebees. The seed capsules that follow flowering are an added ornamental feature. Southern magnolia can be grown in USDA zones 7 to 9 (and possibly 6, with protection).
Read more: Magnolia grandiflora – Ancient Flower, Fresh Flavor.
14. Franklinia
Above: Native Franklinia is extinct in the wild.
Famously, Franklinia alatamaha, no longer exists in wild populations. Sometimes mistaken for Stewartia, Franklinia differs in that it blooms from late summer into fall, when its foliage turns scarlet. Franklinia can be grown in USDA zones 5 to 8.
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