Kwanzan Cherry

Elisabeth — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:49:00 GMT

At this time of the year, the flowering cherry tree (Prunus serrulata 'Kwanzan' or Kwanzan cherry) is at its best. A nearby school boasts two of them, and when they are in full bloom, more than one elementary student carries home fallen blossoms to his or her mother after school. Those blossoms are the essence of all that is pink and frilly--a little like a carnation without the ragged edges, or like a semi-double rose. They are borne in enormous numbers on the trees, which are masses of solid pink for at least a couple of weeks. Here those weeks happen in mid April, elsewhere it might be earlier or later.

The trees are not enormous, growing between 20-30 feet tall at maturity. At other times of the year their attractive gray bark and green leaves make them useful in the landscape. Like all ornamental cherries, they do not bear delicious edible fruit. Depending on where they are planted, this can be a good thing. The school principal, for example, is very thankful that the trees do not provide a ready source of projectiles in the fall.

My daughter, who carried those cherry blossoms home to me many days, always wanted a Kwanzan cherry tree. We don't really have room for one unless lightening strikes the sturdy maple in front of the house. Maybe my child, now a junior in college, will plant one herself one of these days.

Star Magnolia

Elisabeth — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:35:00 GMT

We are having a long, cold spring--the kind with a few tantalizingly warm and sunny days interspersed with three or four-day spells of unseasonable cold. If this continues, the daffodils will last longer than usual and we will finally have a good year for ornamental sweet peas. The magnolia blossoms, so long anticipated and sometimes so short-lived, may hang around as well.

I love all kinds of magnolias, but I am especially taken with Magnolia stellata or star magnolia. The trees, which grow ten to twelve-feet tall, are shorter than some of the other magnolias, so they fit nicely in smaller yards. A stellata would be a great tree for a condo or townhouse dweller who wants a flowering tree, but has either a long narrow space or a modest ribbon of property.

Stellatas don't have the big puffy flowers of old-fashioned magnolias. Instead, the pink or white blossoms have thin petals arranged in a star-like configuration. Like other magnolia varieties, stellatas bloom fairly early in the spring.

Other than sunny space and the usual, well-drained soil, the star magnolias don't demand much. Plan any light pruning for spring and bring the blooming branches into the house so that you can enjoy their color and fragrance inside and out.

Growing Wise : flowering trees

Kwanzan Cherry

Star Magnolia