Southwest Michigan - What's Blooming?
SPRING - There's no doubt that Spring in
southwest Michigan is a beautiful time of the year.
Following are trees and shrubs which are blooming in late April, early May.
Forsythia - Showy, rounded
shrub that explodes in brilliant masses of yellow flowers.
Use as a background shrub or as a feature in the perennial
garden. Upright grower, excellent as a screen. Deciduous.
Full sun. Moderate grower to 8 feet tall, 6 feet wide.
Redbud - Beautiful garden tree valued for its timing; petite purple-red
flowers on bare branches bridge the gap between winter and spring! New foliage has soft-pink tint,
maturing to lustrous rich green. Deciduous. Full sun. Moderate grower to 15 feet tall and wide.
Bradford Pear - Narrow conical
shaped lawn and shade tree displays outstanding clusters of
white flowers early in season; terrific yellow to red to
purple foliage color in fall. Beautiful garden addition that
produces no edible fruit. Deciduous. Full sun. Moderate
grower to 30 to 35 feet tall, 20 to 25 feet wide, larger and
broader with age.
Flowering Almond - In early spring
the bare slender stems of this shrub transform
into wands of fluffy, pompom-like pink flowers. The
handsome, light green, willow-like foliage adds to the
beauty of this clumping, upright, spreading plant. Prune
heavily after flowering to promote strong new growth for
next year’s blooms. Excellent for use as an informal hedge,
accent or mixed border planting. Cut blooming branches to bring
indoors for fresh flower arrangements. Deciduous. Full sun.
Grows vigorously to 4 to 6 feet tall and wide.
Flowering Quince - Delightful soft
apricot-pink blooms precede foliage, among first flowers to
appear each year and long-lasting! Useful compact hedge or
shrub. Greenish-yellow quince-like fruit
attracts birds. Deciduous. Full sun. Moderate grower to 3
feet tall, 5 feet wide.
Doublefile Viburnum - Broadly rounded form to this medium
size deciduous shrub. Its dense tiered horizontal branches magnificently
display the profusion of large flower clusters. Red fruit in fall is
very ornamental.
LATE SPRING - As spring blossoms take their turn dazzling
a landscape and eventually fade to greenery, several bushes and trees begin their awakening.
They are just as breathtaking and serve to lengthen spring in Michigan. Here's what's blooming
in June.
Mock Orange -
Beautiful,
extremely fragrant double white flowers in late
spring make a striking landscape specimen with a fountain-like form.
Useful as a screen or informal hedge. Effective background
plant.
Kousa Dogwood -
Attractive
horizontal tiers of branches help make this small deciduous
tree popular. Splendid profusion of large white bracts
followed in fall by hanging red fruit. Autumn leaves have
red-scarlet tints. Special accent.
