Fast Growing Flowering Trees: The Quickest Bloomers Worth Planting

Fast growing flowering trees give you two things at once: quick height and a real flower show, often in the first season or two. The trick is that “fast” and “flowering” pull in different directions. Some quick growers flower late or sparsely, and a few of the fastest bloomers are invasive trees you should never plant. This guide ranks the flowering trees that grow fast AND earn their spot, with every growth rate and bloom time pulled from university extension data. It pairs with our broader fast-growing trees hub for the speed angle and our general flowering trees guide for the full bloom calendar.

A quick note on what counts as fast. NC State Extension rates trees Slow, Medium, or Rapid, which works out to roughly under 12 inches, 13 to 24 inches, and 25 inches or more of height per year. Those are bands, not exact numbers, so I’ll flag where the rating is a range rather than a measured rate.

What makes a flowering tree fast

Two things have to line up. The tree has to add height quickly, and it has to flower without making you wait a decade. Plenty of trees do one or the other. Few do both well.

Growth rate is the easy part to measure. A rapid grower puts on 25 inches or more a year early in its life, then slows as it matures. Crape myrtle, jacaranda, and tulip tree all hit that mark.

Bloom timing is the catch. A tree can grow fast and still take years to flower heavily, especially the ones that bloom on old wood. The trees that flower soonest are the ones that bloom on new growth, like crape myrtle, because every season’s fresh shoots carry buds. That’s why I lead the ranking with it.

Here’s the tradeoff nobody mentions at the nursery. The two fastest-flowering trees on most lists, mimosa and the empress tree, are invasive. Fast growth is exactly what makes them spread into wild land and crowd out natives. Speed cuts both ways, so the ranking below separates the fast trees worth planting from the fast trees to avoid.

The fastest-growing flowering trees

These are the trees that grow quick and flower well, ranked with speed as the spine. Each one carries its growth rate, bloom season, mature size, and zones from extension data, plus the one caveat I’d give a neighbor.

Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). The best fast-and-flowering tree for most yards, full stop. NC State Extension rates it a rapid grower, and it blooms July through September on new wood, so you get flowers the first summer it’s in the ground. Clemson HGIC confirms the moderate-to-fast rate and the long summer-into-fall bloom. Mature size runs anywhere from 6 to 30 feet depending on cultivar, in zones 6 to 9. The caveat: avoid the powdery-mildew-prone old cultivars and don’t top it every winter. For the full timeline, see how fast crape myrtle trees grow.

Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia). The purple-flowered tree you see lining streets in warm-winter cities. NC State Extension rates it rapid, reaching 25 to 50 feet, and it covers its whole crown in blue-purple spring flowers while still nearly leafless. It needs warmth, though. NC State lists it for zones 9b through 13b, so it’s a California, Gulf Coast, and Florida tree, not a cold-climate one. The caveat: the spent flowers drop into a slick mess, so don’t plant it over a patio or driveway.

Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). The fast flowering tree that also throws real shade. NC State rates it rapid and lists it at a towering 80 to 120 feet in zones 4 to 9, with greenish-orange tulip-shaped flowers in May and early June. The flowers sit high in the canopy, so you appreciate them more from an upstairs window than the lawn. The caveat: this is a big tree with brittle wood, so give it room away from the house and don’t plant it on a small lot.

Saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana). Not the fastest, but worth the spot for the show. NC State rates it a medium grower at 15 to 33 feet in zones 4 to 9, with big cup-shaped pink-and-white flowers in late winter to early spring, before the leaves. The caveat: those early blooms get browned by a late frost some years, so plant it where it isn’t the first thing the morning sun hits in February. Our guide on how fast magnolia trees grow covers the species side by side.

Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). The native that lights up the spring woods. NC State rates it medium, 20 to 30 feet tall in zones 4 to 9, with pink-purple flowers in March through May that bloom right on the bare branches and even the trunk. The caveat: redbud isn’t long-lived, often 20 to 30 years, so treat it as a beautiful medium-term tree, not an heirloom oak. For more pink-and-purple options, see our trees with pink and purple flowers roundup.

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). The classic understory bloomer. NC State rates it medium, 15 to 25 feet in zones 5 to 9, with white or pink spring bracts March through May. The caveat: dogwood wants part shade and even moisture, and it’s prone to anthracnose in damp, crowded sites, so give it morning sun and air movement.

One honest demotion. Golden chain tree (Laburnum anagyroides) shows up on a lot of fast-flowering lists for its dripping yellow May-June blooms, but NC State actually rates it a slow grower at 15 to 30 feet in zones 5 to 7. It’s gorgeous and it’s worth planting, but it doesn’t belong in a fast-growth ranking, so I left it off the speed list. Plant it for the flowers, not the hurry.

Fast but invasive, plant with caution

Now the two trees nurseries still sell that you should walk right past. Both grow faster than anything above. Both flower heavily. And both are invasive, which is exactly why I’m warning you off them.

Mimosa or silktree (Albizia julibrissin). Fast, with frilly pink summer powder-puff flowers from May through July, reaching 20 to 40 feet. It looks tropical and it grows quick. But NC State Extension states plainly that it has escaped cultivation and is now invasive across the southeastern United States. The wood is weak, it self-seeds into every fence line and ditch, and the seedlings come up everywhere. Skip it. Plant a crape myrtle for the same pink summer color without the spread.

Empress or princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa). This is the fastest flowering tree on the list and the worst choice on it. NC State Extension clocks it at up to 15 feet of growth a year, reaching 50 feet in about a decade, with showy violet spring flowers. It also says outright that the tree is not recommended for cultivation, listed as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council, the NC Forest Service, and the USDA. It seeds prolifically into disturbed land and stream banks. The speed is real and the flowers are real, but so is the damage. Don’t plant it. This is the same call we make on our worst trees for your yard list.

If you want fast and flowering, the honest move is crape myrtle, jacaranda in warm zones, or redbud. You get the speed without inviting a tree you’ll spend years pulling out of the back fence.

How to get blooms faster

Speed in the catalog only matters if the tree actually performs in your yard. Three things move blooms up by years.

Plant in full sun. Most flowering trees need six or more hours of direct sun to set heavy buds. A redbud or crape myrtle stuck in afternoon shade grows leggy and flowers thin. Pick the sunniest spot you’ve got.

Water deeply through the first two summers. A new flowering tree puts its energy into roots before flowers, and drought stress stalls both. Soak the root zone once or twice a week in the heat, not a daily sprinkle. A TreeGator watering bag makes this hands-off for the first couple of seasons.

Feed for flowers, not leaves. Skip the high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer that pushes green growth at the expense of buds. An organic tree food like Espoma Tree-Tone, applied in early spring, gives a balanced feed that supports bloom without forcing soft, floppy growth.

Prune at the right time, which depends on when your tree blooms. Spring bloomers like redbud, dogwood, and saucer magnolia set their buds the previous summer, so prune them right after they flower, not in winter, or you’ll cut off next year’s show. Crape myrtle blooms on new wood, so a light shaping in late winter is fine, but don’t top it. Clean cuts with a sharp Felco F2 bypass pruner heal faster and keep disease out. For the spring-bloomer calendar, see our spring flowering trees guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the fastest growing flowering tree? Among the ones worth planting, crape myrtle and jacaranda are the fastest. NC State Extension rates both as rapid growers, and crape myrtle blooms the first summer it goes in the ground. The empress tree and mimosa grow faster still, but both are invasive and not recommended. For a fast tree that flowers and won’t cause trouble, plant crape myrtle.

How fast do crape myrtles grow? Fast. NC State Extension rates crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) as a rapid grower, which puts a well-watered young tree comfortably above two feet a year for the first several years. They bloom July through September on new growth, so you get flowers the same season you plant. Mature size runs anywhere from 6 to 30 feet depending on the cultivar. For the cultivar-by-cultivar timeline, see how fast crape myrtle trees grow.

What flowering tree grows fast and provides shade? Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). NC State rates it rapid, and it reaches 80 to 120 feet at maturity, so it doubles as a real shade tree. The greenish-orange tulip-shaped flowers show in May and early June. Give it room, since it gets large in zones 4 to 9.

Are there fast growing flowering trees I should avoid? Yes. The empress or princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa) and mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) both grow fast and flower, but NC State Extension lists both as invasive and recommends against planting them. The empress tree adds up to 15 feet a year and seeds aggressively into wild areas. Skip both and plant crape myrtle or redbud instead.

How can I get my flowering tree to bloom faster? Plant it in full sun, water it deeply through the first two summers, and skip the high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer that pushes leaves at the expense of flowers. Most flowering trees bloom on either old wood or new wood, so prune at the right time for your species. A young tree in good soil with six-plus hours of sun will bloom years sooner than one fighting for light.