18 Flowering Trees That Bloom From January Through December

Most homeowners load their yard with trees that bloom in the same two weeks of April, then wonder why the landscape looks boring from May through February. You can do better than that. With the right five trees, you can have something blooming in every month of the year.

The trick is succession planting: choosing trees with staggered bloom times so one fades just as the next one opens. Witch Hazel flowers in January. Redbud opens in March. Dogwood follows in April. Crape Myrtle takes over for summer. Camellia finishes the year in November and December. That’s 11 months of flowers from five trees.

Here are 18 flowering trees organized by bloom season, with the honest details on size, disease resistance, and pruning timing that nursery tags leave out.

Early spring bloomers (February-March)

Witch Hazel

The first tree to bloom each year, often opening flowers while snow is still on the ground. Spidery yellow, orange, or red ribbons unfurl on bare branches from January through March depending on species and zone.

• Size: 10-20 ft tall
• Zones: 3-8
• Bloom: January-March (cultivar dependent)
• Colors: Yellow, orange, red, copper

Both fall-blooming (H. virginiana, October-November) and winter-blooming (H. x intermedia, January-March) species are available. The hybrid ‘Jelena’ produces copper-orange flowers in late winter followed by fiery orange-red fall foliage. ‘Arnold Promise’ offers bright yellow flowers. Both are fragrant.

Star Magnolia

One of the earliest magnolias to bloom. White star-shaped flowers (3-4 inches across) with 12-18 petals open before leaves appear. It stays small enough for any yard at 15-20 feet.

• Size: 15-20 ft tall, 10-15 ft wide
• Zones: 4-8
• Bloom: Late February-March
• Colors: White (pink in some cultivars)

It’s one of the most popular ornamental magnolias for good reason. Plant against a south-facing wall in zones 4-6 to protect early blooms from late frost. In NorCal zones 8-9, frost damage is rarely a concern.

Eastern Redbud

Clusters of tiny magenta-pink flowers burst directly from bare branches and even the trunk in March and April. It’s one of the first spring nectar sources for emerging bees, making it critical for pollinators.

• Size: 20-30 ft tall, 25-35 ft wide
• Zones: 4-9
• Bloom: March-April
• Colors: Pink-magenta (white in ‘Alba’)

Native to eastern North America. Heart-shaped leaves emerge bronze and turn green. ‘Forest Pansy’ has purple-red foliage all season. ‘Ruby Falls’ is a weeping form that stays under 10 feet, perfect for small yards. Deer-resistant per Rutgers University ratings.

Mid-spring bloomers (April-May)

Flowering Dogwood

The classic American flowering tree. Four-petaled white or pink bracts surround small green flower clusters in April, creating one of the most iconic spring displays in the eastern US.

• Size: 15-25 ft tall, 15-25 ft wide
• Zones: 5-9
• Bloom: April-May
• Colors: White, pink, red (bracts)

Dogwood anthracnose devastated native populations starting in the 1970s. Plant disease-resistant cultivars. ‘Appalachian Spring’ is 100% anthracnose resistant (found growing wild at Camp David). Hybrid crosses like ‘Stellar Pink’ and ‘Aurora’ (C. florida x C. kousa) also resist the disease. See our evergreen dogwood guide for year-round options.

Crabapple

No flowering tree offers more disease-resistant cultivars than crabapple. The best ones resist all four major diseases: apple scab, fireblight, cedar-apple rust, and powdery mildew.

• Size: 8-25 ft tall (varies by cultivar)
• Zones: 4-8
• Bloom: April-May
• Colors: White, pink, red, magenta

Top disease-resistant picks: ‘Adirondack’ (12-18 ft, white from red buds, excellent disease resistance), ‘Prairifire’ (20 ft, pink-red, outstanding resistance), ‘Sugar Tyme’ (18 ft, white, persistent red fruit). Sargent Crabapple stays just 8-10 feet for the tightest spaces.

Serviceberry

A true four-season native. White spring flowers, edible purple berries in June, brilliant red-orange fall color, and smooth gray bark in winter. It’s one of the best small native trees you can plant.

• Size: 15-25 ft tall
• Zones: 3-9
• Bloom: April
• Colors: White

‘Autumn Brilliance’ is the gold standard cultivar: 15-25 feet tall, disease-resistant, with reliably brilliant red-orange fall color. Host plant for 120+ species of moth and butterfly larvae. The berries taste like blueberries and make excellent pies.

Fringe Tree

Fragrant white fringe-like panicles drape from branches in late spring. An enchanting native tree that earned Missouri Botanical Garden’s Plant of Merit designation.

• Size: 12-20 ft tall
• Zones: 3-9
• Bloom: May
• Colors: White

Slow-growing (6-10 inches per year) but worth the wait. Male flowers are showier. Blue fruit on female trees attracts birds in fall. Native to eastern North America. Virtually pest and disease free.

Summer bloomers (June-September)

Crape Myrtle

The longest-blooming flowering tree in cultivation. Some cultivars flower continuously from July through September, up to 120 days of color. Exfoliating bark adds winter interest.

• Size: 2-30 ft (cultivar dependent)
• Zones: 6-9
• Bloom: July-September
• Colors: White, pink, red, purple, lavender

Choose the right cultivar for your space. Dwarf varieties (‘Chickasaw,’ ‘Pocomoke’) stay under 5 feet. Medium types (‘Tonto,’ ‘Osage’) reach 10-12 feet. Standards (‘Natchez,’ ‘Muskogee’) hit 20-30 feet. All National Arboretum hybrids (L. indica x L. fauriei) resist powdery mildew.

Never top crape myrtles (“crape murder”). Choose the right size cultivar and let it grow naturally. See our crape myrtle pruning guide for proper technique.

Japanese Stewartia

The connoisseur’s flowering tree. White camellia-like flowers with orange-yellow stamens open in early summer. The bark exfoliates to reveal patches of gray, orange, and cream. Fall color ranges from reddish-orange to burgundy.

• Size: 20-40 ft tall, 8-25 ft wide
• Zones: 5-8
• Bloom: June-July
• Colors: White

Arguably the best four-season ornamental tree available. Needs moist, acidic, well-drained soil and protection from hot afternoon sun. Slow to establish but stunning once it settles in.

Chaste Tree

Fragrant purple panicles up to 12 inches long bloom all summer on new wood. Deer-resistant and moderately drought-tolerant once established.

• Size: 10-20 ft tall
• Zones: 7-8 (roots survive Zone 5-6 with dieback)
• Bloom: June-September
• Colors: Purple, pink, white

‘Shoal Creek’ has larger, deeper blue-violet flowers. Prune faded flower clusters to promote continuous bloom throughout summer. Treat as a die-back shrub in zones 5-6 (it regrows and blooms on new wood each year).

Sourwood

Drooping panicles of white lily-of-the-valley-like flowers open in early summer, followed by the most consistently brilliant crimson fall color of any native tree. The honey produced from Sourwood nectar is prized in Appalachia.

• Size: 20-25 ft tall (in cultivation)
• Zones: 5-9
• Bloom: June-July
• Colors: White

Silver-gray seed capsules persist after leaf drop, adding winter interest. Slow-growing but worth the patience for three seasons of beauty.

Southern Magnolia

Massive, fragrant, creamy-white flowers up to 12 inches across bloom sporadically from May through August. Evergreen. The glossy dark green leaves with rusty-brown undersides provide year-round structure.

• Size: 20-80 ft (cultivar dependent)
• Zones: 7-9
• Bloom: May-August
• Colors: Creamy white

‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ (20-30 ft) is the cold-hardiest cultivar and works in protected Zone 6 locations. ‘Little Gem’ (15-20 ft) stays compact. The straight species can reach 80 feet, so choose a cultivar that fits your space.

Fall and winter bloomers

Franklinia

The rarest tree on this list. Extinct in the wild since the early 1800s. All cultivated specimens descend from seeds collected by John Bartram in 1765 along the Altamaha River in Georgia. Large white camellia-like flowers bloom in late summer through fall, overlapping with vivid orange-red fall foliage for a display no other tree can match.

• Size: 25 ft tall, 15 ft wide
• Zones: 5-8
• Bloom: August-October
• Colors: White with yellow center

Finicky about soil (needs moist, acidic, well-drained) and doesn’t tolerate drought or heavy clay. But if you can provide the right conditions, the simultaneous flowers-plus-fall-color show is unique in the plant world.

Camellia

The winter bloomer that fills the gap between fall and spring. C. sasanqua blooms October-December; C. japonica blooms January-March. Evergreen broadleaf foliage provides year-round structure.

• Size: 6-25 ft tall
• Zones: 6-9
• Bloom: October-March (species dependent)
• Colors: Red, pink, white, bicolor

Can be trained into tree form. Prefer partial shade and acidic, well-drained soil. In NorCal, Camellia japonica is a foundation landscape plant.

Winter-Flowering Cherry

The only cherry that blooms in winter. Pinkish-white semi-double flowers appear off and on from November through March, with the best flush in early spring.

• Size: 20-30 ft tall
• Zones: 5-8
• Bloom: November-March (intermittent)
• Colors: Pinkish-white

Reliable orange-yellow fall color. For the best ornamental cherries by region, see our guide on where cherry trees grow best.

The succession planting calendar

Plant these five trees for year-round blooms in zones 7-8:

Month	What’s Blooming
Jan-Feb	Witch Hazel ‘Jelena’
March	Eastern Redbud
April-May	Kousa Dogwood
June	Japanese Stewartia
July-Sept	Crape Myrtle ‘Natchez’
Oct-Dec	Camellia sasanqua

For zones 5-6, swap Crape Myrtle for Seven-Son Flower (blooms August-September with persistent pink sepals into fall) and Camellia for Common Witch Hazel (H. virginiana, which blooms October-November).

Pruning timing: the one rule that matters most

The single biggest mistake homeowners make with flowering trees is pruning at the wrong time and cutting off next year’s blooms.

The rule: Divide flowering trees by when they bloom relative to mid-June.

Spring bloomers (before mid-June) form buds on last year’s wood. Prune 2-3 weeks AFTER flowers fade. If you prune in fall or winter, you cut off the flower buds. This applies to: Magnolia, Redbud, Cherry, Dogwood, Crabapple, Serviceberry, Fringe Tree.

Summer bloomers (after mid-June) form buds on current year’s wood. Prune in LATE WINTER before new growth starts. This applies to: Crape Myrtle, Chaste Tree, Seven-Son Flower.

See our complete pruning timing guide for details on every tree type.

Disease-resistant picks

If you want flowering trees that don’t require spraying:

• Dogwood: Plant ‘Appalachian Spring’ (anthracnose immune) or Kousa Dogwood hybrids instead of standard C. florida
• Crabapple: ‘Adirondack,’ ‘Prairifire,’ and ‘Sugar Tyme’ resist all four major diseases
• Crape Myrtle: All National Arboretum hybrids (‘Natchez,’ ‘Muskogee,’ ‘Tonto,’ ‘Osage,’ ‘Hopi’) resist powdery mildew
• Serviceberry: ‘Autumn Brilliance’ has good disease resistance across its range

Best flowering trees for pollinators

Native flowering trees support dramatically more insect species than non-natives.

For bees: Eastern Redbud (critical early nectar), Serviceberry (120+ caterpillar species), Sourwood (produces prized honey), Crabapple (relies on bee pollination)

For hummingbirds: Desert Willow (tubular flowers), Chaste Tree, Crape Myrtle

For butterflies: Serviceberry (host plant), Redbud (early nectar), Chaste Tree (summer magnet)

Plant insectary flowers beneath your flowering trees. Yarrow, cosmos, and coreopsis fill gaps between tree bloom periods and keep predatory insects around to control aphids and other pests.

Deer-resistant flowering trees

Based on deer resistance ratings:

Rarely damaged: Magnolia (all species), Redbud, Dogwood (C. florida and C. kousa), Crape Myrtle, Chaste Tree

Frequently damaged: Crabapple, some Cherry varieties

If deer are a constant problem, stick with Magnolia, Redbud, and Crape Myrtle. The aromatic compounds in Magnolia foliage and the bitter bark of Redbud make them unappealing browse.

Best flowering trees by zone

Zones 5-6: Serviceberry, Crabapple, Star Magnolia, Redbud, Dogwood (resistant cultivars), Japanese Stewartia, Fringe Tree, Witch Hazel, Sourwood, Franklinia

Zone 7: Everything above plus Southern Magnolia (‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’), Camellia japonica, Chaste Tree, standard Crape Myrtle cultivars

Zone 8-9 (including Sacramento/NorCal): Everything above plus large Crape Myrtle selections, Desert Willow, Western Redbud (California native), Okame Cherry. Desert Willow, Oklahoma Redbud, Star Magnolia, and Kwanzan Cherry all do well in the Central Valley. See our guide to trees native to Sacramento for more California-adapted options.

Frequently asked questions

What is the longest blooming flowering tree? Crape Myrtle. Some cultivars bloom continuously from July through September, up to 120 days. No other flowering tree comes close. In Sacramento and the Central Valley, the bloom period can extend even longer.

What flowering tree stays small? Sargent Crabapple (8-10 ft), Redbud ‘Ruby Falls’ (under 10 ft), Chaste Tree (10-15 ft), and Fringe Tree (12-20 ft) all fit tight spaces. For the full lineup, see our dwarf trees guide.

When should I prune my flowering tree? Spring bloomers (Magnolia, Redbud, Dogwood, Cherry): prune right after flowers fade. Summer bloomers (Crape Myrtle, Chaste Tree): prune in late winter. Getting this wrong means no flowers next year. Our pruning timing guide covers every species.

What flowering tree has the best fall color? Sourwood produces the most consistently brilliant crimson of any native tree. Serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’ delivers red-orange. Franklinia is unique because it blooms and shows fall color simultaneously. For trees grown specifically for autumn display, see our best trees for fall colors guide.

Are flowering trees messy? Some are. Crabapples drop fruit (choose persistent-fruit varieties to reduce mess). Cherry trees drop petals and fruit. Magnolias shed large leaves and seed pods. Crape Myrtle is relatively clean. Redbud and Serviceberry produce minimal litter.

What flowering tree grows fastest? Crape Myrtle (1-4 ft/year depending on cultivar) and Redbud (1-2 ft/year) are the fastest. Japanese Stewartia and Fringe Tree grow slowly (6-10 inches per year). For faster shade trees that also flower, see our fast growing trees guide.

Can I plant flowering trees near the sidewalk? Redbud, Serviceberry, Crape Myrtle, and Fringe Tree all have well-behaved root systems suitable for sidewalk planting strips. Avoid Southern Magnolia (surface roots) and large Crabapple varieties near hardscaping. Consult your city’s approved street tree list before planting in the right-of-way.