Plant a Pink Flowering Tree for Beauty That'll Last Years and Years
If you've ever driven past a house with a bright pink tree flowering in the front lawn, you know just how stunning it can look. Pink flowering trees bring the “wow” factor to any landscape. And they add that pop of color and drama year after year.
While annual flowers add instant impact, and perennials provide reliable color for many seasons, your landscape will benefit from the year-round interest and structure of trees. Pink flowering trees often bloom in spring, but many also flower at other times during the growing season. Flowering trees are beneficial to pollinators, too.
When shopping, read the plant tag or description of any tree you’re considering so you’ll give it exactly what it needs. Most flowering trees require full sun, which is considered 6 or more hours of direct sunlight per day, or they will not bloom well.
Also, when planting, pay attention to how tall the tree will get. Watch out for overhead wires, roof overhangs and other trees that may eventually crowd it out.
Don’t place trees too close to your house, driveway or walk, either. That little stick tree in the gallon pot may look tiny now, but it will grow! If you have limited room, look for small trees, or dwarf varieties, that fit in more compact spaces.
Finally, choose a flowering that will survive winters in your USDA Hardiness zone, which has been recently updated. (Find your zone here.)
Ahead, our favorite trees with pretty-in-pink flowers:
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Tiny, exquisite hot pink sweetpea-like flowers cover the branches of this tree in early spring, long before the pretty heart-shaped leaves develop.
Redbuds are adaptable native trees and do well when they receive part sun. Many new varieties have been developed with varying heights, forms, and foliage colors.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Sun exposure: Part sun
Mature size: 10 to 25 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide
Pink Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
The dogwood tree, another North American native, has lovely pink flowers that appear in early spring. The tiny yellow-green flowers in the center are surrounded by showy blush petal-like bracts which open flat.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Sun exposure: Full sun to part shade
Mature size: 15 to 25 feet tall and wide
Learn more: 11 Types of Dogwood Trees and Shrubs for Any Yard
Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp)
There are tons of different types of crape myrtle, and they’re all stunning! With varying shades of pale to electric pink flowers, you’ll love this tree’s ruffled blooms that appear for months from spring through summer.
Dwarf varieties top out at 5 to 10 feet tall, so you can enjoy this fast-growing tree even in a small garden.
USDA Hardiness zones: 6 to 9
Sun exposure: Part to full sun
Mature size: 3 to 15 feet tall and 4 to 12 feet wide
Magnolia (Magnolia spp)
Magnolia trees are a favorite in the South, though there are varieties that can withstand the frigid temperatures of snowy climates.
The iconic Southern magnolia is an evergreen that can reach heights of 100 feet and widths of 30 to 50 feet. Saucer magnolias reach 40 feet tall, with cup-shaped flowers in early spring in colder climates. Star magnolias are more shrub-like, with star-shaped flowers; they tolerate much colder temperatures, topping out at 15 feet tall.
Read the plant tag or description to choose the right size and type for your region.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 10
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature size: 15 to 100 feet tall and 5 to 50 feet wide
Learn more about magnolia flowers.
Weeping Cherry (Prunus pendula)
Perhaps there’s no better symbol of spring than the stunning weeping cherry tree. When its pendulous branches are laden with pink blossoms, you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it. There’s a reason people travel to see the cherry trees in bloom in places such as Japan and Washington, D.C.!
Different cultivars come in varying sizes, so read the plant tag or description to find one that will fit in your landscape.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature size: 8 to 20 feet tall and 6 to 20 feet wide
Pink Japanese Snowbell (Styrax japonicas)
This tree may not be familiar to you, but it’s absolutely gorgeous!
With blush-pink bell-shaped flowers that appear in late spring to early summer and a cotton-candy-scent, this specimen will be like no other tree on your street.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature size: 8 to 10 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide
Weigela (Weigela florida)
Weigela is more of a very large shrub, but it has tubular flowers that hummingbirds absolutely adore so it’s a lovely addition for the pollinators in your landscape.
This is a good choice if you want spring and early summer color but don’t have room for a full-sized flowering tree. Some new types rebloom later in the season.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature size: 4 to 5 feet tall and wide
Here's our guide to growing a pollinator garden.
Crabapple (Malus)
Crabapple trees are real show stoppers in the spring when their branches are covered entirely in lush pink blooms.
The berries develop later in the season and are a favorite of birds, so be aware it can be a wee bit messy and is best planted away from driveways or walkways.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Sun exposure: Full to part sun
Mature size: 15 to 25 tall and wide
Rhododendron (Rhododendron)
This large broadleaf evergreen shrub has pinkish-purple flowers that appear in mid-spring. It’s a reliable bloomer and very cold-hardy. Rhododendrons make good screening hedges, too.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Sun exposure: Full to part sun
Mature size: 5 to 10 feet tall and wide
Flowering Almond (Prunus triloba)
Flowering almond trees may be more petite and shrub-like or more tree-like in form. Both have beautiful fluffy pink blooms in spring.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Sun exposure: Part to full sun
Mature size: 8 to 10 feet tall wide
Camellia (Camellia spp)
Camellias have gorgeous rose-like flowers that appear in late winter to early spring for a striking accent plant in any southern garden. The flowers are so perfect that they don’t even look real!
Camellias are available in a wide range of sizes and various shades of pink to red.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 9
Sun exposure: Part to full sun
Mature size: 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 10 wide
Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
Kousa dogwoods bloom about a month after Cornus florida dogwoods and after their leaves have developed. They’re also more disease-hardy than Cornus florida, which sometimes is vulnerable to powdery mildew.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Sun exposure: Full sun to part shade
Mature size: 15 to 30 feet tall and wide
You Might Also Like
