Flowering Trees: A Springtime Delight

This group of collections is dedicated to our most ornamental trees—crabapples and magnolias, famous for their amazing floral displays and perfumed scents. Don't miss these collections in the spring, when the entire hillside is festooned in flowers.

This area of Flowering Trees is on the West Side of the Arboretum, at the beginning of the Main Route leading to the Thornhill Education Center. This south-facing hill was the original site where 200 crabapple cultivars were assembled for a crabapple (Malus) evaluation program in 1980. Many disease-resistant and highly ornamental varieties are featured. In this area you will also see a beautiful array of pear (Pyrus) and magnolia (Magnolia). The idea of grouping these collections together is to display small ornamental trees for home owners. Therefore, the featured specimens are all genera loved for their showy and often fragrant flowers, or ornamental fruits in the fall. Take a walk through this area in spring or fall for an experience that will dazzle your nose and your eyes. This is a great place to get ideas for a suitable ornamental tree for your home garden.