Flowering and ornamental trees not only add drama and beauty to your landscape—they also give your home a feeling of permanence. Few pleasures surpass the joy homeowners feel when they arrive on their street and view their beloved home and landscape.
Wondering which trees will best enhance your New Jersey landscape? Here’s an introduction to the best flowering and ornamental trees to grow in NJ.
What Are Ornamental Trees?
Ornamental trees are grown specifically for their beauty and aesthetic value. They may have a unique color, shape, beautiful flowers, pleasing fragrance, or fall foliage.
Ornamental trees:
- Lose their leaves annually
- Produce attractive flowers or fruit
- Display attractive foliage
- Rarely grow taller than 40 feet
- Create undeniable beauty and drama in landscape design
- Are often used as a backdrop for a landscaped garden bed
Flowering trees always produce flowers but may not create the dramatic effect or the intense beauty created by ornamental trees.
New Jersey Homeowners Have a Large Selection of Trees to Choose From
If you want to improve your curb appeal and overall enjoyment of your gardens, select the best flowering or ornamental trees for your property.
Take into consideration your property’s:
- Soil conditions
- Sun exposure
- Landscape design
- Hardiness zone (New Jersey’s include 6a, 6b, 7a and 7b)
Magnolia Tree
Magnolia trees come in different varieties. People enjoy their large, colorful, and sweetly fragrant flowers, which can be purple, pink, white, or yellow. These trees flower in the early spring.
Magnolias thrive in full sun and well-drained soil. If your property offers partial shade, this may work as well.
The sweetbay magnolia is a common magnolia variety in New Jersey. It has creamy-white flowers that bloom from May to June. The resulting fruits provide important food for wildlife in the fall.
The sweetbay magnolia grows up to 20 feet.
Silverbell Tree
If you’re working with a smaller yard or landscape, the ornamental silverbell tree is a superb choice. Landscapers sometimes refer to this small tree to as a large bush.
Silverbell flowers commonly have silvery, bell-shaped flowers that appear in April. The flowers grow in clusters, with each cluster having 2 to 6 flowers. Silverbell leaves are long and broad; they turn bright yellow in the fall.
The Silverbell tree may only grow to 16 feet, but it can reach 40 feet in height or taller.
Silverbell trees can thrive in full sun or even partial shade.
Tulip Tree
The ornamental tulip tree will be a dramatic addition to your landscape. It actually belongs to the magnolia tree family.
Its large tulip-shaped flowers appear in the spring. The flowers are yellow and orange and have green in the blossoms as well. The leaves are waxy and smooth and eventually turn bright gold.
This tree will do best in well-drained soil and full sun. It’s considered to be low maintenance when growing in New Jersey’s hardiness zones.
Unlike some other ornamental trees, this tree grows quickly. If your property is on the smaller side, this tree may end up being too overwhelming for your landscape design.
With time, this tree can grow up to 150 feet—or even taller.
Flowering Dogwood Tree
Residents in New Jersey are very familiar with the stunning flowering dogwood. It is found just about everywhere in the state, and delights locals with its colorful display of pink, red, or white flowers. Some trees may need to mature for a few years before they flower.
This tree thrives in all of New Jersey’s hardiness zones, so it’s a good choice for homeowners. It thrives best with adequate watering and sun.
The flowering dogwood often grows to a height of 25 feet and will spread out to 25 feet as well.
From springtime to fall, dogwoods display their abundant flowers.
This low maintenance tree can live up to 80 years.
Japanese Tree Lilac
You can commonly find the Japanese tree lilac in New Jersey since it’s highly compatible with all NJ hardiness zones.
The Japanese tree lilac is small to medium in size. Its fragrant, creamy-white flowers grow in large clusters. The flowers bloom in late spring to early summer. They are a great nectar source for butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.
Japanese tree lilacs grow best in full sun but often thrive in partial shade. They tolerate many soil types.
Your Japanese tree lilac will most likely reach 20-30 feet tall. It can spread to 20 feet.
Flowering Cherry Tree
There are many types of flowering cherry trees that grow extremely well in New Jersey.
Cherry trees are famous for their abundant early-spring flowers. They bloom in NJ from late March through April. The fragrant flowers are pink or white. In the pink variety, buds often start as a deep pink color and eventually fade to light pink.
Cherry blossom trees do best in full sun and well-drained soil. Most grow to 20 or 30 feet in height.
Common cherry trees in New Jersey are:
- Sweet cherry trees
- Cherry blossom trees
- Weeping Higan cherry trees
- Sour cherry trees
Hibiscus Tree
If you enjoy seeing dramatic flowers on your property, the3 hibiscus tree may be an exciting choice for your landscape.
This tree blooms in mid-summer and will continue to delight until the first frost. Hibiscus flowers can be pink, white, red, or even multi-color.
The hibiscus thrives in moist organic soil. If your property contains a pond, the hibiscus will happily grow lakeside.
Hummingbirds and butterflies are drawn to the dramatic flower, making this tree a good choice for a sustainable landscape.
If you’re thinking about landscaping with ornamental trees, do your homework! Make sure the trees you choose will thrive in your specific location.
If your landscape needs more privacy, here’s useful information about the best privacy trees in New Jersey.
Your best choice for expert help is Landscape Solutions. We will create a dramatic and beautiful property that you will love coming home to every day. Contact us today for exciting and helpful landscape ideas.
