April: Two More Trees for Spring Flowers

Cercis siliquastrum or the Judas Tree is a multi stemmed or more usually single stemmed small tree. The name is thought to derive from the French common name, Arbre de Judee meaning tree of Judea but there is a longstanding myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species.

Nether the less it is a very attractive tree with a profusion of rosy lilac/pink small flowers in the spring. The leaves, which are heart shaped and a glaucous blue green colour, appear late after the clusters of pea shaped blooms which can smoother the tree. The flowers have the curious habit of bursting from young shoots, the surface of the bare branches and even the main trunk itself. It will flower best in the spring following a long warm summer! In late summer bunches of broad purple seed pods appear and these can last well into the winter. In the autumn the foliage turns a light yellow.

There is a white form C. siliquastrum f. albida and a cultivar with dark purple-pink flowers ‘Bodnant’. Overall height and spread might be as much as 30 feet but they are usually slightly smaller. It resents transplanting so buy a young tree.

With several seasons of interest it would make an interesting specimen tree for a lawn or as part of a large shrub border.

More traditional spring flowers are found in the many varieties of flowering cherries. There are many to choose from but one which comes with a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit is Prunus x yedoenis or Yoshino Cherry from Japan. This tree has a broad spreading habit with arching branches eventually make a small tree 30 foot high and about the same wide. It has drooping clusters of almond scented pale pink, or sometimes white, flowers which again appear before the leaves are fully out. It is reputed to be one of the most reliable of the flowering cherries, requiring some sun and good soil to perform at its best. It is not a dense tree and casting light shade could be under-planted with early spring flowers and bulbs such as hellebores, primulas, snowdrops, crocuses etc.

P. x yedoenis ‘Pendula’ – is a weeping form with branches down to the ground, smaller in overall height and width at only around 15 feet, is also available.

CAF