Unique Deciduous Trees for the Southeast

These underrated plants will be the specimens you need to make your garden stand out from the crowd

I recently drove through a new subdivision in my metropolis . Every new house come with a brand - new tree diagram in the front yard . The contractile organ exceptional everyone got was a repeat of two or three cultivars first popular during the Reagan administration . I ’m not saying these were all bad plants . What bothered me was how unoriginal they were .

In a suburban scope , having a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that catches your neighbour ’ eyes can be a boost to your horticulture egotism . Beyond esthetic , give birth a diverseness of plants in a neighborhood can be a great defense againstpest and disease problemsthat are well spread through a monoculture of tree diagram . The play along is a tilt of small to intermediate - sizing Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that are perfect for a typical front or back railway yard in the Southeast . These selections should be comparatively commercially available and aid your yard suffer out from the crowd .

Sweetbay magnolia is a charming, fast-growing native with a long season of bloom

Magnoliavirginiana , Zones 5–10

This aboriginal magnolia is still relatively uncommon in residential landscapes but makes a great selection for the Southeast . It has semi - evergreen foliation and is gravid for providing shade . to boot , there are cultivars with leave that are moreevergreenand ones that have improved hardiness . These cultivar let in Moonglow ® (‘Jim Wilson ’ ) , ‘ Henry Hicks ’ , ‘ Green Shadow ’ , and Green Mile ™ ( ‘ MVHH ’ ) . Swamp magnolia ( Magnolia virginianavar.australis , Zones 5–10 ) , which is a course happen assortment that is more southern in its aboriginal mountain range , is more arboreous in appearance than the neat coinage . Whichever sweetbay magnolia you choose , you wo n’t be disappointed . The growth rate of young trees is impressive ; they eventually reach 25 feet tall and wide in full sun to fond shade . This species is one of the best choices for a small aboriginal tree where shade is call for rather quickly . Cup - work , sweetly sweet heyday appear in spring and keep blossom sporadically through the growing season .

Fringe tree species are trouble free and have very showy blooms

Chionanthusspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–9

Fringe trees have creamy , fragrant white blossom that are suspend from their offshoot in spring . The common name points to these fragile flowers , which sport airy , fringelike , creamy white petals . If you choose Taiwanese fringe tree ( Chionanthusretusus , Zones 5–9 ) or our aboriginal snowy fringe tree ( Chionanthus virginicus , Zones 4–9 ) , which are the most commercially usable species , you will be pleased with the results . These coinage are tumid shrubs to little trees that thrive in full sun and well - drain grime and will grow roughly 20 feet marvellous and wide in time . They are quite adaptable todroughtafter establishment . Overall , these are slower raiser , but their ability to flower abundantly even at a young geezerhood makes them material winner .

Persian ironwood has attractive bark and glossy foliage

Parrotiapersica , Zones 5–8

Iranian ironwood is often overlooked for role in the landscape painting but is at long last being promoted more often by savvy baby’s room possessor . This is a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that brings truefour - season interestto the table . Attractive unexampled maturation in the leap gives way to dreary light-green leaf in the summer . A variety offall colorscan be displayed on Persian Ostrya virginiana reckon on plant genetics , weather , and soil type . Its attractive , colourful barque is notable yr - round . Thissmall tree ’s habit be given to be scurvy - branching , and the bark will exfoliate with eld . In a Southeastern landscape you could expect this tree to get around 20 feet tall and across-the-board if sit in full sunshine to fond refinement .

Japanese crape myrtle has the best bark of any crape myrtle

Lagerstroemia subcostatavar.fauriei , Zones 7–9

It ’s punishing to keep up with all the new cultivars ofcrape myrtlethat have entered the marketplace over the last 10 years . The packaging of newer , small selections has made the industrial plant of this genus uncommitted to almost anyone in the Southeast with a sunny spot in their yard . However , one of the best crepe Vinca minor selections carry on to be overlooked by many , particularly by those in affectionate parts of the Southeast . We owe the egression of the Japanese crape myrtle to theU.S. National Arboretum , which infix this plant in the 1950s . In contrast to the more common crape Vinca minor ( Lagerstroemiaindica , Zones 6–9 ) , this plant ’s main standout feature is its dark blood-red - brown barque . The overall blossom - superpower impact of Nipponese crape myrtle is not as telling or as various as some other species and cross , but its beautiful bark and vaselike habit more than make up for this shortcoming . Nipponese crape myrtle will produce about 30 foot magniloquent and 20 feet wide-eyed and prefers full Dominicus . For information on pruning , check outPruning Crape Myrtles in the Southeast .

For more recommendation of top - do deciduous trees , check out :

And for more southeasterly regional reputation , snap here .

— Andy Pulte is a faculty penis in the plant sciences department at the University of Tennessee .

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Deciduous Trees

While Chinese fringe tree is widely commercially available, it is often overlooked for Southeastern gardens.Photo: Michelle Gervais

Sweetbay magnolia

Sweetbay magnolia’s cup-shaped flowers bloom in spring but appear intermittently throughout the rest of summer and fall.Photo: Derek Ramsey and Chanticleer Garden,CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

white fringe tree