Spring flowering shrubs/trees

Ouch, your wife doesn't think the yard looks good? That's got to hurt. My wife doesn't care for gardening but I don't think she'd ever go to say it looked bad.

OK, Y'all inspired me. I am going to do it-Yesterday on my way home I bought the stuff for a raised bed for my Blue Poppy Project. Oh, I guess this is the Trees and Shrubs forum. Well, Here are photos of my bedraggled Tree Peonies and deciduous azalea-There was a terrible hailstorm here yesterday, they are all in full bloom. The leaves came through unscathed, but the blooms are smashed. Oh well there are more buds and they look fine. Other plants like phlomis had some leaf damage, most are remarkably fine. Even my planter boxes seem OK. I had planted them less than 24 hours before with tender annuals, then they had ice drifts on them for several hours before it all melted. Here is a photo taken about 2 hours after the storm. The potted plant is my cutting grown Cestrum I had put out to harden off! This is not Perlite.
BTW Weerobin, Mobot in spring sounds great. But- I think we all appreciate you as a dedicated plant collector/grower/adventures-in-wild-gardening/fabulous-jumble-of-odd-plants-wrapped-in-wire-to protect-from-deer kind of person. If you spent your time making a lovely landscaped suburban garden it would not be nearly as interesting. Hint hint... And the only weeds I ever see are those in my own garden.

I'll admire that azalea before Sequoia gets a chance to chime in. And what's up with the hail? Seems an entirely odd time of year to be having a hail storm.

Hailstorm/windstorm/then almost an inch of heavy rain. Truly rare for around here, especially in May. We hardly ever get a nice big thunderstorm. My new extra-large gutters were clogged with the hail and overflowed everywhere. It has been bizarrely warm this spring, this was a big cold front. But no large damage, thankfully.

What do you mean, before Sequoia chimes in? I would only have said that it was a beautiful azalea and that it's a shame the hail destroyed so many blossoms..

Here's one for VV:

A young Mohican in bloom. Our other one and the two Alleghany's are in bloom as well. I didn't take pics of those though because they all look the same. A bunch of shrubs will be coming online any day now. Here's a close up of our Capistrano rhodi as well.

Of course, you know that 'Alleghany' is an offspring of 'Mohican' (partnered with V. rhytidophyllum) - thus the similarities in flowers.

Nicely done - next images will be fructiferous come midsummer.

Sorry, Seq, I just thought it was a particularly beautiful azalea that I knew you would admire. That's a nice shot of your Capistrano. Wish I could grow decent rhodi's around here. I blame the weather, but MoBot doesn't seem to have any trouble...

Well I'm sure MOBOT has a small army of caregivers and deeper pockets. They probably give them more attention than even the above average home owner would. Anyway, you don't have room for rhodis, you have to many other cooler things growing about your land.

Yes, VV, you and Gary have taught me much about viburnums and their pollinators. To pair with the Mohican and Alleghany's, I have also added a Cree and Green Trump. My shipment from Gary is supposed to go out May 18th. You'll love it because there are a bunch of viburnums coming, 9 different varieties bringing my total to 16 varieties among 19 plants. It's going to be a mini Scott County here...LOL

(imagine Munchkin voices)

Follow the yellow brick road

Follow the yellow brick road

Follow the yellow brick road...

There were viburnums in Wizard of Oz?

Here's my measly contribution to this colorful thread: a couple of white-flowering crabs. The magenta and pink crabs are beautiful, but white is nice, especially at dusk.

Very nice Pseudo! That siberian (?) spruce is an enviable specimen.

Serbian Spruce. :) It's quite beautiful when laden with a wet snow, but I have no interest in seeing that for several months.

Yeah that was on my list of possibles when I thought I might replace my white pine. I think a calocedrus decurrens would have won out though.

OK, my turn. There's too much going on to have a taste of all of it - not to mention being too busy at work to be able to spend time on documentation. But we soldier on...

1. Chionanthus virginicus

2. Chionanthus retusus

3. Viburnum macrocephalum 'Sterile'

4. Kolkwitzia amabilis

5. Syringa vulgaris

Things are starting to heat up. For being sterile, that V. macrocephalum has it going on. What exactly is a large cephalum and should I be concerned about it?

macrocephalus is a big head ... I have no idea if that's useful information.

VV, is that the golden-leafed kolkwitzia ('Dream Catcher') or does the species have goldish leaves in spring? I have a species in a very shaded position but I've never seen any gold-tinge to the foliage.

Very nice VV. I love that Kolkwitzia and that Viburnum is enormous!

That is probably 'Dream Catcher' - but as "borrowed scenery" from another's garden I wouldn't presume to be absolutely sure. The species does NOT have anything like this color foliage that I've ever seen.

Since Pseudo opened the box, Pandora is gonna let him have it.

Viburnum macrocephalum 'Sterile' is the end result of millenia of selection for excess bracts in the inflorescences of this species. Chinese Snowball Viburnum is sterile, because there are no male or female parts in these Big Heads composed of showy bracts.

The fertile species plant is known as Viburnum macrocephalum f. keteleeri. It has a lacecap style flower, with fertile parts in the center ringed by showy bracts. It looks for all the world like a Doublefile Viburnum on steroids.

While you should proudly be growing both plants, zone 6 is more the agreeable northerly limit for this species.

Here's my kolkwitzia #1 - blooming freely despite a fully shaded hillside location. No gold to these leaves.
Also yellowwood is blooming #2. Along with it's pink partner 'Perkins Pink' #3.
And a weeping lilac which I've always admired - syringa reflexa #4.
And of course our native mock oranges. An unplanned hedge in full flower now #5. Very fragrant.

My fringe trees are also in full flower #1
My styrax japonica #2 is just getting started - dusk photo just starting to rain - doesn't do it justice. Thousands of dangling white flowers just popping.
Indigofera #3 - will bloom all summer long.
Finally a couple attempts at juxtaposing foliage color:
#4 is a bright golden foliaged Hypericum calycinum Brigadoon partnered with a purple cotinus coggyria cultivar (not sure which one).
#5 is a golden yew (taxus cuspidate Aurescens) with a purple dissectum Japanese maple.

Oops, forgot the pictures!

What's the full botanical name of the Indigofera? I like the color contrasts in 4 & 5.

Indigofera amblyantha. Mine's a shrub about 6-8ft tall on the edge of my wooded area with a western sun exposure. It's jostling for position with a deutzia gracilis on the one side and a very pushy buddleia helmsleyana on the other. It's held it's own for 10+ years.

I really like that. I'm a big fan of pea family plants.

Man, what a treat this thread was. I can't even pretend to compete with you guys!

Lol...yeah Mipii, I hear you. All my stuff looks like wilted weeds in comparison.

I do have a few measly contributions...
#1, 2, 3; Viburnum x burkwoodii 'Mohawk'
Fragrance made up for it's small stature!

#4; Flowering Quince 'PinkStorm'

I'm jealous because I'm getting close to the end of the spring parade and you're just getting started. Enjoy!

Spring is the most wonderful time of year. Spring is like Friday; Winter is like Monday. Besides plants putting on a wonderful show of life, one knows that the splendors of summer and fall are yet to come.

I've got a few more Viburnums I planted last year, hope their going to bloom yet. Wee, you're jealous, ha! Thanks for trying to make me feel better, both you and Sequoia...but I'm glad to have role models; something to aspire to.

Mipii, I really like that Viburnum. The color on the outside of the petals is really cool. I'm fighting the urge to do an impulse buy...

That would be #17, by my count... VV will be proud.

Sequoia, I love everything about V. 'Mohawk', I'd highly recommend this one.

Yes Wee, VV will be proud, he's peddled much influence over the years. He should know when he talks, people listen.

Haha, we sure do listen. There was a time I wondered why people ever bought viburnums, now I love them! Maybe I'll see if there's a place I can get one online but I don't have a spot to stick it....wait I may have just thought of one...hmm....(scratches head thinking)

My order from Gary at Classic Viburnums ships this coming Monday. I'm excited!

Ooh Sequoia, post a photo of your order when you get it...
there, now I'm excited too. Did you order any dwarf varieties?

The only small variety I ordered was V. trilobum 'Winter Rubies'. I got an email from Gary yesterday saying that he lost all his viburnum rhytidophyllum varieties got killed by the winter. This means I'm not getting a Cree or Green Trumph this spring :-( Otherwise everyone is a full size model ;-P Maybe I'll pop back onto Gary's website and see if I can get two substitutes for the V. rhytidophyllums....hmmm....(rubs chin thinking)

Sheesh, I can't find an image/info of V. trilobum 'Winter Rubies' anywhere. I'm sure it's beautiful or you wouldn't be giving me raspberries. You must have the only survivor of Gary's ill fated stock, I feel bad for him. It also sucks for you not to have your order complete, unless you've just been rubbing your chin too long instead of ordering.

Haha my order was all hashed out in February but it did take many emails and about a month to decide. I didn't realize there was nothing online about the 'Winter Rubies'. I just went back in my email chain with Gary and he said it is their own cultivar and they haven't added it to their website yet. He says the plant is about half the size of a 'Wentworth' and the leaves are smaller too. The fruit persists all winter hence the name.

Well, I sit at my computer corrected. You did realgood. Congratulations on being the new owner of a distinctive V. trilobum. I hope you can find the grace to ignore the poor attempt at being facetious and post pictures...yes? I ain't too proud to beg.