5 Best Flowering Ornamental Trees For Minneapolis & St. Paul
In this blog post, we’ll explore some of our favorite options for a ornamental flowering trees that do well in Minnesota. These trees can be used as a specimen or key plant as shown in the diagram above and also in the lawn spaces. Flowering ornamental trees can help provide interest throughout the growing season with their spectacular flowering in the spring, there size and shape during the summer months and in the fall as well their leaves turn shades of yellows, orange or red.
Our Pics: Top 5 Flowering Ornamental Trees to Use in MN
#1 Serviceberry (native to MN)
The serviceberry tree is our top selection, because of it has two of the most desirable traits for an ornamental tree in MN: it has both wonderful white spring flowers and beautiful red/orange fall colors. Great fall leaf color is fairly unique for a flowering tree in MN, which really makes the serviceberry a great option for adding seasonal interest. These trees hold their berries after flowering rather than dropping them on the ground and these hanging berries attract many types of birds in the fall. ‘Autumn brilliance’ is our preferred multi-stem variety and we like the ‘Spring flurry’ variety best for the single stem growth type, due to its strong central leader trunk and taller canopy, which makes it easier to mow around/under when planted in the lawn. Both varieties have similar white flowers in springtime, both have great fall leaf color and both grow to roughly the same mature size of 15' wide and 15'-20' tall.
‘spring flurry’ serviceberry ‘autumn brilliance’ serviceberry (multi-stem version)
#2 Crabapple Trees
Most of the new varieties are disease resistant and have persistent fruit (which means their berries are small and don’t fall to the ground’ making them far less messy. There are so many sizes/shapes and flower color options available. Crab trees are great for pollinating insects and birds and also attract birds in fall/winter, which eat the small crab apples. There are many other good ones out there to choose from, but here are our two great options to consider: ‘prairie-fire’ crab is disease resistant with persistent fruit and ‘sugar thyme’ crab has both of those traits as well.
‘prairie-fire’ crab ‘sugar thyme’ crab
#3 Redbud Tree (native to MN)
Red bud trees are truly spectacular in the spring time because of their amazing pink/fuchsia flowers, that uniquely appear all along their the branches rather than only at the tips of branches like most other trees. The heart shaped leaves on these trees have a nice buttery yellow fall color as well. Redbud trees are available in single stem and multi-stem growth types so there are lots of options for placements in landscapes. Redbud trees do well in full sun to partial shade.
Northern Redbud tree (single stem) Northern Redbud tree (multi-stem)
#4 Japanese Tree Lilac
Japanese tree lilacs Fast growing with many varieties available offering different sizes/shapes. Available in single-stem and multi-stem growth types. Flowers in late spring early summer, while most other options listed above flower in early spring. They flower much better when planted in full sun
Japanese tree lilac (multi-stem) Japanese tree lilac (single-stem)
#5 Magnolia Tree
Magnolias are certainly one of the most spectacular flowering trees that is cold hardy in our Minnesota climate. These trees have large flowers that bloom early in the spring, with several flower color options available. There are several varieties available that offer different sizes and growth types to fit needs of your space. Many varieties are available in single-stem and multi-stem growth types as well.
We think that these 3 varieties are great options to consider: ‘butterflies’, ‘Leonard Messel,’ and ‘Merrill.’ All 3 of these tree types are large enough to plant in lawn spaces and eventually mow beneath and will also do well within plant beds. There are also other varieties of magnolia trees with smaller grow habits that we consider as being more like a large flowering shrubs than traditional ornamental tree when it comes to their usage in landscape spaces.
We think that these 3 varieties are great options to consider: ‘butterflies’, ‘Leonard Messel,’ and ‘Merrill.’ All 3 of these tree types are large enough to plant in lawn spaces and eventually mow beneath and will also do well within plant beds. There are also other varieties of magnolia trees with smaller grow habits that we consider as being more like a large flowering shrubs than traditional ornamental tree when it comes to their usage in landscape spaces.
‘butterflies’ magnolia 'merill' magnolia
‘Leonard Messel’ magnolia
Hopefully these options give you some inspiration to select your favorite flowering tree. Just like you, we love seeing our landscapes come to life in the spring and fall with their beautiful colors. If you're interested in more professional landscaping advice, the landscape designers here at KG Landscape can help you select the best plants for your yard and design a wonderful layout that adds curb appeal or helps create a fantastic backyard getaway.
Call us call or message us via our quote form to get started.
Ready to Start on Your Next Project?
Call us at (763) 568-7251 or visit our quote page.
Struggling with side yard water problems in Minneapolis–St. Paul? See when French drains or re-grading works best for small yard drainage fixes.
Protect your Plymouth patio and deck from frost heave by installing French drains that keep clay soil dry around hardscape and footings.
One Edina family had a 25-foot slope and nowhere for their kids to play. See how we turned it into a lawn, sport court, and fire pit.
See how one Plymouth project turned an overlooked side yard into a design feature that matches the rest of the property.
A Plymouth family turned a steep, unusable side yard into a private hot tub area with stone steps, drainage solutions, and boulder walls.
See how a Plymouth family replaced basic builder landscaping with a custom flagstone walkway, strategic plantings, and a front yard that matches their home.
Learn how French drains solve drainage problems in tight Minneapolis side yards without sacrificing walkway space or function.
Stop roof water and sump pump discharge from saturating your Plymouth yard. Learn how to tie everything into one drainage system.
Where All That Water Is Actually Coming From Your backyard stays wet. You've noticed the soggy spots, the mud, maybe some frost heave damage to your patio or fence. You're thinking about French drains. But before you start digging trenches, look up. A huge amount of water hitting your yard isn't coming from rain falling on the lawn. It's coming from your roof. A moderate rainfall on a typical Plymouth home puts hundreds of gallons through your gutter system. Every bit of that water exits through your downspouts. Where it goes from there determines whether you have a drainage problem or not. Then there's your sump pump. Every time it kicks on, it's pushing water out of your basement and into your yard. On a wet property, that pump might run dozens of times a day. All that water has to go somewhere. If your downspouts dump water next to your foundation and your sump pump discharges into a side yard that drains toward your backyard, you're adding water to an already saturated situation. French drains alone might not be enough. You need to manage the sources. The Problem With Surface Discharge Most downspouts in Plymouth end with a splash block or a short extension that dumps water a few feet from the foundation. That's technically moving water away from the house, but not far enough.
Why wooden lake steps always fail—and why Minnetonka and Orono homeowners are switching to stone. A contractor explains the replacement.