Many people appreciate the gift of flowers, but their short life span isn’t always the most practical gift. Trees, when properly planted and cared for, live for years to come. They serve a myriad of purposes, whether it’s to shade your home, serve as a windbreak, provide food, or simply beautify. Combine the beauty of flowers with the benefits of trees. Spend this Mother’s Day planting a tree with your mother, or in honor of your mother. If you don’t have the physical space for trees, considering planting Trees in Celebration in a forest of need. Time spent amongst trees is never time wasted.
Here are 10 gorgeous trees with lasting beauty that will live for years to come.
1.Tilt-A-Swirl Hydrangea-Potted
Considered a continuous bloomer, the Tilt-A-Swirl hydrangea produces blossoms that are real show-stoppers. And as the season progresses, the flowers deepen in color and continue to transform throughout the autumn months. You may find the perfect spot for a Tilt-A-Swirl in a container, bed, or border. It also works well as a specimen shrub. Hardiness zones 5-9.
2. The bright red blooms of the Date Night Crimson Kisses Weigela add a nice burst of color to your landscaping. Its compact form behaves well among other plants, and the shrub avidly reblooms well into the autumn months. This weigela is great for use in beds and borders, containers, and gardens with limited space. Hardiness zones 4-9.
3. Azurri Satin Rose-of-Sharon
From Proven Winners comes the first ever seedless rose-of-sharon with large, single blue flowers. This easy-to-grow plant adds unusual color to the summer landscape, making an easy-to-maintain hedge, a colorful addition to perennial borders and mixed beds, and a stunning specimen plant in large container gardens. Hardiness zones 5-9.
4. Lavalamp Moonrock Hydrangea
The Lavalamp Moonrock hydrangea produces creamy blooms that emerge with an intense lime green center — a look that is both unique and elegant. With a long bloom time, this shrub will provide plenty of flowers for cut arrangements and will attract birds. It offers low maintenance care, making this hydrangea a great choice for a feature in beds and borders, a stand-out specimen, or a highlight for a container. Hardiness zones 3-9.
5. Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
This tree is an all-season beauty. Early in the spring, beautiful white clusters of blooms set it off against the new green of spring. Vivid red- and gold-hued foliage graces the landscape in the fall. And plump red berries are a favorite of birds in summer. The berries are also popular with the human crowd for pies, preserves and fresh eating. Hardiness zones 4-9.
6. Red sunset maple (Acer rubrum ‘Franksred’)
Known as one of the best red maple cultivars, this tree delivers on color. Winter buds, clusters of small winter/spring flowers, leaf stems, twigs and winged summer fruits all carry a red hue. And of course, the fall show is breathtaking, with red and orange leaves blending to give a sunset effect. Hardiness zones 4-8.
7. Sasanqua Camellia (Camellia sasanqua)
This lovely evergreen brings an extra punch of color to autumn to southern gardens, with beautiful deep pink flowers standing out from the typical reds, oranges and yellows of the season. While it doesn’t grow in many parts of the U.S., it is cherished by gardeners and landscapers living in Hardiness Zones 7–9.
8. Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
The Scarlet Oak tree is well named. Its early spring foliage is often red, its inner bark is reddish, and in autumn the leaves are brilliant red or scarlet. The acorns of this tree are a favorite food for gray squirrels, chipmunks, mice and birds, especially blue jays. It is a common tree in the Appalachian Mountains but has become a popular landscape tree throughout the eastern and central United States. Hardiness zones 4-9.
9. American Cranberrybush Viburnum (Viburnum opulus L. var. americanum Aiton)
This durable, easy-to-grow plant will bring a variety of color to your landscape throughout the seasons. Spring flowers bloom snowy white, and the lustrous green foliage transitions to shades varying from yellow to red-purple in the fall. Bright red fruit also adorns the shrub from September through February. Hardiness zones 2-7.
10. Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata)
The Japanese zelkova is a handsome tree with showy fall color, attractive exfoliating bark, and a symmetrical, vase-shaped growth habit. It makes a good street tree because of its dense shade, ability to grow in marginal soils and resistance to pests and pollution. Hardiness zones 5-8.
