The coming of spring is often heralded not just by the first daffodil or the first wattle but by the first blossom tree. By blossom tree I refer to those deciduous trees like cherries, crabapples and ornamental plums, apricots and peaches whose bare branches are transformed for a few weeks each year. These are all wonderful small trees well suited to small backyards.

While spring is the time most people expect to see blossom trees, if you pick your trees carefully you can have a tree in flower from autumn through to almost summer. The first autumn flowering tree that I can think of is Prunus X subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’. This starts flowering in autumn producing small pink buds that open to delicate pale pink blossoms that age to white. This is a lovely small hardy tree that blooms for a long time. The next tree to bloom is probably the ornamental apricot Prunus mume. I grow the weeping form ‘Pendula’ and it starts flowering for me reliably during the first week of June every year. It has lovely pale pink double flowers and goes on flowering until the end of August. A white form called ‘Alboplena’ is also available. Autumn colour of orange and yellow leaves is a bonus. It sometimes produces a small number of hard bitter fruit which apparently can be salted or eaten as a vegetable!

In early spring Prunus x blireana starts to flower. It produces double pink blossoms followed by dark purple-red leaves. This was a popular street tree in the area where I grew up and to this day I can identify the perfume from this tree – yuk! Another interesting mid spring blossoming tree is Prunus persica ‘Versicolour’ an ornamental peach. Its bare branches break out into flowers of three different colours: white, pale pink and dark pink and an assortment of variations in between. I’m always being asked what this tree is when it is in flower because it looks so odd. Prunus ‘Elvins’ named after the wife of Professor Elvins in Victoria in 1957 also blooms in mid spring. It is easy to identify this tree with its long straight branches covered in densely clustered flowers of single white that turn pale pink.

  I have fond memories of walking beneath a crabapple that overhung the footpath on the way to school. In spring it was loaded with gorgeous pink and white flowers for a few brief weeks. It never failed to delight me. Thinking about it now I guess it was probably Malus ioensis ‘Plena’ the Betchel crabapple or Malus floribunda the Japanese crabapple. The first flowers in late spring and has the added bonus of red and orange leaves in autumn. The latter flowers in mid spring and is immune to a host of horrible apple diseases like scab, powdery mildew and fire blight (not in the country thank goodness). Neither of these crabs is worth growing for fruit if that’s what you are after.

In late spring I photographed a fabulous crabapple in my father’s cool climate garden. The date on the photo says the 4th of October and it was in full bloom with the single pink blossoms appearing at the same time as the purplish-green leaves. I think it might be Malus ‘Aldenhamensis’. After the flowers large quantities of blackish-red fruit are produced and they are said to be excellent for crab-apple jelly. One of the last of the spring blossom trees to flower are the hawthorns. Throughout November Crataegus laevigata ‘Pauls Scarlet’ produces large bunches of hot pink double blossoms all over the tree. The hawthorns are a tough genus – why else would our ancestors have grown them for hedging?

The last of the bare rooted trees will be on sale in the nurseries about now. If you miss out on buying one that way most nurseries will have some growing in pots too. Planting of a young tree is pretty straightforward. Dig a hole twice as deep and twice as wide as the rootball of your tree. Place the tree in the hole to the same level it was in the pot or in the ground. If the area you have chosen is poorly drained then raise the tree up a little. Backfill the hole with soil – if the soil is of poor quality then you can add some compost to open it up a little. Create a moat around the tree so that when you water it the water sinks in rather than running off. You can stake the tree with two stakes at least 30cm away from the trunk but remove these after 12 months. Don’t forget to mulch your tree and don’t let grass or weeds grow beneath it, as these will rob the tree of much needed nutrients and water.