Description
Description: This is a nice small tree to be mixed in border plantings. A very large one might be 25 feet in height with perhaps the same spread, but I have never seen a specimen that large. A 5 year old tree would probably be only about 7 or 8 feet tall with much less width at that age. The bark is dark, and it has a very neat rounded leaf which is a good green in the summer with a fairly good yellow fall color. Probably most interesting is that when it first opens up, it has a bit of a purplish hue to the small leaves. The main attribute of this plant is its early flowering, late March and early April, when we certainly need some flowers in the garden. The flowers are purplish when in bud and fade to a pink as they open. A very good plant to be used in naturalized situations, it is quite tolerant of most soil types; however, it does not like wet feet. Like dogwoods, only plants from northern seed sources should be used here in New England. Although the tree is native from New Jersey south, seed taken from plants near its northern range do very well in almost all of New England.