Spring may not be quite here yet in Australia, but it is definitely time to start planning for it. Buying your spring blossom Trees now will save you a great deal of money and guarantee that you’ll get exactly what you want.
Now, there are MANY incredible spring blossom Trees, but to help you decide we’ve rounded up the absolute best ones, the crème da le crème. All of these are handpicked for how well suited they are for the Australian climate.
1. Prunus x blireana ‘Pink Cherry Plum Blossom’
2. Prunus ‘Cheals’ Weeping Cherry
3. Prunus ‘Rosea’ Pink Weeping Cherry
4. Prunus ‘Falling Snow’ Weeping Cherry
5. Prunus ‘Subhirtella Alba’ Weeping Cherry
6. Prunus ‘Elvins’ Flowering Plum
7. Prunus ‘Kanzan’ Ornamental Cherry Standard
8. Prunus ‘Shimidsu Sakura’ Japanese Cherry
9. Prunus ‘Okame Flowering Cherry’
10. Malus ioensis ‘Flowering Crab Apple’
11. Malus floribunda ‘Japanese Flowering Crab Apple’
12. Malus ‘Gorgeous’ Crab Apple
13. Prunus persica ‘Crimson Cascade’ Weeping Peach
The Pink Cherry Plum Blossom is one of the earliest trees to flowers, starting around end of July and flowering right through to August. This is one of the longest flowering periods of all the spring blossom trees.
The blossoms are also very thick and dense, creating an incredible show of pale pink. Along with this is a gentle and sweet fragrance – the best out of all the trees on this list.
Another great feature is how incredibly hardy the Pink Cherry Plum Blossom is. This isn’t THE toughest out of your spring blossom trees, but it is definitely up there.
The tree itself is quite compact, which means it fits great in smaller backyards. They will grow to around three metres in height. Pink Cherry Plum Blossom is quite often used as a street tree.
Another great thing is its colourful foliage. In summer the leaves are a deep purple-bronze that contrast nicely with the greenery in the rest of your garden. You will have this beautiful foliage up until winter when the leaves are shed.
Weeping blossoms are a crowd favourite, for good reason. Cheals Weeping Cherry is one of the most popular, because they are better at surviving rocky spring weather.
For some of the other cherry trees, a big storm could wipe out most of their flowers prematurely. Whereas Cheals has a more robust flower that clings on.
Cheals tends to start flowering in late September, but it can be dependent on where you’re based in Australia. So if you are wanting more of that mid to late spring flowers, Cheals is perfect.
Cheals Weeping Cherry have delightful double pink blossoms. But what’s great is that the branches don’t just hang down, but also grow out and up, creating a radiant star shape with flowers growing in all sections.
These are a very compact tree, growing to about two to three metres tall. Once again, great for the smaller gardens or if you’re a bit restricted on space.
Rosea is like a cloud of soft pink, with its fine spreading branches and single style blossoms, it looks dreamy and ethereal. Because of that wide spreading habit, Rosea is the best choice for a weeping shade feature tree.
Imagine yourself sitting underneath a canopy of pink flowers in the warm spring weather. Then, in autumn you will find they have deep orange golden foliage that truly stands out in the landscape.
They manage well in heat and moderate drought but are best kept out of the wind.
At the moment in Australia, these are the most popular Weeping Cherry. The reason why is that as blocks of land have gotten smaller and smaller, the need for trees that can fit in these spaces has risen.
In small gardens and little courtyards, Falling Snow does wonderfully. They can be grown in a pot or a tiny garden bed.
The branches fall straight down, making Falling Snow a narrow and compact tree. Because the branches are so close together, the blossoms are very densely packed, creating a big impact in a small space.
It’s actually quite a struggle to keep these in stock because people love them so much. They’re just so spectacular.
Subhirtella Alba is a very strong grower that is both disease and bug resistant. This is the tree you get when you want something that is no fuss and more low maintenance than the others.
Because they’re so hardy, their leaves look fabulous all summer with little effort on your part. You also don’t need to do much trimming, as Subhirtella Alba grows into quite a symmetrical shape. They look very grand indeed.
This is also the tree for those with bigger gardens as Subhirtella Alba will grow a huge head that spreads several metres across. The leaves and flowers are bigger too.
They make for a great showpiece in the middle of a large space. The blossoms are a pure white – making them perfect for an elegant garden style.
Subhirtella Alba are the best for autumn colour, with the leaves deepening into shades of bronze, red and orange.
This is a tree with truly incredible blossoms. The flowers are a mix of white and soft pink, creating a dynamic and delightful look. These blossoms are also very densely packed.
Flowering Plum is a small tree, growing to about two and a half to three metres tall. We like to plant them together in a clump.
The only drawback of Elvins is that for rest of the year, it’s pretty ordinary looking. In spring they look utterly incredible, but once their flowering is finished, they can be a bit more boring.
What we like to do is plant them more in the back of a garden, so that when they’re blossoming, they really stand out. But then once their flowering is finished, they disappear into the background.
Really, they’re the most spectacular tree for spring blossom, but then one of the least spectacular trees the rest of the year. So we wouldn’t recommend this as your main feature tree, but more of a support act.
This is an upright cherry that has really risen in popularity in recent years. But they’ve actually always been one of our favourites.
The volume of blossoms is simply incredible. Kanzan have a beautiful upward branching structure that gives you something different than the typical weeping look.
They’ll flower around late September or early October, so are great for those wanting a later spring blossom.
What we love is that as they get into flowering, these purple-red leaves emerge out of the blossoms. They complement the pink blossoms beautifully, and you’re getting double the impact with colourful foliage and flowers.
They are good strong grower and have very little problems with diseases or bugs. Not to mention, they also have great autumn colour.
You can get Kansan as a standard – there are short standards that have been grafted down low and will branch and fork right from the base. Or there are medium sized ones that branch up a little bit higher and can look really elegant in a garden or avenue.
Then you have the tall ones that branch from around 1.5 metres and have a nice clear trunk. These are great in a street, a long avenue or a big landscape.
So you can really choose the Kanzan that is going to fit your situation best.
Shimidsu Sakura is out of this world, it’s one of our all-time favourites. They are a compact spaceship shaped tree with tri-colour blossoms, ranging from creamy white to soft pink to a bright pink.
You can buy a Shimidsu Sakura in two ways. The first option is one that has been grafted down low and forms a lovely bushy tree. Then there is the one that has been grafted higher at around two metres.
We like to use the taller grafted version in tiny gardens as it allows people to also plant something underneath them, or even just put a bench there to sit and relax.
They are great if you are wanting a small tree that will still provide some shade.
What’s interesting is that a lot of landscape architects use standard Mount Fujis, but we actually think Shimidsu Sakura is so much more superior. For that reason you won’t find Mount Fuji on today’s list.
This is an upright compact tree that is perfect for those who want a spring blossom tree but are not interested in a weeper. They have a fabulous rich pink blossom.
They flower for around three weeks but give a very intense show during that time. They are of course great for a Japanese Garden.
What’s unusual about them is that Okame Flowering Cherry produces a crop of small dark cherries. Now you shouldn’t eat these, but they do attract birds.
Crab Apples are the last of your spring blossoms, Malus ioensis amongst them, and will come to a finish around late November. Crab Apples are also the toughest spring blossom Trees on this entire list.
A general rule of thumb is that Crab Apples don’t have a lot of fruit on them. But the few that are there look very pretty, particularly in autumn amongst the colourful foliage.
Now, Flowering Crab Apple is the worst of them all for fruit. This is the one you get if you’re not too bothered about getting actual apples from the tree. Less fruit is not a bad thing, as you also have less messiness in the garden from fallen apples.
But it’s the best for blossoms. You’re getting that tri-colour effect again with white, light pink and rich pink flowers.
Flowering Crab Apple is a compact small tree. The foliage is a nice silver-green that provides some nice contrast to other plants.
You have the choice between getting a Flowering Crab Apple that is grafted up high, giving you a little blossom tree on a stick. Or you can get it grafted low.
The Japanese Flowering Crab Apple is not for everyone because it’s one of the biggest blossom trees. They get to about seven metres tall and six metres wide.
If you have a country property and want a blossom tree that will knock your socks off, this is the tree for you. Or even if you do have a smaller property but you just want a big Tree to fill the front or backyard.
Japanese Flowering Crab Apple also has a tri-colour flower with dark pink, medium pink and white hues. They’re also not great for actual apples.
The Gorgeous Crab Apple is really popular for that pure white blossom. It is a very compact tree that blossoms just as the leaves are emerging.
They also have a very heavy crop of fruit. Chris’ mum actually used to make jelly from it, and if you were to eat the apple straight it’s quite tart. But in jelly it was absolutely delicious.
In autumn you get lovely yellow and orange foliage, and the apples turn a nice purple-red shade. It’s a great blossom tree that also helps you out in the kitchen.
We love the soft pinks and whites of the blossoms on this list, but wanted to include something that was a bit richer and more dramatic. The Crimson Cascade is exactly that.
The flowers are a rich red-pink and will start appearing in the next week or two at the end of July.
They are great as a feature tree for small spaces, growing to about 2 metres tall and 2.5 metres wide.
These do require a bit more care and maintenance than the other spring blossom trees on this list. Crimson Cascade benefits from pruning each year and love full sun to part shade.
We want to address the fact that we haven’t spoken much about Flowering Peaches, Apricots or Almonds and there is a reason for that. These trees require a bit of spraying and more maintenance. They are incredible trees but are more for the keen gardener that is happy putting in more effort.
Instead we’ve picked out trees that are fairly resistant to bugs and diseases. So there you have it, the best spring blossom trees for Australia.
Right now we have two really good sales that are going to help you get your dream spring blossom tree without breaking the bank.
Our first sale is the Weeping Cherry Sale where if you spend over $200, you can get a $90 Weeping Cherry Tree for $30.
Our next sale is the Winter Clearance which is a huge sale that encompasses a great range of plants beyond flowering trees. But some of the ones mentioned on this list are included in that sale which is a minimum of 25% off highly sought after plants.
Let’s talk a bit more specifically about region and suitability of spring blossoms. Now we’re based in Victoria and to be truthful, Victoria is just the best for growing everything. Every Tree on this list absolutely thrives in the Melbourne climate.
Talking specifically about blossoming Cherries, there are some parts of Australia that should be careful. They don’t do as well in Sydney, but you can still grow them there. Truthfully, they’re quite common in Sydney, but the ones here in Melbourne just look better.
Then if you’re up around Brisbane area you shouldn’t bother at all. Unfortunately blossoming Cherries just don’t like the steamy tropical heat so there’s no point wasting your money or time.
Now to make the final decision on what spring blossom tree to get, consider these following things. How big do you want the tree to be?
What sort of shape do you want? Do you want something that is grafted up high so you can plant things underneath, or do you want a lower growing tree?
Are there other things you want out of your tree like autumn colour or fruit?
Think through all these questions and you will find your way to the perfect spring blossom Tree for your Australian garden.
We understand it’s cold and wet and miserable. But honestly, buying your plants now is going to save you so much money and hassle. Actually, you don’t even have to brave the cold, you can shop online and if you spend a certain amount, can even get free delivery to your house.
So be cleverer than everyone else and start planning and buying for your garden now.
Feeling inspired to create your own garden, but want some expert advice? Try our one-on-one garden design service with Chris. Together you’ll come up with a selection of plants along with a layout plan that gives you the look you want, as well as being suitable for your local soil and conditions.
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