Plant a Japanese Snowbell in Your Yard

The Japanese snowbell tree is one of the most stunning small trees that you can plant in your garden or use as a street tree. It originates from China and Japan and is a perfect addition to woodland, Asian, or Japanese-style gardens. It’s in the family Styracaceae, which contains trees and shrubs from Asian and North and South American countries.

Styrax japonicus (sometimes called Styrax japonica) provides a profusion of small, pendulous flowers in late spring and early summer that emerge along horizontal branches, hanging below the leaves. The visual effect they make is stunning! The fragrant, delicate, nodding white flowers with their yellow anthers provide a pleasing contrast with the upward-growing, shiny, dark green leaves of the tree.

Interesting hanging fruit follows the flowers later in the summer. They are an attractive light purple-gray color. The content of the fruit has been used to make soap and a resin that is insecticidal. Consequently, not many caterpillars will eat this tree! The Snowbell tree also boasts attractive bark, which gives it more seasonal interest in the winter when the tree is bare. The bark is vertically ridged with gray and tan flecks of color. The wood of the tree is very hard and has been used to construct the structural supports of teahouses, umbrella handles, and walking sticks.

These deciduous trees are slow-growing, reach approximately 15-30’ high and wide, and are pyramidal in shape. They tend to have a multi-trunked form but can be trained to have a central leader (trunk) for a more traditional tree structure. They are hardy trees, appropriate for planting in USDA Zones 5-8a.

Japanese Snowbell Care

The Japanese snowbell tree prefers full sun to partial shade. Some shade in hotter climates will protect the tree from scorching. It prefers its roots planted in slightly acidic, rich, and well-drained soil. They require regular watering to keep the soil damp but not soggy. And as with all trees, they’ll need additional water when first planting to establish a strong and resilient root system. Once established, they’ll need only an occasional deep watering in the summer.

Fertilize your trees with a general purpose fertilizer dug into the ground around the feeding roots in early spring. Pruning is best undertaken in late winter or early spring, before the leaves emerge, so the tree structure can be easily seen. The Snowbell tree will need some training to develop into a tree form, rather than a multi-trunked shrub. As it matures, lower branches close to the ground can be removed for clearance and to define the shape of the tree.

Styrax japonicus loses its leaves in the fall after they turn yellow and sometimes red. Their fall color is attractive but not showy. Their best season is definitely spring where they compete with the best spring bloomers!

Common Cultivars

• Styrax japonicus ‘Pink Chimes’ is a smaller variety with lovely, pale pink flowers. It grows to around 10-25’ tall and wide and forms a large shrub or a small tree. The branches tend to grow from horizontal to slightly weeping as they age, giving the tree an attractive shape.
• Styrax japonicus ‘Carillon’ is a smaller shrub than other varieties but beautiful nonetheless. It grows 8-10’ tall and wide and has an elegant, weeping structure. It is perfect for smaller garden spaces that don’t have space for a tree.
• Styrax japonicus ‘Emerald Pagoda’ is a larger version of the straight species Styrax japonicus. It can reach up to 30’ tall and wide. The branches and stems are bigger and so are the white flowers, reaching almost 1” across. This tree provides an amazing display of flowers in the spring and beautiful yellow fall color.

Contact Frontier Tree Service to help you select and plant the right Japanese snowbell tree for your yard.

The Korean Dogwood (or Kousa Dogwood), also known by the botanical name Cornus kousa, is a beauty to behold every spring and early summer. Originating in the East Asian countries of Korea, China, and Japan, they are deciduous trees that have become widely available in cultivation due to their small size, versatility and beauty. Cornus kousa blooms in May and June, with four showy bracts (white or pink) which look like petals surrounding the light green, tiny true flowers in the center. Together they create a large, beautiful inflorescence up to 4” wide.

Dogwoods are also highly identifiable by their leaves, which are a graceful mid-green oval-shape and taper to a point with unusual parallel venation. These trees are in the same genus (Cornus) as the red twig dogwood, which are woody shrubs with very similar leaves. Instead of the bracts for flowers, red twig dogwoods have large clusters of tiny creamy-white flowers.

The Kousa Dogwood Beautifies Small Gardens

Dogwoods are beautiful specimen trees that are useful for small gardens. They can be planted in a group to create a woodland effect or installed in a lawn or near a patio for shade. Their beauty provides year-round interest. They offer show-stopping flowers in the spring, followed by pinkish-red fruit in the summer, burnt orange and crimson foliage in the fall, and attractive peeling gray and tan bark more visible in the winter. Their fruit also makes them suitable for a wildlife garden, as songbirds love to feast on them.

Korean dogwoods reach 15’ to 30’ tall and wide, depending upon the variety. They are fairly slow growing. Initial growth habit is a vase shape, but as they reach maturity they develop a more rounded canopy.

Growing Conditions

Korean dogwoods prefer to grow in full sun but will tolerate partial shade, especially when grown in very hot climates. Plant them in moist soil high in organic matter with good drainage, and be sure to water regularly. However, Korean dogwoods do have some drought tolerance. They thrive in Zones 5-8.

Kousa Dogwoods Have Excellent Disease Resistance

One of the most important qualities in making the Korean dogwood an ideal small garden tree is its resistance to common plant diseases such as anthracnose and powdery mildew.  Most Korean dogwoods have some resistance to these diseases, making it a more practical choice to make over the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida). Cornus florida is undoubtedly a beautiful addition to the garden but can be more susceptible to these diseases.  However, some cultivars are more resistant, such as ‘Cherokee Brave’ and ‘Appalachian Joy’.

If you’re wondering which of these dogwoods you have planted in your garden, there are a few ways to tell them apart. Cornus florida (native to the eastern United States) bloom earlier with larger flowers than the Korean dogwood and have shiny red berries, which look very different to the dull, bumpy Korean dogwood fruits.

Diseases that can Affect Non-Resistant Dogwoods:

• Anthracnose is a fungal disease that can cause non-resistant dogwoods to have ugly brown leaf spots around the tip and edges of the leaves. It is usually made worse by late spring rains occurring when new leaves are growing. This disease can also infect twigs, where it can over-winter and re-infect leaves year after year.
• Powdery mildew is a fungus that can thrive during dry weather. It can cover leaves causing stunting as well as causing new leaves to curl and distort.

Both diseases can impact the health and appearance of trees. Therefore, it is better to plant a disease resistant cultivar when installing new trees. There are many choices for the Korean Dogwood. ‘Milky Way’ is an outstanding disease-resistant white cultivar with showy flowers and bright red fall color. ‘Satomi’ is a wonderful choice for a pink-blooming dogwood. It is a smaller tree, growing to around 12’ tall with bright pink flowers in the late spring. There are also many other wonderful cultivars to choose from.

Contact Frontier Tree Service to help you select and plant the right dogwood tree for your yard.

Flowering Crabapples are Small Trees with a Big Impact

A flowering crabapple tree (or Malus species) can be a wonderful addition to your yard.  These versatile beauties provide year-round interest with stunning blooms in the spring, attractive green leaves in summer, small, colorful fruits in late summer and fall, and autumn colors that can be yellow, orange, red or purple.

Reasons to Select a Flowering Crabapple Tree:

• Beautiful Blooms – Similar to cherry trees when they’re flowering, the blooms seem to cover the entire canopy in a profusion of color in mid to late spring when they bloom for a month. Their blooms range in hue from pink, red, purple and white to coral. They have single flowers, semi-double, or double blooms. These range in size from ¼” to 2”.  They are generally smaller flowers than apple trees, which are in the same Malus genus.
• Small Size – Another good reason to select a Crabapple is their small size.  Many range between 10’ and 20’ tall, although some varieties may get up to 40’. The canopy is often as wide as it is tall, and you can recognize them by this distinctive shape.
• Seasonal Interest – Their fall color is impressive, as is the display of small berries that hang all over the tree in a variety of colors depending on cultivar: pink, red, purple, or yellow. The fruits can persist on the tree beyond leaf drop, providing sustenance for hungry birds when there is less food available in winter time.

Crabapple Diseases

Flowering crabapple trees can be susceptible to some diseases. Here are some common ones to look out for:

• Powdery Mildew – This fungus can stunt new growth and lessen the attractiveness of a tree, but its effect is more aesthetic than threatening to the health of the tree.
• Apple Scab – This fungus can be made worse by spring rains which are common here in the PNW. It can cause ugly distortion of fruits and premature leaf drop.
• Fire Blight – This is a disease that can cause dieback in twigs and more seriously to the branches and the trunk, potentially killing the tree. It often affects plants in the rose family, such as ornamental roses, hawthorn, and Cotoneaster.

Some pests can also affect these trees but are less serious than the above diseases. Insects such as tent caterpillars, aphids, scale and spider-mites can affect the health of your tree.

Disease Resistant Cultivars that thrive in the Pacific Northwest

There are over one thousand varieties and cultivars of flowering crabapple, so it can be confusing to pick one that will suit you and your yard. It is best to choose a disease resistant variety or cultivar, so you can plant your tree worry free and watch it grow and thrive. Here are a few varieties commonly found in nurseries in Washington state that we recommend:

Malus ‘Prairie Fire’ – This cultivar puts on a stunning spring show with its deep pink blooms.  The new foliage emerges with an attractive purple tinge, later producing a rich, deep purple fruit.  Disease resistant. Grows 15’ to 20’ tall and wide. USDA Zone 4-8.

Malus ‘Sugar tyme’ – If you’re a fan of white blooms, this one is a beauty. The buds are pale pink but open to snow-white flowers. Disease resistant. They reach 14-18’ tall and 12-15’ wide. USDA Zone 4-8.

For a more comprehensive list, here is a useful guide to cultivars that thrive in the Pacific Northwest.

Care for Flowering Crabapples:

• Plant in Full Sun – This will ensure the best health and bloom for your tree and help avoid diseases such as powdery mildew.
• Regular Watering – A deep watering weekly, more with high temperatures.
• Well-drained Fertile Soil – Mix in compost with soil to improve drainage in clay soils and enrich sandy soils.

Overall, flowering crabapples are a wonderful choice for a small space in the yard to bring seasonal interest to your property.

Contact Frontier Tree Service or Frontier Landscaping for more information about tree selection and planting.