Another Spring in Western Montana

Written by Bill Caras

We’re off to another fabulous spring in western Montana. Weather vagaries are to be expected but plants are adaptable and, for the most part, dependable. The flowering crab is the most prevalent ornamental tree in town and is really showing off right now with profuse blooms of pink or white. Their close cousins, regular apple trees are blooming (white) simultaneously all over town. A little known fact is that flowering crabapples will pollinate regular apples which means that if you’re home is in town, pollination is not a problem. As far as flowering crabs fruiting there is good news. Virtually all the cultivars being grown anymore produce very small fruits that don’t fall off the tree and are actually quite decorative thereby giving the tree multi-season interest. Other common trees with showy spring flowers include several selections of hawthorn, plum, tree lilac, serviceberry. The famous flowering cherries of Washington D. C. and Japan do not have presence here due to hardiness issues but in the last few years more cold tolerant varieties have been developed and are now available. Pink Myst and Pink Flair are two of the introductions (cultivars) which we usually have in stock.

All trees bloom so the designation “flowering trees” is a little misleading. The term, in essence, refers to trees that don’t normally get as tall or wide as a “shade tree” which have been selected for their showy flowers. Another term is “ornamental trees” which implies a smaller growing tree similar to, for instance, a flowering crab but also can include smaller growing trees that don’t have showy flowers. There are many choices including a number of maples which are smaller but have features like great fall color that make them a great addition to the garden/lawn. Even though “ornamental” trees are generally smaller, they still cast some shade just as shade trees produce flowers. I guess in conclusion you could say that we have vagaries in both our weather and our language!