Spring Blooms in the ‘Burgh

By Julianna Razryadov, Curator of Horticulture

To step outside this week is to feel the awakening of the earth. Birds are signing, the grass is a fresh bright green, the trees are budding, and many have bloomed their springtime blossoms. You don’t have to go far to see, smell, feel the awakening. I want to give you a few tidbits on what you see around your block in full color right now.

The obvious place to begin are the glorious magnolias (Magnolia spp.). While they don’t keep their blooms long, while they are in flower they are magnificent. In your neighborhood you may have the large pink and white flower of the saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana). This popular landscaping tree is a hybrid of two Chinese native magnolias, one white, one pink. You may also see a star magnolia or two (Magnolia stellata). These Japanese natives are more prone to shrub like growth and are often smaller in the public landscape. They are remarkably fragrant.

Also common, and quite fragrant (if less deliciously so than magnolias), are the flowering pear trees (Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’). They line the sidewalks and produce copious white blooms that look fluffy from a distance. They are also, however, quite stinky and a bit dangerous. They have relatively frail branches which do break, often the ground below is littered with their small broken twigs. And, they are considered invasive so don’t add any more ot the landscape.

Walking around Pittsburgh I am taken aback by the diversity of cherry trees I see around (Prunus spp.). My neighbors have a glorious weeping cherry that I get a chance to admire every day. I’ve seen towering white flowering cherries and large flowered Japanese cherries. All these are given away by their trunks, which all have clear stripes going horizontally across the bark.

Another pink flowering popular landscaping tree just starting to bloom is my favorite – a native to our lands. The American redbud (Cercis canadensis) blooms small pink flowers all along the trunk and branches, coating the tree in color. This habit is called cauliflory. It is native to the eastern United States reaching up into Canada and even down into Mexico. This beautiful tree reveals heart shaped leaves after the pink flowers fade. A true romantic.

Take a walk around your neighborhood – watch the buds unfurl, the leaves green up and arch towards the sun. Take a breath of the fresh air; it’s the freshest six feet away from everyone else!