Producing beautiful arching displays of abundant and fragrant white flowers, this spirea is a great shrub to showcase in your garden each spring. Planted in the full sun or partial shade and with well draining soil the spirea will grow almost 10 feet wide and 8 feet high making it a great hedge or shrub border.

Growing up to 20 feet high and 15 feet wide the Magnolia tree produces an extremely showy flower early each spring in shades of purple, pink and white.  They prefer to be planted in well draining soil that is slightly acidic with a sunny to lightly shady exposure.  Magnolias should be pruned after flowering and they do not tolerate dry conditions.  They may also have problems such as scale, mildew, leaf blight and leaf spot.

Growing up to 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide depending on the variety this spring stunner is a popular choice in most landscapes.  As a sure sign that winter is over Forsythia will bloom for several weeks if planted in its ideal conditions of full sun and well draining, fertile soil.  Like all flowering trees and shrubs that bloom in the spring, you should wait until the fall to give it a tidy up pruning, though many prefer the wild appreance it has when it’s  left to its own devices.  Forsythia branches can also be forced to bloom indoors by cutting the branches on a slant in Late winter and placing them in a vase of water.  The new growth at the end of the branch is preferred since it has bigger blossoms.

White Ash 'Manitou'

Fraxinus americana is the most popular ash in the landscape.  Growing easily over 100 feet tall in moist soil and full sun it is a great long living shade tree.  The male species does not produce seeds making them a tidier choice and some varieties of White Ash have a beautiful fall colour.

Cornus mas ‘Variegata’ grows up to 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide in either the full sun or partial shade.  It will tolerate most soil conditions and is fairly low maintenance.

The Cornelian cherry has yellow flowers along its branches from late winter to spring and have white and dark green foliage throughout the rest of the year.  Red berries produce in the summer.  Prune this shrub only after the flowering is completed.

Growing 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide, Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’ is a dense pyramidal evergreen shrub perfect for borders.  Its foliage has a fine, fuzzy appearance in a golden colour in the summer and a more coppery tone in the fall.

The cedar prefers full sun to partial shade and moist soil types and should be protected from drying winds.

Norway Maple 'Deborah'

Most of my plant of the week features show you specimens that you may want to use in your gardens and landscapes.

The Norway Maple however is probably one you do not want.  Acer platanoides is considered an obnoxiously invasive tree that is very hard to get rid of once you have it.

It has a shallow, fibrous root system that is tolerant of most soil conditions and is known to choke out other native species.  It also casts a very dense shade that makes it impossible for anything to grow under it especially grass.  It will grow up to 100 feet tall and though it is considered young in tree years, will live 250 years old.

Quercus borealis is a strong and rounded tree with giant branches that are low to the ground.  Known for their beautiful fall colours of yellow and reds and as a commercially popular wood, this oak will grow 50-60 feet in height and width.

It prefers full sun and is tolerant to most soils though the Northern Red Oak will only begin producing acorns after 10-12 years.

The Acer pseudosieboldianum can be sold either as a grafted single stemmed tree or a smaller multi-stemmed shrub that prefers full sun and moist well draining soil.  Its appearance is closely related to the Japanese Maple however it can tolerate much colder conditions.  This maple is wind tolerant and will grow 15-25 feet tall and even larger in width.

For those who wish for a Japanese maple in their gardens but don’t have the ideal conditions this tree is the way to go.

Gymnocladus dioica is a slow growing tree that will grow 60-75 feet tall.  Its botanical name means ‘naked branches’ referring to the length of time it lays dormant.  It is one of the first trees to shed its leaves in the fall and one of the last to bud out in the spring.  The female species produces reddish brown pea pods that can get messy when they shed so a male species is preferred if used as a street tree.

Plant the Coffee Tree in the full sun with moist, fertile soil.