30 Great Flowering Trees For Alabama Gardens

Have you been looking for breathtaking flowering trees to plant in your home garden in Alabama? Well, you’re in luck! The Cotton State is hospitable to many arresting flowering trees that you can grow as standalone yard specimens, small shrubs, accents or ornamentals, and understory trees in your garden. Read on to find out about 30 stunning flowering trees in Alabama! 

Alabama is a US state with a versatile landscape and ideal weather for plants, trees, and shrubs to thrive. It has five geographic regions – Highland Rim, Ridge and Valley, Cumberland Plateau, Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain. The Cotton State is blessed with a versatile terrain across these regions, including mountainous ridges, deep valleys, prairies, flat coastal plains, lakes, river deltas, foothills, springs, cave systems, coastlines, swamps, and barrier islands. 

The Heart of Dixie has a warm, hospitable climate replete with a wide variety of growing conditions for all sorts of flowering trees. The state enjoys a humid, subtropical climate with very hot summers, mild winters, and abundant precipitation all through the year. Alabama is home to numerous shrubs, understories, and shade-providing trees, such as Longleaf Pine Sugar Maple, Katsura, Black Cherry, Back Oak, and Eastern White Pine. 

It is also home to several exquisite flowering trees, such as many varieties of spectacular Magnolias and Crepe Myrtles, Japanese Snowbell, Cornelian Cherry, Chinese Fringe Tree, Tulip Tree, Dogwood, Blue Moon Wisteria Vine Tree, Cleveland Pear Tree, Jacaranda, and more. 

These trees make excellent additions to any home garden, adding vivid colors and richness during the blooming season. These flowering trees aren’t just incredible showstoppers, but they also act as a source of sustenance and shelter for local wildlife. 

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at 30 gorgeous flowering trees in Alabama!

1. Saucer Magnolia

• Magnolia x soulangiana
• Flowering in: Early Spring
• Height: 30 ft

Originally bred in France, Saucer Magnolia is a stunning, versatile, deciduous small-sized tree or shrub. It produces dark-purple buds that blossom into large, striking, aromatic, goblet-shaped pink and white flowers. It has smooth, leathery, dark green foliage that turns bronze-gold in the fall. This deer-resistant tree hardy tree thrives full sun and evenly moist, well-drained soils. 

2. Star Magnolia

• Magnolia Stellata
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 15-25 ft

Native to Japan, Star Magnolia is an ornamental, deciduous tree with oblong, glossy foliage. It produces large, star-shaped, fragrant, white flowers that grow on its bare branches. Its unique blooms have 25 to 30 long, ribbon-like petals and pale-yellow centers. This pest-resistant tree grows well in well-drained soils and part shade or full sun. 

3. Japanese Snowbell 

• Styrax japonicus
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 20-30 ft

Japanese Snowbell is a medium-sized, deciduous flower tree with a compact, rounded crown and horizontal branches. It produces drooping, pendulous clusters of mildly fragrant, 5-petaled, bell-shaped, waxy white blooms. It has upward-facing, glossy, elliptic-ovate, medium to deep green foliage. This tree thrives in full sun to part shade and medium-moist, well-drained, organically rich, acidic soils. 

4. Japanese Crepe Myrtle

• Lagerstroemia fauriei
• Flowering in: Spring and Summer
• Height: 50 ft

Native to Ryuku Island, Japanese Crepe Myrtle is a multi-stemmed, medium-sized, deciduous tree with a rounded habitat and tall, arching branches. It has an attractive cinnamon bark and light green, oppositely growing leaves. It produces white flowers that grow in large, visible clusters. This cold-hardy, fast-growing tree grows best in full sun and moist, well-drained soils. 

5. Cornelian Cherry

• Cornus mas
• Flowering in: Early Spring
• Height: 25 ft

Native to western Asia and central and southern Europe, Cornelian Cherry is a small-sized, deciduous tree. It has dense, elliptic to ovate, dark green foliage. It produces small yellow blossoms that grow on short stalks. The blooms are enclosed by yellowish, petal-like bracts. This tree thrives in full sun to part shade and moist, organically rich, well-drained soils. 

6. Katsura 

• Cercidiphyllum japonicum
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 40 ft

Native to China and Japan, Katsura is a single or multi-trunked, dense, understory tree with a beautifully rounded habitat. It has cordate, oval-round, reddish-purple leaves that turn medium green and then gold, red, and orange. It produces tiny red or green flowers. The blooms give way to clusters of greenish pods. This tree grows well in full sun to part shade and moist, rich, well-drained soils. 

7. Big Leaf Magnolia

• Magnolia macrophylla
• Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Summer
• Height: 30 ft

Big Leaf Magnolia is a medium-sized pyramidal tree with a spreading, rounded habitat. It produces attractive, large, fragrant white flowers with a purple-rose base. The blossoms give way to cone-like, spherical red fruits. This tree has paint brush-shaped, oblong-obovate, huge green and silvery-gray foliage. It thrives in moist, organically rich, well-drained soils and sunny locations or part shade. 

8. Chinese Fringe Tree

• Chionanthus retusus
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 25-30 ft

Native to Korea, China, and Japan, the Chinese Fringe Tree is a medium-sized, multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a wide-spreading, round habitat. It features elliptic to ovate, leathery, lustrous, bright green foliage. It produces abundant, mildly aromatic, pure white blooms with fringe-shaped petals. This tree grows well in fertile, moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soils and part shade to full sun. 

9. Serviceberry 

• Amelanchier arborea
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 10-25 ft

Serviceberry or Downy Serviceberry is a small-sized, deciduous tree or shrub. It produces profuse drooping clusters of slightly aromatic, 5-petaled, white blossoms. The flowers give way to tiny, round, delicious dark purple berries. It has oval green leaves that turn vivid shades of orange, red, and yellow in fall. Serviceberry Trees thrive in acidic, well-drained, and moist to dry soils and part shade to full sun. 

10. Southern Magnolia 

• Magnolia grandiflora
• Flowering in: Spring to early Summer
• Height: 37 ft

Native to Alabama and other parts of the US, Southern Magnolia is a dense, medium-sized, evergreen tree. It has smooth, leathery, dark green foliage with rusty brown bottoms. It produces striking, aromatic, large, cup-shaped blooms that grow at the tips of its robust, thick stems. This tree grows well in moderately watered, organically rich, well-drained soils and sunny or partly shaded locations.  

11. Crape Myrtle

• Lagerstroemia
• Flowering in: Summer and Spring
• Height: 35 ft

Native to China and Korea, Crape Myrtle is widely grown in the South of the US. Also known as the “lilac of the South,” this tree has dense, luxurious, deciduous, dark green leaves that turn orange and red in fall. It produces abundant large clusters of long-lasting, crinkly pinkish-lavender flowers. This disease-resistant tree thrives in full sun and adequately moist, well-drained soils. 

12. Tulip Tree

• Liriodendron tulipifera
• Flowering in: Late Spring and Early Summer
• Height: 70-90 ft

Native to Eastern North America, the Tulip Tree, also known as tulip Poplar or Yellow Poplar, is a stately, deciduous tree with a pyramid-shaped habitat or an arching dome-shaped crown. It produces tulip-like, cup-shaped, yellowish-green and orange blossoms that attract bees and birds. The flowers give way to cone-shaped fruits. It also features large, bright green, four-lobed, glossy foliage. This tree grows well in full sun and organically rich, moist, well-drained soils. 

13. Tonto Crape Myrtle

• Lagerstroemia x tonto
• Flowering in: Mid-Summer to Fall
• Height: 8-15 ft

Tonto Crape Myrtle is a cross between two varieties of Crape Myrtle. It’s an upright, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub with a spreading habitat and a beige bark. It features dark green leaves that turn reddish-purple or dull red in fall. It produces huge clusters of bright magenta flowers that give way to round seed capsules. This tree thrives in full sun and adequately moist, fertile, well-drained loams and clay soils. 

14. Pink Dogwood

• Cornus florida
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 25 ft

Native to eastern North America and northern Mexico, Pink Dogwood is a small-sized, low-branching, deciduous tree with a rounded or broadly-pyramidal crown and a flat top. It features oval green foliage that turns reddish-purple in fall. Dogwood produces compact, tiny, white blossoms that grow from pink bracts. It prefers to grow in speckled or part shade and organic, well-drained soils.  

15. Blue Moon Wisteria Vine Tree

• Wisteria macrostachya
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 10-15 ft

Native to Asia and various parts of America, Blue Moon Wisteria Vine Tree is a low-maintenance, cold-tolerant tree. It produces stunning, large, fragrant lilac and purple flowers that grow in drooping clusters. It features shiny, dark-green foliage. This tree thrives and blooms wonderfully in full sun and a wide variety of well-drained soils. 

16. Eastern Redbud

• Cercis canadensis
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 30 ft

Native to certain parts of the US and Mexico, Eastern Redbud is an attractive, multi-trunked tree with a round habitat and horizontal branches. It produces striking clusters of small magenta buds that blossom into breathtaking, long-lasting, rosy-pink blooms. It has heart-shaped, reddish to dark green foliage that turns bright canary yellow in fall. Redbuds grow well in various levels of sun exposure and most soil types. 

17. Cleveland Pear Tree

• Pyrus calleryana
• Flowering in: Late Winter to Mid Spring 
• Height: 30-40 ft

Cleveland Pear Tree is a captivating, fast-growing, ornamental tree with a narrow, upright, and naturally attractive habitat. It produces showy clusters of pure white blooms that grow on upright branches. It has spectacular autumn foliage with orange, bright red, plum, and mellow golden yellow leaves. This drought-tolerant tree thrives in full sun and organically rich, adequately moist, well-drained, somewhat alkaline loams. 

18. Jane Magnolia

• Magnolia liliiflora
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 10-15 ft 

Jane Magnolia is a slow-growing, small-sized, multi-stemmed, deciduous hybrid Magnolia tree with a compact, upright habitat. It produces large reddish-purple blooms with white interiors. It has ovate, copper-red foliage that turns dark green with age and then yellow to bronze-copper in fall. This tree grows best in full sun to part shade and adequately moist, organically rich, slightly acidic, well-drained soils. 

19. Pink Velour Crape Myrtle

• Lagerstroemia indica pink velour
• Flowering in: Mid-Summer to Fall
• Height: 10-20 ft

Pink Velour Crape Myrtle is a small-sized, multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with an upright, wide-spreading habitat. It produces terminal, crepe-papery clusters of pinkish-magenta blooms that grow on upright branches. It bears thick, leathery, burgundy-red leaves that turn purplish-green in summer and orange-brown in fall. This tree thrives in full sun and adequately moist, fertile, well-drained loams and clay soils. 

20. Jacaranda

• Jacaranda mimosifolia
• Flowering in: Spring and Summer
• Height: 60 ft

Native to Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina, Jacaranda is a truly magnificent, fast-growing flowering tree with a rounded, spreading habitat. It has large, divided, soft, fern-like, bright green foliage. It produces arresting, pyramid-shaped, eight inches-long clusters of trumpet-shaped, blue-lavender flowers with white throats. Jacaranda grows well in moist, fertile, well-drained, sandy soils and full sun. 

21. Cassia Trees

• Cassia fistula
• Flowering in: Late Spring to Summer
• Height: 10 feet

Native to Southeast Asia, Malaysia, and India, Cassia Tree is a small-sized, semi-deciduous tree with an upright habitat. It produces gorgeous clusters of 5-petaled, slightly aromatic, bright yellow blooms that cover the entire crown of the tree. It has pinnate, compound, foliage with ovate, lance-edged leaflets. This somewhat drought-tolerant tree thrives in full sun and adequately moist, well-drained soils. 

22. Hopi Crape Myrtle

• Lagerstroemia indica hopi
• Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Summer
• Height: 4-10 ft

Hopi Crape Myrtle is a Crape Myrtle hybrid developed in the US. It’s a multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with an upright, spreading habitat. It features dark green foliage that turns reddish-orange in fall. It produces terminal, crepe-papery, large clusters of light pink blooms that give way to round seed capsules. This mildew-resistant tree grows best and produces exquisite blooms in adequately moist, overly fertile, and well-drained loamy, clay soils and full sun. 

23. Sweet Bay Magnolia

• Magnolia virginiana
• Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Summer
• Height: 10-20 ft

Native to the southeastern US, Sweet Bay Magnolia is a small-sized, multi-stemmed tree with a rounded, spreading crown. It features shiny green leaves with silvery bottoms. It produces slightly aromatic, 9-petaled, waxy, cup-shaped, creamy white flowers. This tree tends to thrive in moist, organically rich, acid, well-drained soils and sunny or partly shaded locations. 

24. Sourwood 

• Oxydendrum arboreum
• Flowering in: Summer
• Height: 25-30 ft

Sourwood or Sorrel Tree is a medium-sized, deciduous, understory tree native to the eastern US. It produces terminal, drooping, one-sided clusters of waxy, aromatic white blossoms. It features an oblong, narrow crown of finely-toothed, glossy green leaves that turn crimson red in fall. This tree grows well in organically rich, moist, well-drained, acidic soils and full sun. 

25. Coastal Silver Bells

• Halesia diptera var. magniflora
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 20-30 ft

Also known as Two-Winged Silverbell, Coastal Silver Bells are small-sized, rounded, deciduous trees native to the coastal areas in South Carolina and northern Florida. This tree produces showy clusters of bell-shaped blossoms with deeply lobed petals. It features obovate to oval, irregularly toothed, dark green foliage that turns yellow in fall. This tree thrives in full sun to part shade and medium-moist, organically rich, acidic, well-drained soils. 

26. Taiwan Cherry

• Prunus campanulata
• Flowering in: Late Winter
• Height: 10-26 ft

Native to Southern China, Taiwan Cherry is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree. It features a reddish-brown bark and dark green leaves that turn a beautiful shade of bronze-red in fall. It produces bright pink flowers that bloom on its naked branches. The flowers give way to tiny red fruits that attract songbirds. This heat-tolerant tree grows well in full sun and well-drained, acidic soils. 

27. American Fringe Tree 

• Chionanthus virginicus
• Flowering in: Late Spring to Summer
• Height: 12-20 ft

Native to the eastern US, America Fringe Tree is a small-sized deciduous tree with a rounded, spreading crown. It features wide, spread-shaped foliage that turns yellow in fall. It produces drooping clusters of fringe-like, creamy white flowers that give way to olive-like, bluish-black fruits. This tree thrives in full sun to part shade and fertile, moist, well-drained soils. 

28. Banana Shrub

• Magnolia skinneriana aka michellia figo var. skinneriana
• Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Fall
• Height: 6-10 ft

Native to China, Banana Shrub is a dense, multi-stemmed, evergreen shrub with a rounded form. It has dense, lush foliage of oblong, 3 to 5 inches long glossy green leaves that provide it with a tropical look. It produces banana-scented, magnolia-like creamy yellow flowers that have purple margins. The blooms give way to small red follicular fruit. This tree grows best in partial shade and fertile, organic, well-drained, acidic, sandy loams. 

29. Chaste Tree

• Vitex agnes-castus
• Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Fall
• Height: 10-15 ft

Native to central Asia and southern Europe, Chaste Tree is a beautiful, multi-trunked, small-sized tree. It produces large, upright, spike-shaped clusters of fragrant purple and lavender flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. It has an attractive trunk with a tangled and twisted growth and aromatic green leaves that are divided into five to seven narrow leaflets. Chaste Tree thrives in full sun and moist, well-drained soils. 

30. Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum 

• Viburnum rufidulum
• Flowering in: Spring
• Height: 12-36 ft

Native to various parts of the US, Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum is a small to medium-sized, deciduous, understory tree. It produces rounded or flattened clusters of white flowers. The blooms give way to fleshy, bluish-black fruits. It features flossy, lustrous, elliptic or ovate, bright green leaves that turn pink, mauve, and dark purple in fall. This tree grows well in full sun and moist, well-drained soils.