26 Great Flowering Trees for Wisconsin Yards

If you’re looking to expand your garden and plant unique, breathtaking flowering trees in your home garden in Wisconsin, you will be pleased to learn that the Badger State has its fair share of native and nonnative flowering trees. Read on to learn all about Wisconsin’s gorgeous flowering trees! 

Wisconsin is arguably blessed with one of the most varied and beautiful landscapes among all the US states. From the valleys and ridges of the Driftless Area, to the lofty pines in the Northwoods, to the rolling countryside throughout the state, Wisconsin is an indisputable stunner through and through.

The state also enjoys a pleasant continental climate; it has enjoyable warm summers and fairly cold winters, especially in the north-central lowlands and upper northeast areas. 

The Badger State is also home to a wide array of gorgeous trees. It’s home to beloved natives, such as the White Oak, American Elm, Silver Maple, and so on. However, it also grows numerous flowering trees in several sizes that can enhance the beauty of any landscape. Wisconsin features many native shrubs and trees that grow stunning, vivid blooms in a wide range of colors, including purple, white, yellow, pink, and more. 

Some of the most popular flowering trees in Wisconsin are Yellowwood, Pagoda Dogwood, Japanese Stewartia, and American Smoke Tree. When combined with the splendid fall foliage with pretty hues, such as red, burgundy, orange, yellow, and purple, these trees are a marvelous and mesmerizing sight to behold. You can plant these flowering trees and shrubs in your rock gardens, front lawns, and backyards and enjoy their spectacular beauty.  

So, without much ado, let’s take a look at 26 elegant and unique flowering trees in Wisconsin!

1. Northern Catalpa Tree

  • Catalpa speciosa
  • Flowering in: Spring and Early Summer
  • Max Height: 40-60 ft
Catalpa Tree in full bloom
carlfbagge Catalpa Tree in full bloom.

Northern Catalpa is an award-winning, large, flowering, deciduous tree. It has a narrow, slightly oval crown. Its branches are cloaked with wide, heart-shaped, light green leaves with glossy tops and hairy undersides. It features stunning clusters of trumpet-shaped, white flowers with purple speckles and yellow stripes on their throats. This tree thrives in well-drained, moist soils and full sun or part shade. 

2. Yellowwood

  • Cladrastis kentukea
  • Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Summer
  • Max Height: 80 ft
Yellowwood. Cladrastis kentukea
karen_hine Yellowwood. (Cladrastis kentukea)

Yellowwood is a beautiful, deciduous tree with a wide, rounded crown of upward-spreading branches. It features pinnate yellow-green leaves that turn into vivid yellow foliage with maturity. It also features large, pendant-shaped clusters of highly fragrant, white flowers that create a spectacular show as they cascade from the canopy. This tree thrives in fertile, well-drained soils and full sun. 

3. Pagoda Dogwood

  • Cornus alternifolia
  • Flowering in: Spring 
  • Max Height: 30 ft
Cornus alternifolia argentea
peganum Cornus alternifolia argentea

The Pagoda Dogwood tree is a striking accent plant. It has horizontally winding branches and beautiful red-purple fall foliage. This native shrub features white or pale-yellow flowers that are followed by bluish fruits. It prefers to grow in cooler, moist soils in a sheltered location. 

4. American Smoke Tree

  • Cotinus obovatus
  • Flowering in: Early Summer
  • Max Height: 20-30 ft
American Smoketree
Jim Linwood American Smoketree

This small, deciduous, ornamental tree can be grown as a large shrub. It has an oval to round crown with splendid orangish-red and purple fall foliage and decorative barks. It features tiny flowers born in large clusters. They develop smoky pink or purplish petioles that cover the entire tree in summer. It prefers to grow in full sun and dry to moist, well-drained soils, but it can handle a little neglect. 

5. Washington Hawthorn

  • Crataegus phaenopyrum
  • Flowering in: Early Summer
  • Max Height: 25 ft 
Crataegus phaenopyrum Washington Hawthorn
Frank Richards Crataegus phaenopyrum – Washington Hawthorn

Washington Hawthorn is a small, heat-tolerant, deciduous, and low-branching tree with a dense rounded or ovate crown. It features abundant clusters of creamy-white flowers and glossy leaves with pointed lobes. Its foliage turns beautiful shades of purple, scarlet, and orange in the fall. It also features shiny red, round fruits that attract wild birds. This tree prefers to grow in full sun and dry to moist, well-drained soil. 

6. Amur Maackia

  • Maackia amurensis
  • Flowering in: Mid-Summer
  • Max Height: 20-30 ft
Amur Maackia Maackia amurensis
Jean-Pol GRANDMONT Amur Maackia (Maackia amurensis)

Slow-growing and hardy, Amur Maackia is a small, deciduous tree. It features dense, 8-inch long, upright clusters of fragrant, stark white, pea-like flowers. It has a glossy, coppery-bronze bark and a broad, rounded canopy of dark olive-green foliage. This tree grows easily in well-drained, adequately moist soils and full sun. It’s a low-maintenance, disease-resistant plant. 

7. Oyama Magnolia

  • Magnolia sieboldii
  • Flowering in: Late Summer
  • Max Height: 15 ft
Oyama Magnolia flowers.
Wendy Cutler Oyama Magnolia flowers.

Oyama Magnolia is a wide-spreading, deciduous shrub that features fragrant, slightly bent, white flowers. These pretty blooms have rich rose-red stamens with bright yellow tips. This shrub also features wide, ovate, green leaves. It grows well in moist, acidic, well-drained soil and prefers full sun and partial shade on warmer days. 

8. Japanese Stewartia

  • Stewartia pseudocamellia 
  • Flowering in: Mid-Summer
  • Max Height: 15-20 ft
Stewartia pseudocamellia
Sen Itto Stewartia pseudocamellia

This small deciduous tree features delicate, cup-shaped, striking white blooms that are adorned with vivid, orange-yellow anthers. These beautiful flowers open in succession and last longer than typical summer blooms. Japanese Stewartia’s ovate, dark-green foliage turns red, burgundy, and orange in fall. This slow-growing plant likes full sun and part shade and grows in moderately fertile, well-drained soils. 

9. Japanese Lilac Tree

  • Syringa reticulata ivory silk
  • Flowering in: Early Summer
  • Max Height: 15-25 ft
28562804 view of japanese tree lilac or syringa reticulata full of flowers in the springtime popular zaimov park district oborishte
Yay Japanese tree lilac full of flowers in the springtime.

The Japanese Lilac tree is an urban-tolerant, low-maintenance, and hardy tree ideal for commercial landscaping. This multi-trunk tree features breathtaking, creamy white, fragrant flowers that bloom on massive, foot-long clusters in unison with dark green leaves. This tree produces the largest blooms in full sun and thrives in well-drained soil. 

10. Pekin Lilac

  • Syringa pekinensis
  • Flowering in: Mid-Summer
  • Max Height: 15-20 ft
Syringa pekinensis
Oregon State University Syringa pekinensis

Pekin Lilac is a floriferous, deciduous tree with a graceful, well-rounded, and upright habitat. In mid-summer, it features abundant tiny, fragrant, cream-white flowers that cover the tree in rich clusters. The erect-open branches of Pekin Lilac are draped in slightly glossy, green leaves. This tree prefers to grow in full sun and needs well-drained soil to thrive.  

11. Little Leaf Linden

  • Tilia cordata
  • Flowering in: Summer
  • Max Height: 50-60′ tall
Littleleaf Linden tilia cordata
Frank Richards Littleleaf Linden (tilia cordata)

Native to Europe, the Little Leaf Linden is a medium-sized tree that features creamy-white or pale-yellow, highly fragrant flowers that grow in drooping clusters. It has a strikingly dense, rounded crown and dark green or bluish-green, heart-shaped leaves. It grows well in full sun and deep, well-drained, fertile soil.  

12. Prairifire Crabapple 

  • Malus prairifire
  • Flowering in: Mid Spring to Late Spring
  • Max Height: 20 in
Malus Prairifire Crab Apple
Frank Richards Malus ‘Prairifire’ Crab Apple

An upright, deciduous, disease-resistant tree, the Prairifire Crabapple features pretty pinkish-red buds that bloom into innumerable clusters of slightly fragrant dark pink and red flowers. This tree also bears abundant purplish-red fruit. It has maroon and purplish, pointy leaves that turn dark green in the summer. It grows in moderately fertile, well-drained soil and prefers full sun. 

13. Common Hackberry

  • Celtis occidentalis
  • Flowering in: Spring
  • Max Height: 50-75 ft
Common Hackberry celtis occidentalis
Chhe Common Hackberry (celtis occidentalis)

The Common Hackberry tree is an excellent choice for landscape planting as it grows in windy, exposed locations. It’s a vivid tree with bright, cherry-yellow fall foliage that is relatively pest-free. In spring, it features inconspicuous greenish-white flowers that bloom individually or in small clusters of two to three flowers. 

14. Ohio Buckeye

  • Aesculus glabra
  • Flowering in: Spring
  • Max Height: 40-60 ft
Ohio Buckeye Aesculus glabra.
Daderot Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra).

Ohio Buckeye is a medium-sized, deciduous tree with a rounded habitat of dense, dark green foliage that turns golden-yellow and orange in fall. It features greenish-yellow flowers that bloom in small clusters and attract hummingbirds. This tree thrives in full sun or part shade and prefers well-drained, adequately moist soil.

15. Kentucky Coffeetree

  • Gymnocladus dioicus
  • Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Summer
  • Max Height: 60-80 ft
Kentucky Coffee Tree Gymnocladus dioicus.
Leonora (Ellie) Enking Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus dioicus).

The Kentucky Coffeetree is a large, open tree with compound, bluish-green leaves that turn yellow in the fall. It’s an adaptable tree that can thrive in various soil conditions and drought but prefers deep, moist soil and full sun. It features 1-inch long, greenish-white flowers that grow in spike-like clusters. 

16. Linden

  • Tillia
  • Flowering in: Spring to Mid-Summer
  • Max Height: 50 ft
Linden tree. 1
Doris Antony Linden tree.

Linden has about 30 different species native to North America, Asia, and Europe. It’s a medium-sized, deciduous tree with thick foliage of dark green, heart-shaped leaves ideal for providing shade. It features sweetly fragrant creamy-white flowers that grow in clusters. It thrives in full sun and prefers fertile, moist, and well-drained loams. 

17. American Plum

  • Prunus Americana
  • Flowering in: Late Spring to Early Autumn
  • Max Height: 35 ft
Prunus Americana
Frank Richards Prunus Americana

The American plum is a thicket-forming tree with a short trunk and numerous arching branches. It features a mass of large, fragrant white flowers that grow in striking, flat-topped clusters along its curving branches. It also bears delicious red plums. This understory tree has beautiful fall foliage, ranging from pale yellow to electric red. 

18. Shadblow Serviceberry

  • Amelanchier canadensis 
  • Flowering in: Spring
  • Max Height: 10-25 ft
Amelanchier canadensis
Leonora (Ellie) Enking Amelanchier canadensis

An excellent native shrub, the Shadblow Serviceberry features gorgeous, five-petaled, somewhat fragrant white flowers that grow in drooping clusters. It also has handsome fall foliage with striking yellow and red leaves. It’s a slow-growing, multi-stemmed shrub that does well in moist-well-drained soils. 

19. Starburst

  • Clerodendrum quadriloculare
  • Flowering in: Winter
  • Max Height: 25-30 ft
Clerodendrum quadriloculare
Forest and Kim Starr Starburst bush (Clerodendrum quadriloculare)

Starburst, also known as shooting star clerodendrum, features pretty, fast-growing, tubular blooms with pink bottoms and white tips. The flowers appear in large clusters and attract long-tongued butterflies and hummingbirds. This tree features green leaves with glossy, deep purple undersides. It produces a compact canopy and beautiful blooms in full sun and well-drained soil. 

20. Summertime

  • Cerastium tomentosum
  • Flowering in: Summer
  • Max Height: 18-20 ft
Cerastium tomentosum
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz Cerastium tomentosum

Also known as Snow-in-Summer, Summertime is a low-growing perennial that has dense, silvery-gray foliage. It features start-like, striking white flowers with irregular petals. This tree tends to spread quickly, making it an excellent choice for ground cover, edging, and rock gardens. It grows best in full sun and prefers dry, sandy, well-drained soil. 

21. Firebird Crabapple

  • Sargent crabapple
  • Flowering in: Mid Spring to Late Spring
  • Max Height: 7-9 ft
Sargent Crabapple
Ryan Somma Sargent Crabapple

Firebird Crabapple is a small, slow-growing, upright tree. It bears a small, nonedible, ruby-red fruit that remains hard and colorful late into winters. It features stunning clusters of sweetly fragrant, snow-white flowers that grow along its branches. This petite tree has dark green foliage and brick-red branches. It prefers to grow in full sun and needs well-drained, fertile soil. 

22. Manbeck Weeper Anne

Malus Manbeck Weeper
Missouri Botanical Garden Malus ‘Manbeck Weeper
  • Malus manbeck weeper
  • Flowering in: Spring
  • Max Height: 40 ft

Manbeck Weeper Anne is a deciduous, wide-spreading weeper. It features deep reddish-pink buds that grow into beautiful, open-petalled white flowers. It also features ovate green foliage that should be pruned in winters to avoid diseases. This tree grows best in full sun and prefers adequately moist, well-drained, and acidic loams. Once established, it’s fairly drought-tolerant.  

23. Saucer Magnolia

  • Magnolia x soulangiana
  • Flowering in: Early Spring
  • Max Height: 30 ft
Saucer Magnolia.
Puddin Tain Saucer Magnolia.

A beautiful, versatile, and deer-resistant ornamental shrub, the Saucer Magnolia can become the statement plant in any landscape. It features dark-purple flower buds that bloom into gorgeous, fragrant, cup-shaped pink and white flowers. These showy flowers can be six to ten inches tall. This tree thrives in full sun and evenly moist soil.  

24. Star Magnolia

  • Magnolia Stellata
  • Flowering in: Spring
  • Max Height: 15-25 ft
Star Magnolia.
Katja Schulz Star Magnolia (magnolia stellata)

Star Magnolia is a small, attractive, pest-resistant tree with glossy, oblong foliage and excellent form. This ornamental, deciduous shrub features large, star-shaped, fragrant blooms that liberally cover its barren branches. Its unique flowers have 25 to 30 long, ribbon-like petals and a pale-yellow center. This tree likes to grow in part shade or full sun and prefers well-drained soil. 

25. Apple Serviceberry

  • Amelanchier x grandiflora
  • Flowering in: Early Spring
  • Max Height: 15-30 ft
Amelanchier x grandiflora
peganum Amelanchier x grandiflora

Apple serviceberry is a deciduous tree with small, fragrant white flowers and oval-shaped blue-green foliage that turns red in the fall. This disease-resistant tree also bears blue-black edible berries. It’s the ideal choice for a woodland garden. It prefers to grow in full sun and needs well-drained, moist soil. 

26. Allegheny Serviceberry

  • Amelanchier laevis
  • Flowering in: Early Spring
  • Max Height: 15-25 ft
Amelanchier laevis
Tom Lund Amelanchier laevis

Allegheny Serviceberry is a multi-trunked tree with dense branches and purplish-bronze leaves that grow into lustrous, dark-green foliage. It features abundant sprays of tiny, slightly fragrant white flowers and small, delicious, purplish-black berries. It’s a low-maintenance, easy-to-grow, disease-resistant plant. It thrives in full sun to part shade and well-drained, moist, acidic soil.