10 Best Native Flowering Trees

Downy Serviceberry

  • Scientific Name: Amelanchier arborea
  • Average Height: 15 feet to 30 feet
  • Flower Color: White
  • Notes: Red fall colors; produces edible blue fruit
 Downy Serviceberry bloom with leaf inset

Red Horse Chestnut

  • Scientific Name: Aesculus carnea
  • Average Height: 30 feet to 40 feet
  • Flower Color: Rose-red
  • Notes: Vertical flowers
 Red Horse Chestnut bloom with leaf inset

Redbud

  • Scientific Name: Cercis canadensis
  • Average Height: 25 feet to 40 feet
  • Flower Color: Magenta
  • Notes: Flowers before leafing out; yellow heart-shaped leaves in fall
 Redbud bloom with leaf inset

White Fringe

  • Scientific Name: Chionanthus virginicus
  • Average Height: 15 feet to 30 feet
  • Flower Color: White, clustered
  • Notes: Feathery, fragrant, branched flowers
 White Fringe in bloom with leaf inset

Rutgers Dogwood

  • Scientific Name: Cornus florida hybrid
  • Average Height: 30 feet to 50 feet
  • Flower Color: White or pink
  • Notes: Hybrid more resistant to disease; scarlet red fall color
 Rutgers Dogwood in bloom with leaf inset

Washington Hawthorn

  • Scientific Name: Crataegus phaenopyrum
  • Average Height: 20 feet to 30 feet
  • Flower Color: White flowers
  • Notes: Produces red fruit; “White King” Cultivar
 Washington Hawthorn in bloom with leaf inset

Loblolly-bay

  • Scientific Name: Gordonia lasianthus
  • Average Height: 30 feet to 40 feet
  • Flower Color: White with yellow stamens
  • Notes: Prefers moist soil in wooded area
 Loblolly-bay bloom with leaf inset

Common Silverbell

  • Scientific Name: Halesia tetraptera
  • Average Height: 20 feet to 50 feet
  • Flower Color: White
  • Notes: Nut-like fruit
 Common Silverbell bloom with leaf inset

Eastern Witch-Hazel

  • Scientific Name: Hamamelis virginiana
  • Average Height: 15 feet to 30 feet
  • Flower Color: Yellow, spindly
  • Notes: Spicy fragrant flowers that furl/unfurl; exploding seed pods
 Eastern Witch Hazel bloom with leaf inset

American Snowbell

  • Scientific Name: Styrax americanus
  • Average Height: 5 feet to 15 feet
  • Flower Color: White
  • Notes: Hanging bell flowers; large fruit
 American Snowbell bloom with leaf inset

About this page

  • The top 10 most compatible and popular flowering native trees for the City of Wilmington are listed on this page.

Blossoming branch

  • This list was developed by the Wilmington Tree Commission in cooperation with the Arbor Day Foundation, the NC State Cooperative Extension, and the commissioners' expertise.
  • Please contact your local nursery to determine if it has native plants in stock, as not all businesses are able to stock these plants, and some may only be available in certain seasons.
Back to top