What is an ornamental tree?
Ornamental trees add beauty and charm to any landscape. Combined with garden plants, they create an appealing look. But their value goes beyond appearance. Let’s explore top recommendations for ornamental trees in Southeastern PA and how to choose the right one for your garden.
How do you pick the best ornamental tree for Southeastern PA gardens? Start by understanding the tree’s characteristics. These can vary even within the same species. Consider size, shape, bloom time, flower color, fragrance, fruit or seed production, fall color, and unique bark. Winter interest is also a plus. Make sure to factor in sunlight needs, wind tolerance, and soil conditions. At Turpin Landscaping, we weigh these aspects carefully for every tree we recommend.
Why are ornamental trees essential? They add drama and create focal points that enhance the landscape and draw admiration. Placement is key—they need space to mature into impressive specimens. With today’s smaller yards, breeders have created cultivars that fit tighter spaces without sacrificing impact. These new varieties are stunning additions.
Many choose trees based on blooms and then search for a spot to plant them. It’s better to find a suitable spot first and then select the best tree for that space. This approach is also wise when choosing trees as gifts. At Turpin Landscaping, we call it matching selection to circumstance. Our team is ready to help you find the perfect match for your landscape.
Our top choices for the Best Ornamental Trees for Southeastern PA Gardens include and are not limited to:
DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES – Top 10
Acer palmatum – Japanese Maple
Japanese Maples are among our top choices for ornamental trees in Southeastern PA gardens, bringing elegance and beauty year-round. With over 700 varieties, these trees offer a range of upright and cascading forms, along with diverse leaf and bark colors. While the Bloodgood Japanese Maple is a reliable classic, we also recommend exploring dwarf varieties that showcase stunning, vibrant foliage. Typically, Japanese Maples are small trees, with upright types reaching up to 30 feet. Others, like cascading or Bonsai forms, stay smaller but make a significant impact in the landscape. This group of trees is so captivating that we’ve dedicated an entire article to them to share more about their unique qualities. Most Japanese Maples thrive in Zones 5-8.
Acer griseum – Paperbark Maple
The Paperbark Maple is an exceptionally attractive tree with a rounded crown, open growth habit, and soft green leaves that turn scarlet in the fall. With age, it becomes even more striking as its bark peels away in papery sheets, revealing rich cinnamon-brown layers beneath. This deciduous tree, perfect as a small landscape specimen or woodland accent, thrives in partial shade to full sun and slowly grows to 25 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide. It is well-suited for Zones 5-8.
This tree’s unique bark should be showcased where it can be admired up close. It’s great for shading outdoor living areas or as an eye-catching front yard focal point. Paperbark Maples enhance water garden or wildlife settings and adapt well to wetland areas, serving as a bridge between cultivated gardens and natural spaces. With its winter interest and adaptability, the Paperbark Maple is among the best ornamental trees for Southeastern PA gardens and is also a favorite for bonsai enthusiasts.
Cercis canadensis – Eastern Redbud
The Eastern Redbud is often described as “a breath of fresh air after a long winter” and “one of our most beautiful native trees,” according to tree expert Michael Dirr. Its vibrant spring color and adaptability make it a standout in both forest settings and home landscapes, whether used as a specimen tree or planted in groups. This small tree bursts with showy pink flowers in early spring, with blooms lining the branches for two to three weeks. Its heart-shaped leaves emerge with a reddish hue, transition to lush green in summer, and turn a brilliant yellow in fall. Even in winter, the Redbud is appealing, with its arching branches and rounded crown. The size, leaf color, and growth habit vary widely, including both upright and weeping forms.
Early settlers enjoyed Redbud blossoms in their salads, and folk healers used the bark to treat various ailments. Native Americans even used California redbud wood for making bows. Despite these historical uses, the tree’s springtime beauty is its most beloved trait. Today, the Redbud’s versatility, reliability, deer resistance, and the variety of species available make it one of the best ornamental trees for Southeastern PA gardens. It’s a low-maintenance choice, cold-hardy in Zones 4-9, and typically grows no taller than 30 feet. Every yard deserves at least one Redbud tree!
Cornus kousa – Japanese Dogwood
The Kousa Dogwood is a standout in any landscape, offering interest throughout the seasons. Its spring blooms are its main attraction but are often misunderstood. What appears to be white petals are actually bracts—modified leaves that frame the tree’s small, greenish-yellow flowers. In early summer, these striking white bracts, sometimes tinged with pink, surround the tiny blooms. The flowers are followed by red, raspberry-like fruit that draws birds. In fall, the tree’s leaves turn a rich, reddish-purple, and its unique bark adds visual appeal year-round, especially in winter.
The Kousa Dogwood is resistant to dogwood anthracnose and has good cold tolerance. It can grow as a single-trunk tree or a large, multi-stemmed shrub, reaching 15-30 feet tall and 10-15 feet wide. This tree works well as a specimen plant or in woodland settings and even attracts butterflies. For the best results, plant it in full sun or partial shade, in fertile, moist, well-drained sandy soil. The Kousa Dogwood thrives in Zones 5-8.
Ginkgo biloba – Maidenhair Tree
The Ginkgo tree is admired for both its beauty and remarkable longevity. As a living fossil unchanged for over 200 million years, it’s known as one of the most distinct and stunning deciduous trees. Its fan-shaped leaves turn a brilliant yellow in the fall, creating a striking display. The Ginkgo is highly adaptable, thriving in urban environments where it withstands heat, air pollution, salt, and confined spaces. It grows easily in average, moderately moist soil and full sun.
Though Ginkgo biloba can reach heights of 100 feet, smaller varieties are available. One favorite is the Jade Butterfly, a compact, vase-shaped tree perfect as a garden specimen. This dwarf variety has dense branches and bright green leaves that turn golden in the fall. It is a slow-growing, fruitless male tree that features subtle yellow-green catkins in mid-spring. Over time, Jade Butterfly becomes an attractive shade tree, reaching 12-15 feet tall and about 10 feet wide. Suitable for Zones 4-9, this tree is an excellent choice for adding timeless beauty to any garden.
Magnolia varieties
Magnolia trees, with their stunning white, pink, red, purple, or yellow blossoms, are among the best ornamental trees for Southeastern PA gardens. Their diversity is so vast that they warrant an entire article to cover them fully. Magnolias vary widely in leaf shape and growth form and include both evergreen and deciduous types. This ancient genus boasts around 210 species, most known for their large, fragrant blooms, with unique traits differing by species.
When planting a magnolia, choosing the right location is essential. Once established, these trees are difficult to transplant successfully, and many can grow to impressive sizes. Magnolias thrive best in rich, well-drained soil that is neutral to slightly acidic. Careful site selection ensures these magnificent trees reach their full potential and add lasting beauty to any landscape.
Malus – Crabapple
Crabapple trees are celebrated for their colorful, fragrant spring blooms, which range from white to pink and red, and can be single or semi-double. As the season progresses, these trees produce fruit in shades of golden yellow to red, which attract birds as the color intensifies. The foliage adds even more visual interest, with hues from green to purple and bronze. It’s no wonder crabapples are known as “jewels of the landscape.”
Crabapple trees come in a variety of sizes and growth habits, including weeping, rounded, spreading, upright, vase-shaped, and pyramidal forms. Some cultivars mature at only eight feet tall, while others can grow over 40 feet, though most reach a mature height of 15 to 25 feet. Their versatility makes them great choices for planting around homes, schools, parks, public spaces, and even along highways. However, be mindful of where you plant them—fallen fruit in autumn can attract bees or become a nuisance in high-traffic areas. Crabapples thrive in full sun and are hardy to Zone 4.
Prunus incisa – Fuji Cherry
This delicate, slow-growing, early white-flowering cherry is perfect for smaller garden spaces, with some cultivars maturing at only 5-7 feet tall and wide. While the name Prunus often brings to mind larger flowering trees with extensive root systems, this cherry stands out for its compact size and unique charm. Named for the deep incisions on its leaves, it is part of a lesser-known group of smaller cherry trees. Some varieties have graceful weeping forms, while others are upright with slightly twisted branches. All make stunning ornamental trees for Southeastern PA gardens.
These cherries thrive in full sun and well-drained, fertile soil. They are also well-suited as container plants or garden focal points and do best in Zones 5-8.
Stewartia pseudocamellia – Japanese Stewartia
This beautiful, all-season tree showcases showy, Camellia-like blooms in summer, featuring white petals with orange centers. Its deciduous green leaves turn a striking bronzy-purple in the fall, adding seasonal interest. Stewartia thrives in full to partial sun and prefers consistently moist to wet soil. It grows slowly, reaching 15-30 feet tall and 20-25 feet wide, with a pyramidal shape. This tree makes an excellent specimen and works well in borders or woodland gardens. Hardy in Zones 5-8.
Styrax japonicus – Japanese Snowbell
This charming, slow-growing small tree is perfect for planting near a patio or pathway, reaching 20-30 feet tall and wide with a rounded shape. In spring to early summer, it features fragrant white flowers that dangle from horizontal branches, creating a beautiful view from below—perfect for placing a bench underneath for a unique perspective. Snowbell trees thrive in consistently moist, well-drained soil and do best in partial to full sun. They work well in container gardens, as specimen trees for focal points, and fit seamlessly into both urban and woodland garden settings. The attractive dark green leaves turn vibrant red or yellow in the fall. Hardy in Zones 5-8.
EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES
Chamaecyparis – Hinoki Cypress
Scores of Chamaecyparis cultivars offer a range of colors, textures, and shapes to suit almost any landscape. Known as False or Hinoki Cypress, C. obtusa thrives in moist, well-drained soil and does well in full sun or partial shade, contributing fine, evergreen sprays to the landscape. Praised for its excellent cold hardiness, C. pisifera (Sawara Cypress) flourishes in full sun and showcases beautiful, feathery foliage. With its medium to large pyramidal form, C. nootkatensis (Alaskan Cedar or Yellow Cedar) stands out as a striking landscape accent. This native tree prefers cool, humid summers with above-average rainfall and develops drought tolerance once established. For full sun settings, C. thyoides (White Cedar) delivers outstanding foliage color. The diverse Chamaecyparis species have origins in North America, Japan, and Taiwan.
Cryptomeria japonica – Japanese Cedar
This tree features mid- to deep green foliage and conical or columnar forms, varying by cultivar. Larger varieties work well as specimen trees or for screening, while dwarf cultivars make effective accents in rock gardens or conifer collections. They thrive in full sun to part shade and are suited for Zones 5-9.
Sciadopitys verticillata – Japanese Umbrella Pine
This unique evergreen belongs to a genus with only one species, tracing its history back to the age of dinosaurs. Its whorls of needles resemble umbrella spokes, giving it its common name. Over recent years, unique cultivars with striking foliage and exceptional form have been developed. Plant these slow-growing ornamental trees in rich, acidic soil with full sun or partial shade to appreciate their distinctive character in gardens and landscapes. Suitable for Zones 5-8.
Do Ornamental Trees Require Maintenance?
Yes, though the level of care depends on the tree type. Regular maintenance helps trees fulfill their main purpose: enhancing outdoor spaces. Ensure ample watering until the tree is established and during dry spells. Prune to maintain form and prevent reversion, fertilize once a year, and watch for signs of pests. This care is minimal compared to the year-round beauty and enjoyment these trees provide.
