Minnesota Woodlands; Bring of Piece of the Woods into Your Landscape
I have spent a good deal of time recently in the woods and have noticed now that most trees and shrubs are leafed out, there has been an explosion of flowers. Many of these trees and shrubs are available for planting into our urban landscapes. Coming out of winter we have already seen the yellow flowers of forsythia, the purple flowers of redbud and the purple, pink or white flower of lilacs. Now that we are reaching early summer, many Minnesota woodlands are dominated with white flowers from various trees, shrub and understory plants. With Memorial Day weekend starting today, I would highly recommend getting out and enjoying what nature has to offer whether it is hiking, biking, camping, fishing, bird watching or just enjoying the peace and quiet. Check out the plants below to see what is currently flowering in Minnesota woodlands.
Emerging woodland trees and understory plants in mid-May in Minnesota.
Pagoda Dogwood & Flowering Dogwood Shrubs
Look for dogwood trees and shrubs primarily along trails and walking paths. Most will tolerate shade, but I often see these plants in open gaps areas with a hint of light. Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) can grow to 20 feet tall, 25 feet wide and often has a layered appearance. I often see this tree with long, sprawling branches shooting out of the wooded understory. The two most common dogwood shrubs in the woods are red-osier (Cornus sericea) and gray (Cornus racemosa) dogwood. Both of these are in full flower now and will soon develop berries.
A Pagoda dogwood tree can add interest to most urban landscape offering white flowers in spring, bluish berries in summer and orange / red fall color. I tend to plant Pagoda dogwood in areas of slight shade where they seem to thrive.
Most woodland dogwood shrubs will be red-osier or gray dogwood, but there are many varieties of shrubs available for our urban landscape with varying degrees of size and stem color (red, yellow, gray). Some of these include Arctic Fire, Carinal, Firedance, Isanti, Ivory Halo or Red Twigged.
Nannyberry Viburnum
Viburnum shrubs include a wide variety of shrubs with different sizes, growth patterns, flowers and fall color. I have seen some high bush cranberry (Viburnum opolus americanum) and Mohican (Viburnum lantana), which is also known as Mohican wayfaring. However, the dominant viburnum shrub I have seen this spring in nannyberry (Viburnum lentago). Every woodland I have visited so far, I have seen many healthy sections of nannyberry viburnum. This shrub can grow 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Blue-black berries will follow the white flowers as we head into summer. This will be followed by reddish fall color through October. This is a great shrub for a larger natural border.
Nannyberry viburnum shrubs in full flower in late May in Minnesota.
Honeysuckle Shrubs
Some nurseries no longer carry honeysuckle shrubs, but the woodlands are still packed with “old school” honeysuckle shrubs. Honeysuckles may have lost a bit of their luster in our urban landscapes, but the birds and wildlife still enjoy them in the wild. The mix of white and pink flowers are heavily enjoyed by pollinators. If you are feeling snacky, give the flower a nibble. You may be surprised with a sweet treat.
Honeysuckle flowers dripping with moisture following a spring rain in Minnesota.
Bonus comment from The BIG Oak = Generally black cherry trees are not sold in nurseries, but you can substitute for an amur cherry tree. They typically grow the size of other ornamental trees like crabapple, Japanese lilac or amur maple.
