Some plants signal spring’s arrival by flowering in the cool months of March and April, but there are several Nashville trees that prefer the warmer half of spring. Here, we’ll go over five of those trees that extend the springtime floral show right up to summer.

What to Know About Nashville's June-Blooming Trees

Five June-Blooming Trees

Among the many beautiful blooms of spring, some of the most recognizable Nashville trees that bloom in June include:

• Tulip poplar

• Dogwood

• American linden (or basswood)

• Southern magnolia

• Northern catalpa

Tulip Poplar

The tulip poplar, one of Nashville’s favorite native trees, is a wonderful late-spring bloomer that produces yellow, orange, and light green flowers that will open throughout the second half of spring. This canopy tree (which grows up to 80 feet tall) offers an abundance of shade for the hot summer ahead, blocking the sun with its wide pyramidal form.

Dogwood

The dogwood is a native flowering understory tree that likes to be planted in the shade of big canopy trees, making it a great option for a smaller ornamental. A dogwood’s delicate form, with flat, four-petaled flowers and long, thin branches, gives this tree a lightness reminiscent of cherry blossoms, which bloom earlier in the spring. Dogwoods come in both white and pink varieties.

American Linden (Basswood)

Another pyramid-shaped native canopy tree, the American linden (or basswood) flowers in late spring and early summer. These pale yellow blossoms grow in clusters and have a unique star shape, ornamenting the dense, broad, leafy crown of the linden tree.

Southern Magnolia

The luxurious white flowers of the southern magnolia bloom against its deep emerald evergreen foliage throughout the month of June and into the summertime. This iconic shade tree can grow to about 70 feet tall at maturity, while the “little gem” variety of the southern magnolia grows as a large bush (up to 20 feet) with thick, heavy foliage from its base to its top.

Northern Catalpa

The northern catalpa is another beautiful native canopy tree whose large leaves (which are distinctively shaped like elephant ears) create a dynamic crown on which bunches of small, white, ruffled bell flowers blossom in the late spring into summer, when the catalpa’s gracefully wide boughs and dense foliage make it an effective shade tree. 

The Benefits of Planting Flowering Trees

One of the benefits of planting different kinds of flowering trees across our yards is enabling the range of blooming periods of various trees that fills up springtime from April through June! Since any given flower on any given tree only holds on for a few weeks, the wave of species and specimens blooming and wilting adds an ongoing variety that local residents can appreciate all spring long.

However, this rolling blossom offers more than just visual interest throughout spring: it also allows the pollination season to be an active and productive period for insects and trees alike. While some trees release their pollen into the wind, others produce colorful flowers that attract pollinators like butterflies, moths, and bees, who depend on the nectar of those flowers as their main source of nutrients and energy.

Engagement With Nature

In a city like Nashville, whose many neighborhoods, parks, and surrounding wilderness areas contain trees of all species and sizes, it’s not too difficult to locate some of these late-spring bloomers on a walk around a neighborhood or in transit across town. You can also get one or more of these attractive trees for your own yard through the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps’ tree sale or help us plant one through our volunteer program. 

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