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What is in flower in Ohio — trees and shrubs

Nothing on this chart is in flower today. The ground is dormant, which is itself a season.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Trees and shrubs Silver MapleAcer saccharinum · Where: floodplains and old street plantingsIn flower — peak Mar 5 Red MapleAcer rubrum · Where: wet woods, and half the street trees in OhioIn flower — peak Mar 20 Pussy WillowSalix discolor · Where: wet ground, ditches and marsh edgesIn flower — peak Mar 22 ServiceberryAmelanchier arborea · Where: wood edges and understoryIn flower — peak Apr 8 Eastern RedbudCercis canadensis · Where: wood edges, fencerows, and every third front gardenIn flower — peak Apr 15 Flowering DogwoodCornus florida · Where: understory of oak and hickory woodsIn flower — peak May 1 Black CherryPrunus serotina · Where: fencerows, second-growth woods, everywhereIn flower — peak May 15 Black LocustRobinia pseudoacacia · Where: old fields, roadsides and reclaimed strip mine groundIn flower — peak May 25 Tulip TreeLiriodendron tulipifera · Where: rich woods, and the tallest tree in most of themIn flower — peak May 30 ElderberrySambucus canadensis · Where: ditches, wet edges and fencerowsIn flower — peak Jun 20 Wild HydrangeaHydrangea arborescens · Where: shaded slopes and ravines, often on limestoneIn flower — peak Jun 28 American BasswoodTilia americana · Where: rich woods and old street plantingsIn flower — peak Jun 28 ButtonbushCephalanthus occidentalis · Where: standing water — pond edges, swamps, wet ditchesIn flower — peak Jul 15 Witch HazelHamamelis virginiana · Where: wooded slopes and ravinesIn flower — peak Oct 28
In flowerTodayThe pale tick inside a bar is that plant's peak. ✦ marks a species that is not native to Ohio. Hover a name for where to find it.

Trees flower before they leaf, which is why an Ohio hillside in April is red and white before it is green. Most of these are wind-pollinated and their flowers are easy to miss entirely — the maples are in full bloom weeks before anybody notices spring has started.

Why this group has its own gauge

It opens earlier than the woodland floor beneath it, which is the whole reason the woodland floor gets a season at all. The chart above carries 14 species, sliced out of the full 54-row bloom chart.

The rows on this chart
Species In season Peak Where
Silver Maple 15 February – 25 March 5 March floodplains and old street plantings
Red Maple 1 March – 10 April 20 March wet woods, and half the street trees in Ohio
Pussy Willow 5 March – 15 April 22 March wet ground, ditches and marsh edges
Serviceberry 25 March – 25 April 8 April wood edges and understory
Eastern Redbud 1 April – 5 May 15 April wood edges, fencerows, and every third front garden
Flowering Dogwood 15 April – 20 May 1 May understory of oak and hickory woods
Black Cherry 1 May – 1 June 15 May fencerows, second-growth woods, everywhere
Black Locust 10 May – 10 June 25 May old fields, roadsides and reclaimed strip mine ground
Tulip Tree 15 May – 20 June 30 May rich woods, and the tallest tree in most of them
Elderberry 5 June – 10 July 20 June ditches, wet edges and fencerows
Wild Hydrangea 10 June – 25 July 28 June shaded slopes and ravines, often on limestone
American Basswood 15 June – 15 July 28 June rich woods and old street plantings
Buttonbush 20 June – 15 August 15 July standing water — pond edges, swamps, wet ditches
Witch Hazel 5 October – 30 November 28 October wooded slopes and ravines

Where this sits

The full picture is on Ohio flower bloom times, which carries every group on one chart. Each mark on the breadcrumb strip at the top of the site links to the page for its own group.