How do we define trees with purple flowers? There is no scientific definition of a tree. But simply put, a tree is characterized by having one woody stem or trunk, with multiple lateral branches (grow outwards).
A plant with multiple woody stems coming from a single base is a shrub. A shrub is typically shorter than a tree, however sometimes the two can become blurry.
For the sake of this article, a purple flowering tree will be a singular woody trunked plant, over 10 feet tall (3.5 m) at maturity.
Why Grow Purple Flowering Trees?
Purple flowering trees have a calming effect to help with relaxation and stress relief. Darker shades of purple can have a more powerful or strong impact on our thoughts and feelings. The color purple has been regarded for centuries, and it has remained associated with royalty.
Purple flowering trees can add more tranquility to the garden. Some trees have spectacular spring flowers providing a huge rush at spring’s end when winter dreariness finally ends.
Other purple flowering trees will flower later in the season after many flowering plants have stopped blooming.
Many of the purple flowering trees would make the garden even more lovely by providing refreshing or calming scents to the garden.
Purple Flower Tree Identification Guide
Color is a tricky thing. One person’s “red” is another person’s “orange.”
So when I say “purple flowering trees,” I specifically mean with flowers that have a definite blue tinge to them. Think flowers on a lavender plant, or for a sports reference, like the team jerseys of the Minnesota Vikings or Kansas State Wildcats.
When I think of the brighter colors (fuchsia or bubblegum) I think of “pink” flowers. Also nice in a garden, but not the focus of this article.
Planting And Maintaining Purple Flower Trees
Best Planting Practices
When transplanting any type of tree, remember to use best practices for planting it properly to maximize the chances of the tree having a long and healthy life.
A tree that is planted poorly could look fine for a year or two—and perhaps much longer—but then suffer some sudden die back that is abrupt and hard to explain.
The issue could be with girdling roots that have eventually strangled and stopped a tree from being functional. Or it may have simply languished in that spot after the initial planting and might never look quite right.
It is best to plant trees in late summer or early fall when temperatures are not as hot—and the added stress on a tree is less—and the soil is still warm enough to promote root growth.
Of course, trees can also be planted in late spring, but with the added stress of planting a tree and establishing a new root system in the summer heat.
Regardless, just because you planted it properly, does not mean that it is going to be mistake-free. All trees will be stressed, at least for a year, after being transplanted into their new location.
Trees are not going to be able to grow above ground and develop a new root system at the same time. It is important to remember that you may have to wait at least one year before you see any flowers on your tree.
Of course, if you planted in the spring, the tree might flower in that first growing season (depending on the variety), but may then skip a growing season before flowering again.
Common Maintenance Tips
Keep an eye out for pests or disease and take care of them right away for optimal plant health.
Water regularly especially during dry spells. Remember that deep watering is better than frequent shallow watering – deep watering promotes deep roots.
Mulching around the base of the tree will help moisture retention and limit weeds and soil temperature.
Choosing The Right Trees With Purple Flowers For Your Garden
Choose a purple flowering tree by first considering the amount of space you have for your garden.
You must make sure the mature size of the tree can fit comfortably while giving room for other plants nearby. Measure growth, as well; some trees grow quickly and some grow slowly.
Maintenance is another element to factor in as well when making your selection. Choose varieties that align with your gardening preference: low maintenance or not too bothered with maintenance.
Some selected trees are the Jacaranda, a spectacular tree with hanging lavender blooms, and the “Black Diamond Purely Purple” Crape Myrtle.
Both trees are sensational in terms of visual interest and low maintenance so either would make great tree selections for any garden!
Refer to the information tables below for care and maintenance specifics for each tree.
Seasonal Considerations For Purple Flowering Trees
When do purple flowering trees bloom? It depends on the tree!
Spring flowering purple trees are represented by Lavender Twist Redbud and Wisteria. Some other trees, such as the “Boomerang” lilac variety, bloom in the spring and again, in the fall.
When you are making selections for your landscape, you will want diversity. You will also want to increase visual interest for all four seasons.
By mixing trees, you will have some that are deciduous (drop leaves for winter), and others that are evergreen (keep leaves year-round). The evergreens will be your anchors for your overall landscape.
Deciduous trees offer visual interest with their leaves in the spring and summer and often provide beautiful displays of fall color before losing their leaves in autumn. Many have interesting bark or shapes to their bare branches in winter.
Common Issues With Purple Flowering Trees
Common Pests And Diseases
Trees can be susceptible to various pests and diseases that threaten their health. Common problems include
- Aphids: They suck sap and create leaf distortion.
- Bark beetles: They burrow inside the tree bark and compromise structural integrity.
- Fungal diseases: Powdery mildew and root rot occur often under conditions of poor airflow or over watering.
Pruning And Disease Prevention
Pruning will help maintain tree health and ultimately supply prevention of disease. Pruning involves the removal of dead or crowded branches, improving airflow and light, which can make fungal infections less likely.
Be watchful of your trees for early signs of pests or disease. Early action is the best way to control them and make a difference.
All healthy trees will have a natural resistance to pests and disease, so be sure to supply adequate water, proper mulching, and fertilization.
Purple Flowering Trees
Here are 9 of my favorite purple flowering trees.
1. Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)
In the spring to early summer months, the Jacaranda puts on a wonderful display of flowers when the fragrant blue-purple flowers blanket the tree.
The leaves are finely divided by several smaller leaflets, providing the tree with a fern-like appearance.
The branches of the tree arch at the top, forming a large wide canopy. The tree can grow as much as 10 feet a year in its native tropical habitat, but is otherwise a moderate grower where planted. The more heat and humidity the tree receives, the happier it will be.
Be aware of your planting site. The tree has extensive surface roots which can cause challenges to a pathway or structure.
Note: The Jacaranda may be invasive in more tropical regions.
| Origin | South America |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 10-11 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height and spread | 15-20 feet (4.5 – 7 m) tall x 15- 30 feet (4.5- 10 m) wide |
| Growth rate | Fast-growing in warm humid climates |
| Season of flower | Summer (June-July) |
| Sun exposure | Full sun |
| Soil | Sandy well-drained; prefers slightly acid soil |
| Watering | Medium water needs; keep soil evenly moist |
| Maintenance | Minimal |
2. Black Diamond Purely Purple Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica x ‘Purely Purple’)
The ‘Purely Purple’ Crape Myrtle occupies the niche between a tree and shrub. But I had to include it on the list because it performs double-duty in the landscape.
First of all, the summer foliage is almost-black, then turns burgundy in the fall, certainly creating drama.
Secondly, the Crape Myrtle produces lovely frilly bright purple (almost fuchsia) flowers at the ends of the branches all season long, which contrasts beautifully with the foliage.
It tolerates urban pollution, and it’s size makes it a great candidate for small city gardens.
| Origin | China |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 7-10 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height and spread | 10-12 feet (3 – 4 m) wide x 8 feet (2.5 m) wide |
| Growth rate | Fast-growing |
| Season of flower | Late spring through fall |
| Sun exposure | Full sun to part shade |
| Soil | Rich acidic soil |
| Watering | Low to moderate |
| Maintenance | Minimal |
3. Lavender Twist Redbud or Covey Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’ or ‘Lavender twist’)
This redbud tree barely fits my 10-foot (3.5 m) definition of a tree, but it deserved to be on this list because of its multiple seasons of interest and its attractive weeping habit.
In spring, they bloom in masses of lavender pink pea-like flowers in clusters that appear before leaves and cover the weeping branches. The dramatic flower display lasts for weeks.
In summer, the leaves are heart-shaped and green, then turn golden yellow in fall.
It does not transplant well once established, so be sure to consider where you want to plant this tree in your landscape.
| Origin | North America |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 5-9 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height and spread | 4-10 feet (1.3 – 3.3 m) tall and wide |
| Growth rate | Slow |
| Season of flower | Spring |
| Sun exposure | Full sun to part shade |
| Soil | Average, well-drained |
| Watering | Regular consistent moisture |
| Maintenance | Low |
4. Common Lilac or French Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
The common lilac is a plant seen everywhere. Lilacs are very well-liked for their beautiful, fragrant flowers that tell us summer is just around the corner because flowers are abundant and it smells so nice.
The fragrance gives us a sense of nostalgia to anyone who grew up with lilacs. Lilacs are shrubs more than trees, since they produce multiple trunks and suckers at the soil level, but can be pruned down and trained into a more tree shape.
The flowers appear in late spring. They are 8 inches (20 centimeters) long, cone-shaped clusters with multiple flowers comprising the cluster.
The flowers grow at the tips of the stems. The spent flowers can be trimmed at the base to promote a better flowering the following year.
The common lilac has an upright, but irregular growth habit which is suited for the back of the garden because it will provide a nice green back drop as it finishes flowering.
However, you may want to plant it beside a deck or patio so you can enjoy the fragrance and branch structure will give some shade from the hot summer sun.
There are several new varieties of lilac coming onto the market with a range of flower colors from the traditional light purple, and deep purple/magenta to white and pale yellow.
There are also some dwarf varieties which are better suited for smaller spaces. Some varieties, such as ‘Boomerang’, bloom in spring and again in the fall.
If you want purple flowers, there is ‘Miss Kim’, ‘Sensation’, ‘President Lincoln’ and ‘Ludwig Spaeth.’
| Origin | Southern Europe |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 3-7 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height and spread | 15 feet (5 m) tall x 10 feet (3.3 m) wide |
| Growth rate | slow |
| Season of flower | Late spring |
| Sun exposure | Full sun |
| Soil | Rich, well-drained |
| Watering | Average |
| Maintenance | Low |
5. Rose of Sharon (Hybiscus syriacus ‘Blue Chiffon’)
The Rose of Sharon is one of those tree/shrub plants that could go either way. There are a few variations, but it is primarily known for its pale pink or white flowers. The variety ‘Blue Chiffon’ is most notable for its soft lavender-blue frilly double flower.
The growth habit of ‘Blue Chiffon’ is tall upright and vase- shaped. It flowers best with full sun, but tolerates some shade as well. It will flower over several weeks from early summer to early fall.
Rose of Sharon flowers on new wood (that is, new growth in the spring will flower the same summer). They can be pruned in early spring if necessary (for size or shape control), but it is not required.
| Origin | China, India |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 5-9 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height and spread | 12 feet ( 4 m) tall x 10 feet ( 3.3 m) wide |
| Growth rate | Slow to moderate |
| Season of flower | Early through late summer |
| Sun exposure | Full to part sun |
| Soil | Well-draining |
| Watering | Medium |
| Maintenance | Minimal |
6. North American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) Japanese Wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) or Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)
Wisteria is a climbing vine plant. However, I stated this here as a tree since it is long-lived and can be trained to grow in a tree form. This requires some work, and commitment (annually), however the results can be impressive.
The better known wisteria are the Japanese (Wisteria floribunda) and Chinese (Wisteria sinensis) varieties.
As the naming suggests, they both are from Asia. Both would be classified as vigorous growing vines, and in some circumstances they are considered invasive.
There is a North American variety that is native to the eastern U.S. states, namely Wisteria frutenscens. This variety is also a vigorous vine, but less aggressive than the Asian varieties.
The differences in vigor will be significant when we begin to discuss pruning (i.e., any variety can be trained to a tree but it is likely that the American variety will be easier to maintain).
Wisteria are known for their profuse long strings of pale purple flowers that hang down from the vines in spring.
The Asian varieties flower before and the American variety flowers with the leaves. Wisteria has long pinnate leaves, consisting of several smaller leaflets.
Training a wisteria into tree-form is pretty simple and requires a yearly pruning to retain tree-form. Upon planting the wisteria, a stake is installed that is close to the plant.
If there is more than one vine on the plant, all but the one that looks most vigorous and strongest should be pruned off.
So, the remaining vine is tied to the stake in several spots to keep the vine upright. The vine should be tied to the stake as it will be tied to the stake throughout the process and as the plant matures, it will develop a thick trunk sympatico structure.
To maintain the overall tree shape of a wisteria plant will require careful pruning every season, otherwise the wisteria will soon revert back into a shrub that looks like a large trailing vining plant.
| Origin | Asia, North America |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 5-9 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height | Vines can grow more than 50 feet (17 m). Tree form can be trained to any height. |
| Growth rate | Vigorous |
| Season of flower | Spring |
| Sun exposure | Full sun |
| Soil | Moist, well-drained |
| Watering | Moderate |
| Maintenance | High |
7. Chaste tree ‘Shoal Creek’ (Vitex agnus-castus ‘Shoal Creek’)
There are many forms of chaste tree.
‘Shoal Creek’ has a rounded growth habit and develops a nice wide, open canopy. The compound palmate leaf structure (multiple segments on one leaf, like a fan) is gray-green and has a pleasant aroma.
In July thru August, there are some nice fragrance small pale purple flowers growing in upright conical clusters about 12 inches (30 centimeters) long at the tips of new growth.
Chaste trees require the opposite care of most other trees. Chaste trees do not like nutrient-rich soils or organic mulches that keep the soil too moist!
For the first couple of years after planting, water your chaste tree regularly and deep so water sinks well down into the soil.
This is essential to promote a healthy, deep root system that will allow the tree to more effectively tolerate drought conditions after a couple of years. By the third year, you will be watering less often as the chaste tree settles into your landscape.
‘Shoal Creek’ is a nice option to give a little shade to a patio and one can enjoy the aroma of the foliage and smell the flowers!
| Origin | Southern Europe, Asia |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 6-9 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height and spread | 12 feet (4 m) tall and wide |
| Growth rate | Fast |
| Season of flower | Summer |
| Sun exposure | Full sun |
| Soil | Fast-draining, nutrient-poor |
| Watering | Drought tolerant once established |
| Maintenance | Medium |
8. Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora)
Texas mountain laurel can be raised as a single trunk tree or shrub. It has very fragrant clusters of hanging light purple flowers. The flowers are similar to Wisteria flowers.
After the flowers the tree is covered in long fuzzy grey seeds pods which hang around and decorate the tree until fall.
Texas mountain laurel is an extremely hardy plant. It tolerates extreme heat and drought, and is able to grow in nutrient poor, alkaline soils.
Warning: The flowers and seeds are poisonous. They are poisonous like nicotine. Keep pets and children from this plant.
| Origin | Texas, New Mexico, Mexico |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 7-10 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Evergreen |
| Mature height and spread | 15-25 feet (4.6-7.6 m) tall and 8-10 (2.4-3 m) feet wide |
| Growth rate | Slow |
| Season of flower | Spring |
| Sun exposure | Full sun to part shade |
| Soil | Average alkaline, dry to medium moisture, well-draining |
| Watering | Tolerates seasonal drought once established |
| Maintenance | Low |
9. Royal Purple Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’)
Smokebush is a tall multi-stemmed shrub but can be pruned into a single trunk or tree shape. In the spring, ‘Royal Purple’ leaves emerge a maroon-red color and turn to a dusty purple as summer progresses.
The small yellow flowers are inconsequential but the airy fluffy seed heads, come afterwards and the feature that makes this shrub a show-stopper.
They are what lend the plant its common name “smokebush” as they resemble puffs of purple-red smoke covering the plant. The fluffy seed heads can for a few weeks.
Smokebush is an easy-care plant! It tolerates rocky, nutrient-poor soils and will withstand drought once established.
It requires little maintenance other than shape control; when needed, it can be hard pruned in spring every few years to encourage new growth with big leaves that will be richer in coloring.
| Origin | Southern Europe, China |
| USDA Hardiness Zone | 4-10 |
| Evergreen or deciduous | Deciduous |
| Mature height and spread | 10-15 feet (3-5 m) tall x 15-20 feet (5-7 m) wide |
| Growth rate | Moderate |
| Season of flower | Late spring to summer |
| Sun exposure | Full sun |
| Soil | Average, well-draining |
| Watering | Drought-tolerant once established |
| Maintenance | Medium |