This Year’s 14 Best Trees With Yellow Flowers – Hello Sunshine!
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Well, ‘yellow’ there! As a lifelong naturalist and outdoorsman, I have a deep respect for all trees, especially those huge, old woodland champions that hold a hundred years of stories.
Yes, I am definitely a dendrophile, a lover of all trees.
But do you know what’s even more refreshing than the lovely green foliage of a tree? Yellow flowering trees!
When a tree blooms in vibrant yellow, fragrant flowers, it’s like the sun rose in your yard! To my wife and I, yellow-blooming trees are the most beautiful of all. Sure, we also adore trees that produce red, purple, pink, white, and blue blooms, but yellow is our favorite!
And that’s what we’re here to explore today: some of the prettiest yellow flowering trees. We’ll review their names, which zones they thrive in best, the types of soil they need, how large they grow, how much water they require, and other key details about how to grow and care for them.
Sound good?
OK – Let’s do this!
14 Trees with Beautiful Yellow Flowers
The 14 gorgeous yellow-flowering trees we’ll be reviewing here today are:
- Bush Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
- Chinese Flame Tree (Koelreuteria bipinnata)
- Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas)
- Golden Bells Tree (Forsythia x intermedia)
- Golden Chain Tree (Laburnum anagyroides)
- Golden Raintree (Koelreuteria paniculata)
- Golden Shower Tree (Cassia fistula)
- Golden Trumpet Tree (Allamanda cathartica)
- Japanese Rose Tree (Kerria japonica)
- Kousa Dogwood Tree (Cornus kousa)
- Magnolia Butterflies Tree (M. acuminata x M. denudata)
- Witch Hazel Shrub (Hamamelis virginiana)
- Yellow Buckeye Tree (Aesculus flava)
- Yellow Tabebuia Tree (Tabebuia rosea)
And we’re off!
Bush Cinquefoil
Also called Shrubby Cinquefoil and Shrubby Potentilla, botanists call Bush Cinquefoil Dasiphora fruticosa.
It’s a small, fruiting, deciduous tree from the Rosaceae family, and it produces golden-yellow flowers throughout USDA Hardiness Zones 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, and 7b.
Its dainty yellow, red, blue, and white blossoms arrive in the early springtime. This tiny tree does well in either full sun or partial shade, likes well-drained soil, and grows between 2 – 4 feet tall. Not very big!
Chinese Flame Tree
Koelreuteria bipinnata, the Chinese Flame tree, is native to the southwestern region of China. It develops ovular leaves, paper-thin fruits, and fragrant 4-petaled golden-yellow flowers with orange eyes.
This plant grows well in USDA zones 7 to 9, blooms in late summer into fall, and can thrive in full sunshine or partial shade. It can reach heights of 40 feet or more when planted in well-drained clay, sand, or loamy soil.
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
Cornus mas, the Cornelian Dogwood tree, originated in the region bound by western Asia and central/southern Europe. This yellow flowering tree thrives best in moist brushlands and deciduous forests.
It grows up to 25 feet tall and spreads out up to 18 feet in diameter. It develops a dense network of thin branches and produces cherry-red, edible fruits, which are popular for making into preserves after an autumn harvest. Such beautiful plants!
The Cornelian Dogwood also develops small, lovely yellow flowers in the springtime. According to Bernheim Research Forest, “Flowers are produced in northern areas, but most of the south lacks the chilling hours required to set flower buds. ‘Spring Glow’ is the one cultivar which will flower in the south.”
This pretty tree grows in USDA zones 4 – 8 and performs well in well-draining average soil. You’ll love the pop of color!
Golden Bells Tree
The Golden Bells tree (Forsythia x intermedia) is a hybrid plant that is drought-tolerant and resistant to the effects of urban pollution.
This small tree grows quickly and produces its vibrant yellow blooms in the early to late spring. It can grow well in some shade or full sun but shouldn’t be planted in total shade. It tops out at about 10 feet tall and only tends to do well in USDA zones 6 – 8.
Plant a Golden Bells in well-drained clay, loam, or sand, and it should grow strong and healthy. Use it to beautify your colorless outdoor spaces!
Golden Chain Tree
Ah, Laburnum anagyroides, the Golden Chain tree! This tree develops stunningly unique pea-shaped flowers that droop downward from the branches. Heavy-bloomed stalks create the appearance of a lovely golden chain, hence the name.
Golden Chain trees grow best in chalky, loamy, sandy, or clay soil in USDA zones 5 – 11. They like full sun and grow as tall as 25 feet. And you get twice-annual yellow blossoming with this tree, once in early spring and again in mid-to-late summer.
Although these trees are quite pretty when younger, they take about two decades to fully mature, so they’re not exactly fast growers!
Golden Rain Tree
Koelreuteria paniculata is the sciencey person’s name for the beautiful Golden Raintree, a botanical relative of the Chinese Flame tree described above.
It’s native to Korea, Japan, and parts of China, and it’s very popular in California today. It’s beloved for its intensely colored yellow flowers, which are linked to some accepted medicinal uses. The flowers are also used to make dye.
Summer is the blooming season for the Golden Raintree, and it grows up to 35 feet tall in USDA zones 6 – 9. It likes full sun or a little shade and needs well-irrigated clay, loam, or sandy soil types. Look at those golden blooms!
Golden Shower Tree
I’m not going to comment on the name of Golden Shower, Cassia fistula, a fast-growing tree that freezes to death easily and so needs a warm climate.
Its US growth range is limited to USDA zones 10 and 11, but if you live there, you can enjoy twice-yearly yellow flowering in the spring and summer.
The Cassia tree’s blossoms grow in clusters, surrounded by alternate elliptic leaves. This medium-sized tree grows as tall as 40 feet, likes full sun, and needs well-draining, moist soil, which can be clay, loam, or sand.
Golden Trumpet Tree
Allamanda cathartica, the Golden Trumpet tree, produces bright yellow trumpet-shaped flowers that smell absolutely delightful.
Aside from the blossoms, you can identify this humidity-loving plant by its leathery leaves. It’s a climbing plant that grows in USDA zones 10 and 11, and it thrives in full sun. Give it well-drained, fertile soil, plenty of water, and you’ll enjoy its gorgeous blooms in summer and autumn.
Japanese Rose Tree
Japanese Rose trees (Kerria japonica) grow 3 – 8 feet tall in USDA zones 4 – 9.
Although commonly called a tree, it’s actually a deciduous shrub, and it’s known for its 5-petaled yellow flowers that blossom in early springtime. Although it’s not a rose bush per se, it gets its name because its flowers look very similar to double-flowered roses.
Even when this exotic shrub isn’t in bloom, it’s still extra pretty with birchy, bright-green leaves that turn pinkish in the autumn. It needs partial shade and likes moist, well-drained soils.
Kousa Dogwood
Cornus kousa, the Kousa Dogwood tree, is also called Japanese Dogwood and Chinese Dogwood because of its Asian origin.
This dogwood species doesn’t produce its golden flowers before its leaves like some other dogwood variants. Instead, its yellow flowers show in between its freshly formed spring foliage. In the autumn, its leaves turn from green to reddish-purple/scarlet, so it’s always visually impressive.
North Carolina State Extension Gardener asserts, “A tree for all seasons, the Kousa dogwood has berries that resemble raspberry fruit in autumn, and the peeling bark on the mature tree trunks has an attractive mottled appearance.”
The Kousa Dogwood can reach 30 feet in height, blooms once yearly in the springtime, grows best in USDA zones 5 – 8, can tolerate full sun or partial shade, and thrives in well-draining soil. It needs acidic, not alkaline, soil to produce its best floral displays.
Magnolia Butterflies Tree
Acuminata x M. denudata, the Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ tree, is world-renowned for its bright yellow, lemon-scented, tulip-shaped, beautiful flowers.
It blossoms very vigorously in the springtime, to the point that you can barely even see any branches! And when the flowers fall off, its leaves and bark are quite attractive on their own.
This beautiful tree grows up to 30 feet tall and thrives best in North America USDA zones 5 – 9. It prefers full sun to partial shade and needs clay, loam, or sand soil that stays well-drained.
Witch Hazel Shrub
The Witch Hazel shrub, Hamamelis virginiana, has been used for a very long time as a natural medicine for treating bleeding, bruising, colds, coughs, cuts, diarrhea, hemorrhaging, insect bites and stings, sore throats, and more.
It’s a multi-stemmed plant that produces small, aromatic yellow blossoms between October and December, making it stand out with life when most other trees have naked branches.
In autumn, its big, oval-shaped, dark green leaves change to a deep golden-yellow hue.
It needs to be in full sun or partial shade in USDA zones 3 – 8. Plant it in rich, organic soil that drains well, and keep it moist. Witch Hazel can grow up to 25 feet tall, but pruning it down can result in denser flowering. What a nice splash of color!
Yellow Buckeye Tree
Aesculus flava, Yellow Buckeye, is a tree that reaches up to 75 feet in height, is naturally pest-resistant, can be used ornamentally, and stands up well to the poor air quality common in urban areas throughout USDA zones 4 – 8.
It’s a low-maintenance tree that produces seeds often compared to brown deer eyes, but it has some truly attractive yellow blossoms that bloom throughout the spring and into summer. This beautiful tree grows best in full sun, and it thrives in acidic soil. Keep it well-drained and moist.
Golden Tabebuia Tree
Sometimes called Golden Trumpet trees, Yellow tabebuia (Tabebuia chrysotricha) is common throughout Central America in Columbia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Venezuela as a drought-tolerant tree widely used for shading city streets.
This exquisite ornamental tree grows tall… up to 90 feet! It features evergreen leaves and blooms in cheerful yellow trumpet-shaped flowers multiple times annually. It does best in USDA zones 9 – 11 and likes to bake in the full sun. Keep it moist in well-drained, rich soil, and enjoy its striking yellow color!
We’ve Gone from Yello to See Ya Later!
Well, here we are, hopefully much more educated about some of the most desirable yellow flowering trees of the world! There’s always something extra special about flowers growing on trees, as compared to sprouting out of the ground on their own stalks, as most flowers do.
Flowering trees, at least to my wife and I, are beautiful gifts that remind us of just how glorious nature is.
As always, thank you for reading along, and I hope that you find a lot of value in the information. Until next time, stay safe, have fun, and enjoy every second of your life!
