Red maple, alder, American elm, birch, white ash, and sassafras, for example, bloom before their leaves unfurl. Oak, walnut, hickory, sweetgum, and tupelo bloom as the leaves are emerging. Wild black cherry, sourwood, and linden bloom after their leaves have unfurled, and the native witch hazel Hamamelis virginiana, latest of the native North American trees to flower, doesn’t bloom until after it has lost its leaves in late fall.
