Blue Whale Trees
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Bloom and fruit calendar

Try what flowers in May, what fruits in October or a planting of white oak, flowering dogwood and downy serviceberry.

The calendar shows, month by month, when each of the 423 trees and shrubs we grow is in flower and when its fruit, nuts or acorns ripen. Narrow the grid to the trees and shrubs that suit your zone, sun and soil, then pick the ones you are planting. The months come from each one's own page, or the Woody Plant Seed Manual where a page gives none. The 45 common natives we do not grow have a group of rows of their own under them, with the months their sources give. The calendar marks the months your planting leaves with nothing in flower or fruit, and names the trees that suit the site and would fill them. Bees want flowers from March to November and birds want fruit from June to March.

This device remembers the zone you choose, for the other tools too. The months are the same in every zone, and many span a tree's range from south to north. By Hopkins' rule, as Alabama Extension gives it, spring comes about four days later for each degree of latitude north. In a cold zone, expect spring flowers late in each span.
Sets the zone above from the 2023 USDA listing. The lookup runs in your browser, so the ZIP code is not sent.
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More about this tool

On paper this page prints the example alone. Pick trees and the planting prints; the grid of every species stays on the web page.

63 of the 423 trees and shrubs are in fruit in December

Their months are below. Add trees to your planting to see the gaps it leaves.

December: 63 trees and shrubs are in fruit.

Skip the grid: reading the calendar, or the common questions.

B on honey: in flower. P on green: a conifer shedding pollen. F on rose: fruit, nuts or acorns.
TreeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
American Beautyberry
Shrub, flowers Jun–Jul, berries Aug–Dec
BBFFFFF
American Bittersweet
Shrub, flowers May–Jun, capsules Sep–Jan
FBBFFFF
American Crabapple
Small tree, flowers May, crabapples Aug–Dec
BFFFFF
American Holly, select line
Medium tree, flowers May–Jun, berries Sep–Feb
FFBBFFFF
American Mountain Ash
Small tree, flowers May–Jul, berries Aug–Mar
FFFBBBFFFFF
Bald Cypress
Large tree, sheds pollen Mar–Apr, cones Oct–Dec
PPFFF
Black Chokeberry
Shrub, flowers May, berries Aug–Feb
FFBFFFFF
Buttonbush
Shrub, flowers Jun–Sep, nutlets Sep–Feb
FFBBBBFFFF
Cabbage Palmetto
Medium tree, flowers Jun–Aug, berries Oct–Jan
FBBBFFF
Carolina Laurelcherry
Small tree, flowers Feb–Apr, cherries Sep–Feb
FBFBBFFFF
Carolina St. John's-wort
Shrub, flowers Apr–Jul, capsules Sep–Jan
FBBBBFFFF
Chapman's St. John's-wort
Shrub, flowers Jun–Aug, capsules Sep–Jan
FBBBFFFF
Cockspur Hawthorn
Small tree, flowers May–Jun, haws Sep–Jan
FBBFFFF
Common Hackberry
Large tree, flowers Apr–May, berries Sep–Mar
FFFBBFFFF
Creeping Juniper
Shrub, sheds pollen Apr–May, berrylike cones Aug–Feb
FFPPFFFFF
Dahoon
Small tree, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Oct–Mar
FFFBBBFFF
Devilwood
Small tree, flowers Mar–May, fleshy fruit Aug–Mar
FFBFBBFFFFF
Dwarf Hackberry
Small tree, flowers Apr–May, berries Aug–Dec
BBFFFFF
Dwarf Tupelo
Shrub, flowers Mar–May, berries Sep–Feb
FFBBBFFFF
Eastern Red Cedar
Medium tree, sheds pollen Feb–May, berrylike cones Sep–Mar
FPFPFPPFFFF
Evergreen Bayberry
Shrub, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Aug–Feb
FFBBBFFFFF
Farkleberry
Small tree, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Sep–Jan
FBBBFFFF
Fragrant Sumac
Shrub, flowers Mar–May, berries Jun–Mar
FFBFBBFFFFFFF
Golden St. John's-wort
Shrub, flowers Jun–Jul, capsules Sep–Jan
FBBFFFF
Green Hawthorn
Small tree, flowers Apr–May, haws Sep–Jan
FBBFFFF
Groundsel Bush
Shrub, flowers Aug–Oct, seeds Oct–Dec
BBBFFF
Gum Bumelia
Small tree, flowers Jun–Jul, berries Sep–Dec
BBFFFF
Inkberry
Shrub, flowers May–Jun, berries Sep–Mar
FFFBBFFFF
Loblolly Bay
Medium tree, flowers Jun–Sep, capsules Sep–Dec
BBBBFFFF
Long-stalked Holly
Shrub, flowers May–Jun, berries Aug–Feb
FFBBFFFFF
Mapleleaf Viburnum
Shrub, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Aug–Dec
BBBFFFFF
Myrtle Dahoon
Small tree, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Nov–Mar
FFFBBBFF
Ninebark
Shrub, flowers May–Jun, capsules Jul–Dec
BBFFFFFF
Northern Bayberry
Shrub, flowers Apr–Jul, berries Aug–Apr
FFFBFBBBFFFFF
Northern Pin Oak
Medium tree, flowers Apr–May, acorns Aug–Dec
BBFFFFF
Northern Snowberry
Shrub, flowers Jun–Aug, berries Aug–Dec
BBBFFFFF
Ogeechee Tupelo
Medium tree, flowers Mar–May, fleshy fruit Jul–Dec
BBBFFFFFF
Pond Cypress
Medium tree, sheds pollen Mar–Apr, cones Oct–Dec
PPFFF
Possumhaw
Shrub, flowers Mar–May, berries Sep–Mar
FFBFBBFFFF
Pygmy Fringetree
Shrub, flowers Mar–Apr, fleshy fruit Aug–Jan
FBBFFFFF
Red Chokeberry
Shrub, flowers Apr–May, berries Sep–Jan
FBBFFFF
Redbay
Medium tree, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Aug–Dec
BBBFFFFF
Sarvis Holly
Small tree, flowers Apr–May, berries Aug–Apr
FFFBFBFFFFF
Seaside Alder
Shrub, flowers Aug–Sep, cones Dec–Mar
FFFBBF
Showy Mountain Ash
Small tree, flowers May–Jul, berries Aug–Mar
FFFBBBFFFFF
Smooth Alder (Swamp Alder)
Shrub, flowers Mar–Apr, cones Sep–Feb
FFBBFFFF
Smooth Winterberry
Shrub, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Sep–Feb
FFBBBFFFF
Smooth-bark St. John's-wort
Shrub, flowers May–Oct, capsules Sep–Jan
FBBBBBFBFFF
Southern Catalpa
Medium tree, flowers May–Jun, pods Oct–Dec
BBFFF
Spanish Dagger
Shrub, flowers Apr–Nov, fleshy fruit Nov–Dec
BBBBBBBBFF
Staghorn Sumac
Shrub, flowers May–Jul, berries Sep–Mar
FFFBBBFFFF
Sugarberry
Large tree, flowers Mar–May, berries Sep–Jan
FBBBFFFF
Swamp Tupelo
Large tree, flowers Apr–Jun, berries Aug–Dec
BBBFFFFF
Sweet Pepperbush (Summersweet)
Shrub, flowers Jul–Aug, capsules Sep–Feb
FFBBFFFF
Titi
Shrub, flowers May–Jul, capsules Aug–Dec
BBBFFFFF
Virginia Creeper
Shrub, flowers May–Aug, berries Aug–Feb
FFBBBBFFFFF
Virginia Sweetspire
Shrub, flowers May–Jun, capsules Aug–Feb
FFBBFFFFF
Washington Hawthorn
Small tree, flowers Jun, haws Sep–Feb
FFBFFFF
Water Locust
Medium tree, flowers Apr–Jun, pods Aug–Dec
BBBFFFFF
Water Tupelo
Large tree, flowers Mar–Apr, fleshy fruit Sep–Dec
BBFFFF
Western Soapberry
Medium tree, flowers May–Jun, berries Sep–Feb
FFBBFFFF
Winterberry Holly
Shrub, flowers Jun–Jul, berries Aug–Mar
FFFBBFFFFF
Yaupon
Small tree, flowers Apr–May, berries Sep–Feb
FFBBFFFF
In flower011029423719116310
In fruit43311520132654606263

F covers the months the fruit ripens and falls, and the months it hangs on where birds or mammals still eat it. Months are as the plant pages give them, with the bees article's or the Woody Plant Seed Manual's where a page gives none. Many span a tree's range from south to north, and a Georgia spring runs weeks ahead of a Maine one.

Reading the calendar

Each tree's months come from its own page, with the bees article's bloom calendar or the Woody Plant Seed Manual's flowering and fruiting dates where a page gives none. A tree's flowers matter to bees for a week or two; its fruit can matter to birds for a season, since the fruits marked as hanging on, winterberry's and the hawthorn's among them, feed birds in the winter gaps that count most. A dry pod, capsule or winged seed is marked only while it ripens, unless its page says birds or mammals eat it later. A conifer has no flowers, and its pollen months are marked P and left out of the flowers counted for bees. The 45 common natives we do not grow, in the grid's last group, take their months from Silvics of North America, the Woody Plant Seed Manual and the Fire Effects Information System; they stand outside the counts and the sign-up, and a planting may pick them.

A planting is checked for the months from March to November with nothing of it in flower and the months from June to March with nothing in fruit. Those are the months bees want flowers and birds want fruit. The trees and shrubs offered for a gap suit the site set above, and those that cover the most bare months come first, six at most. A planting that flowers from March to November and fruits from June to the following spring is the aim, and the gap finder above says what yours is missing.

The months do not change with the zone you set. Alabama Extension's page on Hopkins' bioclimatic law gives the rule of thumb. "Other things being equal, this variation is at the rate of four days for each degree of latitude, five degrees of longitude, and 400 feet of altitude." Spring comes later the farther north and the higher up you are, so a cold zone sees spring flowers late in each span.

The bees article has the bloom calendar in words, with what each flower gives; the birds article has the fruit. The bundles that were built for this are Honey Tree Trio, Native Edible Orchard and Bird & Berry Hedgerow.

Month by month

Common questions

When does flowering dogwood bloom?

Flowering dogwood flowers in April, and its berries are in season in September and October. Spring comes later the farther north and the higher up you are, so a cold zone sees its flowers late.

What trees bloom in the fall?

Among the trees and shrubs we grow, Franklin tree flowers from July to October, and witch hazel, a shrub, from October to December. Buttonbush and seaside alder, both shrubs, still flower in September.

What trees bloom in summer?

Among the trees we grow, American basswood flowers in June, sourwood from June to August and devil's walking stick in July and August. Sweet pepperbush, a shrub, flowers in July and August.

Do trees bloom later in colder zones?

Yes, by Hopkins' rule, as Alabama Extension gives it: spring comes about four days later for each degree of latitude north and each 400 feet of altitude. The calendar's months are the same in every zone, so a cold zone sees spring flowers late in each span.

How can I have something in bloom all season?

Choose trees and shrubs whose months together cover March to November, when bees want flowers, and June to March, when birds want fruit. The calendar marks the months a planting leaves bare and names the trees that suit the site and would fill them.

The table as a file

The files and the citation below name this table Bloom and fruit calendar: the months every species flowers and fruits. Download it as CSV or JSON: 423 rows, one for one tree or shrub the nursery grows, with the columns below. It is one of the reference tables on the open data page. The figures are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license: use them with a credit to bluewhaletrees.com and a link to this page. Updated 2026-10-28.

What each column means

  • slug: the plant page's address word: the page is https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/ followed by the slug and a slash
  • name: the common name the page uses
  • bloom_first: the first month in flower, 1 to 12
  • bloom_last: the last month in flower, 1 to 12
  • fruit_first: the first month the fruit, nuts or seed ripen, 1 to 12
  • fruit_last: the last month, 1 to 12
  • kind: what ripens: acorns, nuts, berries, seed, cones and so on
  • pollen: true for a conifer, whose bloom months are when it sheds pollen
  • note: the calendar's own note on the plant, with the regions where the months differ

How the table is made

The months are the plant page's own, read from the sources its page names, across the plant's native range. A southern plant flowers earlier than the table's first month in the far South and later in the North. The files are written from the calendar records and checked against them at every release.

Cite this page

Copy a link or a reference. A press on a box copies it.

A link, as HTML

<a href="https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/">Bloom and fruit calendar: the months every species flowers and fruits</a>, Blue Whale Trees, updated October 28, 2026.

A reference, in APA style

Blue Whale Trees. (2026, October 28). Bloom and fruit calendar: the months every species flowers and fruits. https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/

The address carries the bloom and fruit calendar's inputs, so a link opens it filled in, and Copy link on a result writes one: plants (the slugs of the plants in the planting, joined by commas), zone (a whole number from 2 to 10), sun (full, part or shade), moisture (dry, average or wet), month (a month from 1 to 12), kind (bloom, fruit, or both joined by a comma). For example, /tools/calendar/?plants=american-persimmon,pawpaw&zone=6&kind=bloom,fruit.