As a Tree Expert, I Know These 11 Trees Shine in Winter – From Textured Bark to Seasonal Blooms, They Brighten Even the Dreariest Landscape

I feel a real sense of loss and sorrow in late fall when the trees lose their leaves and the smaller shrubs and flowers die back. The garden withers as we watch, moving from a vibrant, vital, joyful space to a bleak landscape of bare branches and stones.

One day I was lamenting about this to my neighbor, when she cut me off. “So do something about it!” she said. That was my wake-up call and the day I started looking into trees and shrubs for winter interest. With a little planning, you can fill your backyard with with trees that look beautiful year-round – even in winter!

The best winter trees show off their gorgeous bark, are full of flowers or fruits in winter, or are exceptionally elegant evergreens. Here are a few of my personal favorites in each category.

Trees With Beautiful Bark

If you're looking for trees with stunning winter bark that looks beautiful even after the leaves have dropped, look no further. After decades of growing, studying, and writing about trees, these species are my absolute favorites.

1. Paperbark Maple

The first time I saw this attractive tree, I was impressed with its pretty trifoliate leaves that turn from dark green to red in autumn. But the second time I saw a paperbark maple, it was winter and I fell totally in love.

The dramatic, showy bark is gorgeous – the color of glowing copper – and it peels back in paper-thin sheets. Pick paperbark maple for truly magical trees in winter.

Buy paperbark maples from Scenic Hill Farm on Etsy.

2. Crepe Myrtle

Crepe myrtle trees are wildly popular in Florida and parts of the South where they don’t have much of a winter to worry about. But this beautiful species also thrives in cooler areas where trees with winter interest are needed.

The 'Zuni' crepe myrtle is a compact, upright cultivar with the oodles of summer blooms that the species is famous for. But when those blooms cease and leaves fall? Get ready for bark so elegant it will knock your socks off. It is smooth and mottled, peeling back gracefully to reveal striking layered patterns

You can find lovely Zuni crepe myrtle trees for sale on Amazon.

3. Shagbark Hickory

Do you like shaggy dogs? If so, this is the winter tree for you. Shagbark hickory is only good for bigger backyards but if that’s you, keep it in mind.

The bark of this hickory is smooth and gray. As it matures, it splits lengthwise and peels off as narrow strips or, less frequently, broader plates. It creates a very unusual and striking winter display.

Get shagbark hickory seedlings from Walmart for your winter garden.

Best Trees for Winter Blooms

If you want to add some color to your winter garden, then a winter-blooming tree is just the thing. Here are some of my favorite species that put out flowers even during the dead of winter.

4. Ozark Witch Hazel

Witch hazels are small trees that bloom in winter. There are both native and exotic varieties you can grow in your garden. But one of my favorites is the native Ozark witch hazel. It is a tough plant and easy to grow in any exposure.

Witch hazel solves the "barren winter garden" problem by blooming during the cold months. These native plants flower in either early winter or late winter, depending on your climate and the variety. Flowers can be yellow or reddish in color and feature petals that look like twisted ribbons.

You can find Ozark witch hazel trees for sale on Etsy.

5. American Witch Hazel

A larger plant than Ozark witch hazel, the American witch hazel has such a dense canopy that it works fell for a seasonal screen or hedge. The foliage turns canary yellow in autumn and flowers with strappy petals in a similar yellow light up a winter landscape.

Shop American witch hazel trees from Garden Goods Direct.

Best Evergreen Trees for Winter Interest

Evergreens not only look gorgeous in winter, but their elegant foliage creates a lush backdrop in the garden all year. Here are some of my top picks for a spectacular winter show.

6. Eastern White Pine

This majestic evergreen conifer is a sight to behold any day of the year. With a straight, strong trunk and long, feathery needle bundles, the Eastern white pine is an unforgettable tree. The species can live for centuries, too.

Buy a beautiful Eastern white pine from Fast Growing Trees for gorgeous green foliage all year.

7. Colorado Blue Spruce

No winter tree list is complete without Colorado blue spruce, an off-season superstar. It’s an attractive, pyramidal-shaped conifer all year but the silvery-blue color of its needles are a real standout against a field of white snow.

It grows slowly, but can get tall. However, many compact varieties are available as well for smaller gardens.

Get your Colorado blue spruce today from Fast Growing Trees.

8. Weeping White Spruce

The weeping white spruce is an extremely narrow conifer with pendulous branches covered with waves of short, densely packed needles. This beautiful type of spruce tree has stiffly held, weeping branches and light gray-green foliage.

Its weeping effect adds grace to the landscape. It is an exceptional accent tree, but also works well as a windbreak.

Get a weeping white spruce from Amazon to add to your winter landscape.

Multi-Season Standouts

There are some trees that look just as lovely in winter as they do in summer and all year long. These are some of the ones that I think put on the best show during all four seasons, but are especially striking in winter.

9. Red Osier Dogwood

Red osier dogwoods, also known as red twig dogwoods, are thrilling additions to a landscape. In spring and summer, these large shrubs that are big enough to be considered trees are admired for their attractive green leaves and white flowers. After the fiery fall display, the stems and branches take over the starring role.

The first hard frost turns them a brilliant red, so bright a shade of scarlet that they look like flames against a snowy background. Plant several of them in a cluster for unmatched winter color.

Shop red twig dogwoods from Fast Growing Trees.

10. American Holly

Holly is famed for decking the halls, thanks to its glossy green leaves and bright red berries. The native American holly tree has all those same beautiful benefits and more. This broadleaf evergreen holds onto the shiny holly leaves all year, providing shelter for wildlife and food as well.

In winter, the female trees are covered in vibrant red berries that are both beautiful and a favorite food of many native bird species.

You can find the unique 'Lacquerberry' American holly tree from Etsy.

11. American Hornbeam

American hornbeam is an elegant tree with beautiful smooth gray bark and unusual fluted trunks. It also goes by a number of different names, like blue beech, musclewood, and water-beech. The thin bark is a lovely shade of gray – an exceptional contrast to the fiery foliage in fall – and the leaves resemble those of the glorious American beech.

This small understory tree is charming year round but is particularly eye-catching in fall and winter as the leaves fall and its sinuous smooth gray trunk takes center stage. The flowers have no petals and are held in dangling chain-like catkins of green scales edged in red. In summer the leaves are a handsome green and in fall they burn in fiery shades of yellow, orange, and vivid red.

Buy a pair of American hornbeam seedlings from Amazon for under $30.