It's not just redbud? (judged merely from where you are, time of year, and flower color)

Or maybe Ume apricot?

Hi Dottie,

Right now in upstate SC, I am noticing maples, plum, wild pears, and 'Prunus subhirtella "Autumnalis" or Autumn blooming cherry ( which blooms spring and fall).

Definitely look at plums (it is also in the genus Prunus).

By the way, no such thing as "wild pears" just escaped ones!

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to plum pictures

Esh,
By escaping, would that not make them "wild" LOL.
What are the names of the pears, I have had growing "escaped" for years?
Thanks!

Dear dottie in charlotte,
Once again, my suggestion is that you smip a flowering twig and take it to your county extension office for identification. If they cannot key it out, they will send it to NCSU at Raleigh for identification.

lsst - I would suggest that your escaped pears are Pyrus calleryana. Unless you see them bearing large fruits (larger than a cherry).

Sorry, to me "wild" implies native and I never want anyone to think that these escapes could be native!

Here is a link that might be useful: Who let the pears out?

Well everyone, thanks but it's not the flower of any of your suggestions so I may take my snip to the nursery and see if I can spot similar.
I've looked at every prunus flower photo I could find on-line and they all have fat broad, overlapping petals.

If I am able to ID it I'll come back and let you know.
It's not critical. This is my first spring at this property and I'm finding all sorts of nifty stuff on the 2 acres that are challenging to identify.

Thanks esh,
I knew they were not native but did not know what to call them!
I have wondered where they came from so thanks for the link.

Dottie, sorry to drift from your thread. I hope you are able to ID the trees.

By chance this not a japanese Magnolia, is it? What is often called Saucer magnolia or "tulip" magnolia.

The Mecklenburg Cooperative Extension office -- at least when it comes to horticulture and "master" gardeners is atrocious.

Dottie, you say the flower has five petals "and looks like a pink forsythia flower". This is confounding, as forsythia flowers have 4 petals and are shaped more like Vs rather than the cup-like form of Prunus species.

I'm wondering if it's a quince (Cydonia sinensis) or (C. oblonga). The trouble is, these have mottled bark like a crape myrtle, but if the quince tree is young/puny or stressed by being draped in competing vines, the bark may not have become fully developed.

I don't want to say quince (in the same breath) because they tend to bloom when the little leaves are already emerging. Are there any "spurs" on the branches -- which are those short stubby twigs that litter the area in between flower clusters?

If the flowers are thread-like and downward hanging, could it be a late-flowering _Hammemelis_?

Yippee...got it

In late February and early March bloom the Serviceberry tree well before the native Redbud.

I guess from a distance the blossoms look white but these have a very subtle baby pink hue along the petal edges.

It's a Serviceberry.

Yes, I saw a Serviceberry blooming this weekend too. Way too early! Congrats - that certainly is a keeper. The birds love the berries.