How to Plant and Grow Flowering Almond

A spring-blooming shrub, flowering almond is a reliable performer with pink double blossoms. Sometimes the flowers are followed by small round red fruit coveted by squirrels. This shrub, which can grow 10 to 15 feet tall, is also a good companion for late-spring flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils. Choose the dwarf variety (Prunus glandulosa) if you prefer a 4- to 6-foot shrub that bears pink or white flowers.

Exceptionally cold hardy in Zones 3-7, and one of the first shrubs to bloom in spring, the flowering almond is an excellent addition to shrub borders and low-maintenance landscapes. This small deciduous shrub blooms in early spring, when daffodils and early tulips open.

Where to Plant Flowering Almond

Flowering almonds will bloom most abundantly when it's planted where they'll get six or more hours of sun each day. They'll do well in partial shade as long as they get four hours a day of direct sunlight. They are attractive when planted in shrub borders or as informal hedges, specimen plants, or accent plants.

How and When to Plant Flowering Almond

Plant flowering almonds in spring. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball. The hole shouldn't be deeper than the size of the root ball. Rough the texture of the ground at the bottom of the hole so the roots absorb more water. Create a ridge 3 inches high around the trunk to keep the water from flowing away. Water deeply when first planting. Add mulch to keep moisture in the soil.

Keep a 6-foot diameter area free of grass to reduce the risk of damaging the soft bark while mowing.

Flowering Almond Care Tips

Flowering almonds can be challenging to care for because they can be plagued by pests, but with attention and care they can live up to ten years.

Light

Though it can grow in part shade, flowering almond grows best in full sun.

Soil and Water

Plant flowering almond in moist, well-drained loam with a slight to medium alkaline pH of 7-8.5. It tolerates various soil conditions, although its flowering may be compromised in excessively dry or wet soil. Water regularly during the first growing season, around 5 gallons per week per shrub. Cover the soil around the plant with a 2-inch-thick layer of shredded mulch to prevent soil-moisture loss.

Temperature and Humidity

Flowering almond, hardy in Zones 3-7, is good to grow in regions where winter temperatures go below freezing. It survives low temperatures without any additional care. If it's very hot in your region, be sure to provide some shade.

Fertilizer

Hold off on fertilizing flowering almonds until they're established and growing successfully, then use a nitrogen fertilizer once a year. Newly-planted shrubs should get 1/4 pound and then 1/2 pound annually.

Pruning

Prune this shrub in late spring, right after it finishes flowering, to keep it looking well-maintained. It can be sculpted into a specific shape with proper pruning and training. Cut dead twigs off at the base of the plant and shear back live twigs to create the desired plant size and shape. Light pruning often helps promote better flowering the following year.

Potting and Repotting Flowering Almond

To plant flowering almonds in a pot, you'll need a very large (at least 1 foot in diameter) container with good drainage. Prepare the soil as you would the soil in the ground. Your plant will need additional watering to compensate for the drainage it will lose. Since flowering almond is a shrub, it's best to plant it in the ground to give it plenty of room to grow and allow its roots to stay healthy.

Pests and Problems

This shrub is susceptible to numerous problems. Watch for potential diseases like black knot, cankers, die back, leaf spot, powdery mildew, and verticillium wilt, as well as troubling insects like aphids, borers, caterpillars, Japanese beetles, scale, and spider mites.

How to Propagate Flowering Almond

Trim a 12- to 16-inch mature section of the flowering almond, but don't trim the connecting shoot. from the plant. Trim the bark from 1 inch of it, and tear off leaves from the bottom portion. Put the trimmed end in rooting hormone and place it in a pot of soil. In about six to eight weeks, your cutting should be ready for planting.

Planting flowering almond from seed is a long and difficult process, and the shrub won't begin to bloom for at least three years.

Companion Plants for Flowering Almond

Count on easy-care flowering almond when planting a shrub border or wildlife planting.

Hydrangea

Hydrangeas can flourish in sun or shade. Huge bouquets of hydrangea flowers add beauty indoors and out from summer to fall. Varieties of hydrangea differ in size, flower shape, color, and bloom time. Zones 3-9

Beautyberry

Beautyberry's small flowers are held in tight clusters near the stems, a display that adds subtle charm to the garden in early summer. It has green leaves all season. Zones 5-8

Viburnum

Whether you plant them for their colorful berries, showy flowers, wonderful fragrance, or brilliant foliage and stem color, viburnum adds a lot to your garden. Zones 2-9

Weigela

Perennial weigela comes in many sizes with red or pink blooms, and newer varieties are available in white and yellow. Zones 4-9

Ninebark

Their fast growing habit and appealing winter bark make these pink and white flowering shrubs garden favorites. Zones 3-7

Bluebeard

Also called blue mist spirea, this deciduous shrub features long, graceful stems covered in small leaves. Those stems are loaded with blossoms at every leaf section when it is at peak bloom, which draws butterflies and bumblebees. Zones 4-8