With good moisture levels in the soil, these flowers will persist up to a month. There is no fall leaf color, but with such an extended flower period this is not too important. American hophornbeam or ironwood - Ostrya virginiana is another small native tree that makes an attractive landscape or patio shade tree. It is native to dry, gravely or rocky soil and does well in full sun or partial shade where it grows to 30 feet. It is a difficult tree to establish and probably explains its limited availability in the trade.
Leaves are dark green in summer and yellow in early fall.
Grayish brown bark on older trunks is interesting and tends to form into longitudinal strips that loosen at each end. The fruit is a tan, resembling fruit of hops, hence the common name. The Japanese tree lilac - Syringa reticulata reaches 25 to 30 feet high with a spread of only about 20 feet. This lilac has white flower clusters up to 12 inches tall at the ends of the branches in June. They don't have the traditional lilac fragrance but are sweet-scented.