NON fruit bearing flowering tree suggestions

[Elen C]

Hello - perhaps I am dreaming in technicolor, but I would like to have a purple or pink flowering tree that does not bear fruit.

Currently I have a crabapple tree which I hate due to the mess at the end of the season all over my lawn. If the tree does bear fruit, it would have to be so miniscule that it would not be a problem.

I live in Calgary Alberta and the size of the tree at maturity would need to be around 10-15 feet.

Can anyone offer me some ideas? It would be most appreciated!

[ViridianFields]

How about a Purple leafed Sand Cherry? We have a 'Shubert' cherry at the cabin and it has dark pink flowers in spring and purple / bronze foliage in summer and fall, about 2x as tall as wide where it's situated. The fruit is small and chances are you won't see it drop (the birds get them first around here).

[A Closet Canuck]

I planted two 'Thunderchild' crabapples at our library this spring. I chose them because they are hardy (Zone 3), have light pink blooms and fruit that persists on the tree until the birds eat it. There were two crabs there previously and the fruit drop on the sidewalk was a hazard to pedestrians. A University of North Dakota Q and A site recommended 'Thunderchild' highly. It does not have the large spread of some crabs and the foliage is purple and green.

If you don't limit your self to pink and purple blooms, there are several shrubs that make good small trees. In our neighborhood there is a beautiful Magnolia stellata that was shaped into a multi-stemmed tree; it has white blooms. Another one is Chinese snowball bush (Viburnum macrocarpum) that makes a good multi-stemmed tree with white blossoms later in spring. Some people here shape lilac (Syringa vulagaris) into small trees. Although it is not hardy this far north, my all-time favorite shrub-into-tree is oakleaf hydrangea.

[Elen C]

Thank you for the suggestions - I am excitied about going to the greenhouse to check these out (once this winter storm goes away ) Thanks again!