# White flowering roadside tree?



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

Quick question for you guys. I will need the answers from beekeepers in va. Right now in bloom are a short tree/shrub that is wild but is blooming small white flowers. I see them mostly on the roadside. Does anyone know what these are called? And do bees like them?


----------



## Henk (Aug 2, 2009)

Could be elderberry's they are a roadside kind of shrub that give off small white flowers.


----------



## Beeckmann (Jan 22, 2010)

I agree with Heck. Elderberry is in peak bloom right now.


----------



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

Yeah , it is def. Not elderberry. This does not have clusters. It is almost covered in blooms.


----------



## Naturegoods (Mar 12, 2010)

Elderberry likes moist areas, plumes of tiny white flowers in bunches bigger than your fist that turn into tiny individual berries. Remember those locations; my wife recently opened the elderberry wine she made back in 2001.


----------



## FishmanMike (Sep 13, 2008)

Could be privet.Bees work it.:scratch:


----------



## mothergoosemagic (Feb 26, 2010)

could also be multifloral rose. White flowers and a royal pain to get rid of. All over the place here.


----------



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

Ok , i stopped off the side of the road this morning and it is not elderberry , privet or rose. There are no thorns and the smell is almost the same as a honey suckle. But in a non-vine. It is a small bush/shrub. Small leaves and very small white flowers tightly clustered on the ends. It is in heavy bloom right now in virginia.


----------



## dtompsett (Feb 2, 2010)

White lilac? 

Google Images


----------



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

No. The flower clusters are not that full. And the leaves are small.


----------



## theriverhawk (Jun 5, 2009)

Privet is blooming all over the roadsides here. I'd go with privet hedge. And bees to LOVE it.


----------



## mothergoosemagic (Feb 26, 2010)

Any way you can post a pix?


----------



## TWall (May 19, 2010)

It might be Japanese Honeysuckle. It is an invasive species, crowds out a lot of native species.

Tom


----------



## Todd 64 (Nov 13, 2009)

What about Ocean spray? Small oval leaf with jagged edges. Small white flowers similar to elder berry but cluster hangs down like grapes. Unlike E. berry,O spray is a good source of nector and polin. Not in bloom for another month or so were i am. 

Todd64


----------



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

Not ocean spray. Flower clusters are similar but the leave on what i am talking about are smooth edged. The closest thing i have found on the internet is a wild lilac. But that still doesnt match it perfectly. I have just give up on searching for it on the web. In virginia it is in bloom right now. I have seen them as short as 3 ft up to 20 ft blooming.


----------



## Rottybee (Mar 18, 2010)

How about serviceberry? Check out the link for a pic and description.
http://mtnwildflowers.com/serviceberry.html


----------



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

Serviceberry blooms before the leaves are out. This tree blooms after leaves are fully out.


----------



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

I will try and post a pic. Maybe this weekend. I might add this bloom is very fragerant.


----------



## Walliebee (Nov 17, 2006)

Chionanthus virginicus (White Fringetree)

honeybees don't use it.


----------



## BSCOTTM (Mar 12, 2010)

Nope sorry. Not a fringe tree either. Now you are all just guessing...lol i will post a pic soon. Thank you all for your time.


----------



## Walliebee (Nov 17, 2006)

ok, there are several native Hydrangea's that are starting to flower now. H arborescens, H radiata. Most viburnum's have finished. Both don't smell good though.

How about Yellow wood (Cladrastis kentukea)? It just finished here in NC. Nice frangrance.

ah, forgot about Spiraea's also... several native species!


----------



## suburbanrancher (Aug 5, 2011)

I understand this is an old post, but in case anyone else is looking for the same thing and stumbles upon this post (as I did!), this is the answer: Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina). We have it all over the roadsides here in MD and I have been searching for DAYS to find the answer. Found it in my friend's yard.


----------



## julieandwadeshelton (Oct 10, 2014)

http://newlifeonahomestead.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/blackberry-bushes-001-Medium.jpg

I have a lot of blackberry here in southern VA.. is this it?


----------



## suburbanrancher (Aug 5, 2011)

The answer is above your post julie/wade.


----------



## JohnBeeMan (Feb 24, 2004)

I agree Fringe Tree. I found one in my dog lot earlier this week and identified it as a fringe.

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c120


----------



## julieandwadeshelton (Oct 10, 2014)

suburbanrancher said:


> The answer is above your post julie/wade.


Thanks.. didn't realize it was a revived older thread


----------



## PLW (Apr 15, 2012)

Black Locust? It's flowering here right now.


----------



## RCorl (Mar 24, 2012)

"The answer is above your post julie/wade."

That was definitely not the answer the the question of the OP. He described the plant's flowers as looking like honeysuckle, but it was not a vine. Wild cherry, will beautiful, does not look anything like honeysuckle. My guess is that it is Japanese Honeysuckle shrub, which looks just like the vine, but grows as a small bush. I have a lot along my road, after planting some starts 15 years ago, and now it has escaped everywhere. Looks and smells great, has red berries in the winter, but spreads like a weed. The OP lives very close to where I do, so it would be blooming at the same time.


----------



## agastache (Jun 27, 2013)

I'm going to guess bush honeysuckle from your description of the flowers.


----------



## John Scifres (Mar 25, 2014)

http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/CAPS/pestInfo/pics/big/morrowBushHoneysuckle1.jpg

I see lots and lots of this around. Asian Bush Honeysuckle. It smells great but the bees can't use it.


----------



## suburbanrancher (Aug 5, 2011)

RCorl: "There are no thorns and *the smell is almost the same as a honey suckle. *But in a non-vine. It is a small bush/shrub. Small leaves and very small white flowers tightly clustered on the ends."
Smell, not look, like a honeysuckle.


----------

