Tree – For a Memorial

Q: My wife and I suffered in January a fetal demise in the middle of our pregnancy. We wanted to plant a tree as a memorial to our unborn child.

Could suggest a tree that would symbolize both strength and beauty for this symbolic gesture? The area we choose is a part sun and part shade area.

A: I’m truly sorry to hear your news. I’ll pray for courage for you both. I don’t know whether you’d rather honor the date of passing (recent) or the planned date of birth. Not many things are blooming Jan – Feb but a coral bark maple has intense red bark in winter.

I like white, of course, for memorials. I’m sure you’ve thought of dogwood but you might also look at Kousa dogwood (‘Celestial’, Constellation’, etc). It blooms in May/June as opposed to our common flowering dogwood in April.

Another small tree I like is fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). It is covered with white flowers in May. I gave one to my mother for Mother’s Day.