What tree is it?

@hobilus, I would not rule out crabapple, but I would rule out Styracaceae

Compare the sharp sepals on @galinas picture and note not all flowers are draping
image

vs Styracaceae “bell” type trees, without sharp sepal and all flowers are draping

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Some commented and guessed “Magnolia”, but it doesn’t look like any Magnolia I’ve ever seen.

Magnolia flowers are fairly large, upright. and they are not connected to the branch via little stalks. – @galinas 's picture shows smallish flowers clusters (pointing in all directions) connected to little stalks.

I’ve planted several halesia species, subspecies and a hybrid all in eastern KS. Never lost one from winter cold.

I did, just in case, but do not hold my breath for the answer - the way things are planted in the yard suggest impulse buying, puppy syndrome and luck of planning. So most likely they bought “this pretty tree” :laughing:. She didn’t respond yet.

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To make things even more bazaar, some new pictures :laughing:. Open flower:

Some buds are actually pink!

Malus flowers may start with pink tinge. I’m fairly sure now you have a Malus family tree.

Good to know. Maybe wikipedia is wrong then. Or maybe the specific species it wikipedia was referring to was more cold tender.

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It is all possible. I found another Malus kind that fits:Malus baccata ‘Columnaris’. Only question i have then, why there were no fruit last year, when the regular Malus baccata growing 10 feet from this one was full of fruit.

Yes, wikipedia is about the LAST source I would trust :smirk:

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Carolina silverbells are not native to southern New England but are definitely hardy enough to grow there. There’s an old and quite impressive one on a college campus in our area, and they’re sold at reputable nurseries around here.

I think you have a point about the sepals, though. (No pun intended.)

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True. Duly noted

The flowers and leaves both change so much as they’re unfurling, it’s a hard time to ID. I’d almost rather see the dormant buds. Malus buds are easy peasy.

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:rofl:

Original picture set above does not have the growth or bloom habit of Styrax.

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Maybe it was this one or another fruitless cultivar?

Their photos are a pretty close match:


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I think you nailed it! Very similar indeed!

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What a difference a sense of scale makes. In the first photo the flowers look large but when your hand is holding the branch I can see they are actually much smaller. If it’s not a Malus maybe it’s a type of Pyrus (ornamental pear).

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