Flowering trees are an importantcomponent of central Florida landscapes.They provide colorful flowers duringtheir season of bloom. Many of thesetrees also make nice shade specimens.Our climate here in central Floridaallows for a wide range of flowering treesto be used. We can grow some of thehardier, temperate climate trees and treesfrom subtropical and even tropicalclimates. The following are some of theflowering trees that grow well in our area.

The Trumpet Trees (Tabebuia)are some of the most commonlyused flowering trees in centralFlorida landscapes. They flowerheavily in spring with trumpetshaped flowers and are easilyidentified when in bloom.Several species are grown here.Tabebuia umbellata, the YellowTrumpet Tree, is very commonin the older neighborhoods orOrlando and Winter Park. Ithas an upright growth habit andbears bright yellow flowers. Itgrows 10-20 feet tall. It is nativeto Brazil. Tabebuia chrysotricha,the Golden Trumpet Tree, bearsgolden yellow flowers. It differs from T.umbellata by having a narrow growthhabit and reaches 10-15 feet tall. Theleaves have rough hairs on the surfacegiving it a “sandpaper” feel. It is nativefrom Brazil to Argentina. Tabebuiaimpetiginosa is known as the Pink orPurple Trumpet Tree. The flowers arevariable; from light pink to purplethough most found in Florida have pinkflowers. It is a larger tree growing 20-30feet tall. It is native from Mexico toArgentina. Sometimes the SilverTrumpet Tree, Tabebuia aurea, is grownin our area. It is more tender to cold,especially when young. It is very commonin southern Florida. The leaves aresilvery-green and it bears bright yellow

flowers. It is native to Brazil, Paraguay,and Argentina. It was formerly knownas T. argentea and T. caraiba. TrumpetTrees are drought tolerant.

Magnolias are another commonlygrown flowering tree in central Florida.The Southern Magnolia, Magnoliagrandiflora, is probably the most widelyplanted flowering tree in our area. It is aFlorida native and well adapted to ourclimate. Southern Magnolia bears large,extremely fragrant white flowers in late

spring and summer. Southern Magnoliasare large trees and can grow 30-60 feettall. There are many cultivars of this treeavailable with different growth andflowering habits. ‘D.D. Blanchard’ hasbecome of the most popular varieties. Ithas dark green leaves with orangish-brown undersides. It is also a fastergrowing variety. ‘Little Gem’ is thesmallest cultivar. It only grows 10-20feet tall and the flowers and leaves arehalf the size of a normal SouthernMagnolia. It also has a second floweringperiod, from October until Christmas.‘Alta’ is a newer selection with a strongupright form. ‘Greenback’ has narrowerleaves that are cupped and green onboth sides. It also has a very dense

growth habit. ‘Coco’ has a pyramidalshape and is a very heavy bloomer.‘Majestic Beauty’ has very large leavesand flowers that can be up to 12”across. ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’ has avery dense and compact growth habitwith leaves that have a rusty brownunderside. Sweetbay Magnolia,Magnolia virginiana var. australis, isanother Florida native. It grows well inmoist or even wet soils. It is evergreenand the leaves have a nice silvery coloring

on the undersides. Sweetbaygrows 30-50 feet tall with anarrow and open form. Itbears creamy white, fragrantflowers during the summer. Acouple of related trees areMichelia champaca, OrangeChampaca Tree, and Micheliax alba, the White ChampacaTree. These two trees belongto the Magnolia Family(Magnoliaceae). They are fastgrowing, evergreen trees thatgrow 20-30 feet tall. Theyproduce flowers about 2"across that are extremely fra-grant. The flowers are found

during summer and fall. Micheliachampaca has orange flowers while thoseof Michelia x alba are white. The WhiteChampaca Tree also produces flowersover a long period of time. These twotrees are native to southeastern Asia.Another member of the Magnolia Familyand Florida native is Liriodendrontulipfera, the American Tulip Tree. It is atall, deciduous tree that grows 40-60feet tall. It bears orangish-yellow flowersin late spring and early summer.American Tulip Tree needs a moist soiland can tolerate wet soils.

Gordonia lasianthus, Loblolly Bay, isanother Florida native that makes a nicelandscape specimen. It is an evergreentree growing 10-30 feet tall. It bears

Flowering Trees for Central FloridaFirst of a two-part series

Lagerstroemia indica ‘Dynamite’

small white flowers duringthe summer. The flowersresemble those of a Camellia.This tree is a close relativeto Camellias as it is in theTea Family (Theaceae).

The Bottlebrushes areanother common group offlowering trees found in Central Florida.They belong to the genus Callistemonand are Australian natives. They bearflowers that are shaped like bottlebrushes.The flowers appear during the warmermonths. Most are red in color but thereare purple, white, and pink floweringspecimens. They are also drought tolerant.The Weeping Bottlebrush, C. viminalis,grows to about 20 feet tall and has astrong weeping habit. It bears red flowers.It is also tolerant of very wet soil. TheLemon Bottlebrush, C. citrinus, grows10-15 feet tall. The leaves have a lemonscent if crushed. It also bears red flowers.C. citrinus ‘Jeffersii’, the PurpleBottlebrush, bears purple flowers. Itgrows to about 10 feet tall. A relatedtree is the Tea Oil Tree, Melaleucaalternifolia. It is from eastern Australiaand grows 20-25 feet tall. It produceswhite flowers and has attractive white,papery bark. Tea Oil is derived from this

tree and is widely used as amedicinal. This tree is wellbehaved and non-invasive. It isnot to be confused with theCajeput Tree, M. quinquenervia,which is a serious pest in south-ern Florida and the Everglades.

The Orchid Trees belong to thegenus Bauhinia and are widelyused in local landscapes. B.variegata and B. purpurea areboth known as the Purple OrchidTree. The main difference is thatB. purpurea flowers in fall and

early winter and B.variegata flowers inspring. B. variegata‘Candida’ is a whiteform that also flowersin spring. These twospecies are notrecommended forplanting as theyproduce large amountsof seeds and canbecome a nuisance. A

good replacement is B. x blakeana, theHong Kong Orchid Tree. It is a hybridbetween B. purpurea and B. variegata. Itis sterile and does not produce seed. Ithas a longer blooming period than

either parent, from fall until spring. Theflowers are magenta and lavender andare fragrant. B. acuminata is native tosoutheastern Asia. It is a large shrub orsmall tree that grows 8-10 feet tall. Itbears white flowers from late springuntil fall. It needs afternoon shade. B.forficata, the Thorny Orchid Tree, is anative from Brazil to Peru. It bears large,white flowers during the summer. TheYellow Bell Bauhinia, B. tometosa bearssmall yellow flowers during the warmermonths. It is a small tree growing 10-12feet tall and is native to eastern Africa.The Pom Pom Orchid Tree, B. divaricatais native to Central America and theWest Indies. It bears small white flowersand has small leaves. It flowers duringthe warmer months. B. divaricata‘Rosea’ bears pink flowers.

The Floss Silk Tree, Ceiba speciosa, isa spectacular flowering specimen for thewarmer parts of central Florida. It is alarge, fast growing tree, reaching 30-60feet tall. It bears large pink flowers inlarge numbers in fall. The flowers arevariable from almost white to deep pink.The trunk of this tree is usually coveredin large spines but smooth trunkedspecimens exist. It is native from Brazil

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Ceiba speciosa ‘Angel’inset: Ceiba thorns

Magnolia grandiflora‘Little Gem’

This large group of plants areknown for their unusual flowers.The Silk-Oak bears golden orangeflowers in late spring and summer.These flowers are brush-shaped. G.robusta is fast growing and reaches30-50 feet tall. It is also droughttolerant. Silk-Oak was at one timea very popular tree in the Orlandoarea. The three big freezes in the1980’s killed many of them butsome remain. A related tree is theFirewheel Tree, Stenocarpussinuatas. It is also native to easternAustralia and grows to about 40feet tall. It bears tubular flowersthat are scarlet red and arranged inwhorls. The large leaves arepinnately lobed.

Crepe Myrtle, Lagerstroemiaindica, is a very popular floweringtree in this area. There are severalother Crepe Myrtles that are rarely

encountered but deserve a spot in thelandscape. The Japanese Crepe Myrtle,L. fauriei is not commonly used incentral Florida landscapes. JapaneseCrepe Myrtle is a larger tree growing30-50 feet tall. It is deciduous and bearswhite flowers during the summer. Thetree has very ornamental trunks. Thebark flakes away revealing dark, cinnamonred coloring. Japanese Crepe Myrtle hasbeen used in hybridization with L. indicaas it has resistance to powdery mildew.It is native to southern Japan. L. limii,The Chinese Crepe Myrtle, grows 10-15feet tall. It has large leaves and bearslarge clusters of lavender-pink flowers insummer. It is native to southern China.L. speciosa, the Queen Crepe Myrtle, isnative to southeastern Asia. It can grow30-50 feet tall but is tender to cold andbest suited to warm microclimates. Itbears large clusters of purple flowers anda cultivar called ‘Nong Nooch Pink’bears hot pink flowers. There is also ahybrid between L. indica and L. speciosacalled ‘Majestic Beauty’ that only grows5-10 feet tall and bears purple flowerssimilar to L. speciosa but is hardier to cold.

– Eric Schmidt

color. Jacaranda is native to Argentinaand Bolivia. It grows 30-40 feet tall.‘Alba’ bears white flowers. J. cuspidifolia,from southern Brazil and Argentina,bears larger flowers that appear in thesummer. J. caerulea only grows 10-120feet tall. It flowers in spring and summerand is native to the Bahamas and Cuba.Jacarandas are drought tolerant.

Chinadoll Tree, Radermachera sinica,is frequently grown as a houseplant.Once planted in the ground it is fastgrowing and can reach 15-20 feet tall. Itbears creamy white flowers in spring andsummer. These flowers are fragrant atnight. Chinadoll Tree is native to south-eastern Asia.

Yellow Poinciana, Peltophorum dubium,is a common sight in the Orlando area.It bears brilliant yellow flowers duringsummer and is a beautiful tree when infull bloom. It is a fast growing, reaching30-50 feet tall. It is also very droughttolerant. Yellow Poinciana was at onetime commonly available but can bedifficult to find in nurseries. It is nativefrom southern Brazil to Uruguay.

Grevillea robusta, Silk-Oak, is a nativeof eastern Australia. It is not a true Oakbut a member of the Proteaceae Family.

Flowering Trees for Central Floridacontinued from page 5

to Peru. It was formerly known asChorisia speciosa. The related C. chodatiibears yellow flowers and C. insignis bearswhite flowers. Many hybrids betweenthese three species exist. Floss Silk Treeis very drought tolerant. A close relativeis Bombax ceiba, the Silk Cotton Tree. Itis native from southern Asia to northernAustralia and grows 50-60 feet tall. Ithas a spiny trunk similar to the FlossSilk Tree. It bears red flowers in latewinter and early spring.

The Tipu Tree, Tipuana tipu, is a treethat deserves greater use in centralFlorida. It is native from southern Brazilto Bolivia and is a fast growing tree thatreaches 30-50 feet tall. It bears brightyellow flowers in late spring and summer.Tipu Tree is an excellent tree for our areabut not widely available. Once established,it is fairly tolerant of drought. There aremany nice specimens at Walt DisneyWorld and Universal Studios.

Jacaranda, Jacaranda mimosifolia, is avery popular tree in the warmer areas ofFlorida and California. It blooms in springand is covered with small, trumpet-shaped flowers that are blue-violet in

Cordia boisseri