Flowering Trees for South Florida - Miami

Flowering Trees for
South Florida
Stephen H. Brown
Lee County Extension 2010
Tree Definition
• Tree: A woody perennial plant having a
single usu. Elongate main stem generally with
few or no branches on its lower part.
• Treelet (treelike). Having two or more small
trunks with few or no branches on their lower
parts.
• Standard: A bush made into a small tree by
creating a single main stem.
South Florida Conditions
• Subtropical, zone 10a
• Minimum winter temperature 30°F
• For the most part, this only allows for
plants of tropical origins
Our Area
• Sandy, dry soils, low fertility
• Distinct wet and dry seasons
• Distinct cool/dry and hot/humid seasons
What Causes Plants to Flower?
• Photoperiod (change in daylight length)
• Change from wet to dry, or dry to wet,
season
• Sudden end of life, i.e. Melalecua, citrus
• Change from cool to warm, or warm to cool
• Rarely, don’t count on, fertilizer applications
observation Date
4-21
4-14
50
4-7
3-31
3-24
3-17
3-10
3-3
2-24
2-17
2-10
2-3
1-27
1-20
1-13
blooming, % of max
Tabebuia aurea
100
90
80
70
60
50 % line
40
30
20
10
0
Effects of Winter Temperatures on Bloom Period
Numbers of days in Fort Myers, Florida, with winter
temperatures at or below 50°F, 40°F and 35°F
Days ≤ 50° F
Days ≤ 40° F
Days ≤ 35° F
0
0
0
2008-2009
28 days
05
01
2009-2010
47 days
09
04
Winter
Historical
Average
Effects of Winter Temperatures on Bloom Period
Effects of Winter Temperatures on Bloom Period
Effects of Winter Temperatures on Bloom Period
• Solitary: Flowers or
fruits borne singly,
not in clusters.
• I.e. Magnolia, sea
hibiscus, Surinam
cherry (Eugenia).
Tubular: .
Funnelform: Tabebuias
Salverform: Oleander; Plumeria
Staminous: A
Caesalpinaceous: A
Composite: A
• Inflorescence: The arrangement of
flowers in a cluster, or the cluster of
flowers itself rather than the
arrangement.
Umbel: An indeterminate, often flat-topped inflorescence,
with several or many pedicellate flowers arising from a
common point of attachment.
Cyme: A flat-topped, usually few flowered inflorescence in
which the central, terminal flowers open in advance of the
outer ones.
Spike: An unbranched, simple, elongate inflorescence
bearing sessile (stemless) or subsessile flowers.
•Examples: Black olive; earleaf acacia; bottle brush;
melaleuca; tropical almond; Australian pine (male).
Examples: Cassia, maple, yellow
elder, toog, gumbo limbo, orchid
trees, royal poinciana, sweet gum.
Raceme: An inflorescence on which individual flowers are
carried on short stems of approximately equal length and are
borne on an unbranched main stem.
Examples: Jacaranda,
mango, buttonwood,
avocado, crape myrtle.
Panicle: An inflorescence with several branches, either
opposite or alternate; a branched raceme.
Acacia farnesiana
Sweet acacia
• C+
• November – February
• Evergreen or
Deciduous
• High salt tolerance
• High drought tolerance
• Spines
• Great, spicy fragrance
Acacia farnesiana
Sweet acacia
Double spines is a feature of
Acacia Trees
Flowers, Leaves, and
spines grow from the
same axils
Acacia farnesiana
Sweet acacia
Sweet and spicy aroma from
yellow flower balls. The scent
accompanies the flowers at all
times but the hot sun seems to
Prefers dry soils. Is short-lived
and can toppled in wet soils.
intensify the aroma.
Acacia farnesiana
Sweet acacia
Leaves: Even-bipinnate, alternate, 2-4 inches long with 2 - 6 pairs of pinnae
each with 10-25 pairs of narrow leaflets
Flowers: Staminous, bright yellow ball, very fragrant, about 1.5 inches long and
½ inches across
Fruits: Pods, green, thick, becoming black with age; 3 inches long and slightly
curved
Acacia Choriophylla
Cinnercord, thornless Acacia
Acacia choriophylla
Cinnercord, thornless Acacia
•
•
•
•
A
Evergreen
High salt tolerance
High drought
tolerance
• 15’x10’
Acacia auriculiformis
Earleaf Acacia
• Flower Display: C
• Origin: Northern
Australia, New Guinea
• Salt tolerance: Medium
• Drought Tol.: High
• Nutritional Req: Low
• Growth Rate: Fast
• Dimension: 40’x40’
• Messiness: High
Acacia auriculiformis
Earleaf Acacia
Acacia auriculiformis
Earleaf Acacia
Adenium obesum
Desert Rose
• Flower Display: A
• Origin: Egypt to Kenya,
west to Senegal
• Salt tolerance: Medium
• Drought Tol.: High
• Nutritional Req:
Medium
• Growth Rate: Slow
• Dimension: 4’x4’
• Messiness: Medium
Adenium obesum
Desert Rose
A short, fat succulent that
flowers abundantly on-and-off
throughout much of the year.
It develops a few irregularly
spaced, smooth branches.
Plants from seeds naturally develop the ‘fat’ lower trunks.
Plants from cuttings will not produce the ‘fat’ bottoms
unless, when repotted, they are raised increasingly higher
exposing fresh roots. Some of these roots will enlarge to
create the swollen bottoms
Adenium obesum
Desert Rose
Flowers: Salverform, from deep purplish red, through pink,
to white, to 3 inches long, on terminal corymbs
Adenium obesum
Desert Rose
Leaves: Simple, spathulate, deep green, glossy, in terminal whorls
Fruits: Follicle, dehiscent, to 4 inches long, usually held in pairs
Adenium obesum
Desert Rose
Oleander relative and thus also affected by the
oleander caterpillar
Adenium obesum
Desert Rose
Aphids, mealybugs, scales, and spider
mites may be occasional problems.
Oleander caterpillars can eat all the
leaves of a plant in short order.
However, complete releafing is quick
and normally occurs about four weeks
after defoliation. Control caterpillars with
B.t. or hand pick them from the plant
while wearing gloves.
Bauhinia purpurea
Purple Orchid Tree
• B+
• October – November
• Briefly Semi
Deciduous
• Spiderlike and floppy
• Flowers with it leaves
• Exotic invasive
Bauhinia purpurea
Purple Orchid Tree
Bauhinia purpurea
Fall Orchid Tree, Orchid Tree
Weak, woody
and messy.
Also listed as
an invasive
species.
Bauhinia variegata
Spring Orchid Tree
• A+
• February – March
• Evergreen or
Deciduous
• Low salt tolerance
• High drought
tolerance
• Exotic invasive
Bauhinia variegata
Spring Orchid Tree
Bauhinia variegata
Spring Orchid Tree
Bauhinia variegata
Spring Orchid Tree
B. Variegata L. ‘Candida’
Bauhinia variegata
Spring Orchid Tree
Bauhinia x blakeana
Hong Kong Orchid
•
•
•
•
A+
November – February
Semi-deciduous
Garden, Park, Shade,
Streetscape
• Sterile, no pods
• 30'x25'
Bauhinia x blakeana
Hong Kong Orchid
Probably a hybrid between B. purpurea and B. variegata.
A sterile tree. It produces no pods.
Which is Which?
Which is Which?
B. blakeana
B. purpurea
B. variegata
B. variegata
Bombax ceiba
Bombax malabaricum
• A
• February – March
• Deciduous February –
April
• Low salt tolerance
• 80’x60’
Bombax ceiba
Red-Silk Cotton, Bombax
Flowers: Heavy, 6 inch wide flower having 5 satiny red or orange petals reflexing strongly
after opening
Fruits: Capsules, oval woody to 6 inches long filled with small cotton-covered seeds
Bombax ceiba
Red-Silk Cotton, Bombax
Leaves: Palmate, to 24 inches long, with rarely 3-4, and commonly 5-7
lanceolate leaflets, up to 10 inches long, attached to a long flexible
petiole
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Dwarf Poinciana, Barbados Fence Post
• A
• May – January
• Semi deciduous or
Deciduous
• Dangling seed
pods
• Pruning to keep
tidy
• Container, Garden,
Screen, Specimen
Prune in fall for best flowering throughout the year. To avoid winter’s
messy look, to encourage new growth, and possible late winter flowering,
prune only 18 to 20 inches off each branches in early to mid fall.
It makes a beautiful informal row of small trees, each tree often with
several trunks.
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Dwarf Poinciana
•
•
Leaves: Even-bipinnate, to 16 inches long, with stout
petiole, 4-9 pairs of even pinnae, 5-12 pairs of oblong to
obovate leaflets often with slight notch
Fruits: Pods, flatten, blackish or dark brown, oblong, to 5
inch long with 5-8 shiny brown flat seeds
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Dwarf Poinciana, Barbados Fence Post
•Flowers: Caesalpinaceous, yellow, red or pink, with 5 wavey obovate
petals and 10 long threadlike stamens
Callistemon citrinus
Lemmon Bottlebrush
B
Growth Rate: Medium
Flowering Month(s):
March - May
Typical Dimension:
15'x14'
Salt Tolerance:
Medium
Drought Tolerance:
Medium
Nutritional Req:
Medium
Callistemon citrinus
Lemmon Bottlebrush
Callistemon viminalis
Weeping Bottlebrush
B; January – May; Medium salt tolerance; Medium drought
tolerance; 21 X 30’; Garden, Park, Shade
Callistemon viminalis
Weeping Bottlebrush
Calliandra haematocephala
Powderpuff Tree, Red Powderpuff Tree
• Flower Display: B
• Origin: Tropical
America
• Salt tolerance:
Low
• Drought Tol.: High
Growth Rate: Medium; Nutritional Req: Medium
Dimension: 4’x4’; Messiness: Medium
Calliandra haematocephala
Powderpuff Tree, Red Powderpuff Tree
Calliandra haematocephala
Powderpuff Tree, Red Powderpuff Tree
• Attract bees,
butterflies,
hummingbirds, and
mockingbirds
• Thornbugs,
caterpillars, scales
and mites
• Tree, 14’x18’
Calliandra surinamensis
Pink Powderpuff
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
B
October – April
Evergreen
Low Salt Tolerance
High Drought Tolerance
15’x25’
Container, Garden,
Park, Patio, Poolside,
Streetscape
Calotropis gigantea
Giant Milkweed
• C
• Flowers yearround
• High salt tolerance
• High drought
tolerance
• 12’x15’
• Container,
Garden, Poolside,
Seaside
The corolla has 5
showy petals that are
whitish and tinged with
purple at the apex.
The fruit is a follicle, kidneyshaped, 2.7 to 4 inches long.
Cananga odorata
Ylang-Ylang
•
•
•
•
•
•
C
February – June
Evergreen
Low salt tolerance
Very fast growing
perfume and
massage oil
• 35’x16’
Cananga odorata
Ylang-Ylang
A leafy evergreen, it holds the drooping
flowers along its bowing branches.
Although large and borne in profusion,
the flowers do not stand out amongst
the greenness of the foliage.
Its narrow form shades only a small
portion of ground allowing plenty of
light for grass and other sun loving
plants.
Cananga odorata
Ylang-Ylang
Whenever I’m around a C.
odorata, I’m compelled to
take an evening stroll just to
embrace its perfumed
fragrance.
Leaves: Simple, alternate, oblong-ovate, 6-8 inches long with sharp pointe pointed
apexe
Flowers: Six very narrow drooping petal, changing from green to yellow, attached
to a 1-2 inch green stalk, borne along leaf axils
Fruits: Syncarps, oblong in small tight clusters. Immature green, matures black
Canella winterana
Wild Cinnamon
•
•
•
•
•
•
D
Growth Rate: Slow
Evergreen
High salt tolerance
Very fast growing
Very high drought
tolerance
• 20’x15’
Consider this a low maintenance tree.
It requires little or no pruning and
once established it is extremely
drought tolerant, but one should not
leave it to neglect.
Capparis
cynophallophora
Jamaican Caper
•
•
•
•
B
Growth Rate: Slow
Dimension: 9’x10’
Flowering Months:
Late April – May
• Leaf Persistence:
Evergreen
• Drought Tolerance:
Low for the first couple
of years until
establishment
Capparis
cynophallophora
Jamaican Caper
A dense, low forming pyramidal or rounded crown, stiff leaves that are
shiny green above and light brown beneath, and delightfully scented
flowers that open white and fade to purple or pink.
Each flower last for about two days, spending half its time in white and
the other half in the darker hue.
Cassia afrofistula
African Cassia
A
Growth Rate: Medium
Flowering Month(s):
May - September
Typical Dimension:
15'x14'
Salt Tolerance: Medium
Drought Tolerance:
Medium Nutritional Req:
Low
Leaves: Even-pinnate, alternate, to 15 inches long with 6-10 pairs of
leathery, slightly folded leaflets
Flowers: Five bright yellow petals. Flowers 2 inches wide, held on
terminal, branched racemes
Fruits: Pods, cylindrical, green young, matures black, to 24 inches long,
indehiscnt, many cross walls, each with a single seed
Cassia fistula
Golden Shower
• A+
• May – June,
September
• Medium salt
tolerance
• High drought
tolerance
• 35’x30’
• Garden, Park,
Shade, Specimen
Cassia fistula
Golden Shower
it is at its best in May and June.
Leaves begin to fall in April in
preparation for the display. The
drier the conditions, the greater
the leaf loss, and the more
spectacular is the display.
Plant it in full sun and in a place
where it will be noticed. It
flowers while it is still quite
young. As with most fat
growers, it can be brittle.
Cassia fistula
Golden Shower
Leaves: Even-pinnate, alternate, 12-18 inches long, 4-8 pairs of ovate, opposite,
leaflets, 3-6 inches long
Flowers: Five bright yellow, widely spaced petals. Flower cluster held on
terminal and unbranched racemes
Fruits: Pods, long and hanging, indehicent, to 24 inches long and 1 inch
diameter, many cross walls, each with a single seed
Cassia javanica
Apple Blossom Cassia
•
•
•
•
A+
July – September
Briefly deciduous
Slightly fragrant
blossoms
• 40'x50'
• Garden, Park,
Shade, Specimen
Cassia javanica
Apple Blossom Cassia
Cassia leptophylla
Gold Medallion Tree
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A+
April - June
21 Flowering Days
Briefly deciduous
Very cold tolerant
20'x18'
Garden, Park, Patio,
Screen, Specimen,
Streetscape
Cassia leptophylla
Gold Medallion Tree
It has a dense, low
spreading, globose crown
crammed with huge terminal
clusters of circular yellow
inflorresences.
Flowers: Deep yellow to 3
inches wide borne on terminal
racemes up to 8 inches
across
Senna Pendula
Christmas senna, Golden Senna
• A
• November –
December
• Evergreen
• Sold as a
Christmas plant
• Requires staking
to remain upright
• Invasive
Senna Pendula
Christmas senna, Golden Senna
Senna Pendula
Christmas senna, Golden Senna, Butterfly Cassia
Senna polyphylla
Desert Cassia
•
•
•
•
•
A
Intermittently, all year
Evergreen
High salt tolerance
High drought
tolerance
• Butterfly attracter
• Full sun
• Highly recommended
Senna polyphylla
Desert Cassia
Senna surattensis
Glaucous Cassia
• A+
• March –
November
• Semi-deciduous in
December –
January
• Weakly rooted
• Butterfly attracter
Senna Sulfurea
Glaucous cassia
Senna and Cassia
Delonix regina
Poinciana regia
Delonix regina
Poinciana regia
• A+
• May – September
• Deciduous or Semideciduous
• High drought
tolerance
• 5-12 years to flower
• Characteristic D. regia
scent
• 50'x75'
• Garden, Park, Shade,
Specimen,
Streetscape
Delonix regina
Royal Poinciana, Flamboyán
Delonix regina
Delonix regina
Royal Poinciana, Flamboyán
Ganoderma fungus
Dombeya burgessiae ‘Seminole’
D. elegans, D. rosea, D. x seminole
Dombeya burgessiae ‘Seminole’
Seminole Dombeya, Tropical Rose Hydragea
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A
November – January
Low salt tolerance
Slow growth rate
7’x8’
Rarely needs pruning
Container, Garden,
Park, Patio, Specimen
Dombeya wallichii
Tropical Snowball
Dombeya wallichii
Tropical Snowball
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Umbellate Cyme
A
November – January
Low salt tolerance
Very cold tolerant
30-50 flowers in cymes
20’
Garden, Park,
Specimen
Duranta erecta
Golden Dewdrop, Pigeon-berry
• B
• January – December
• Native to Florida and
much of Central America
• Frequent light pruning
necessary
• Fruits remain for months
• 12'x12'
• Container, Garden, Hedge,
Parking Lot, Patio,
Poolside, Streetscape
Drooping raceme
Duranta erecta
D. ellisia, D. plumieri, D. repens
Erythrina crista-galli
Cockspur coral Tree, Cry-Baby-Tree
•
•
•
•
A
April-July
14 flowering days
Deciduous before
flowering
• Armed with
curved spines
• Racemes are
commonly 2 feet
long
Erythrina crista-galli
Cockspur coral Tree, Cry-Baby-Tree
Terminal raceme
Erythrina herbacea
Cardinal-spear, Cherokee-bean, Coral-Bean
• C
• February –
June
• Florida Native
• Deciduous or
Evergreen
• Spiny
• Borers
Erythrina herbacea
Cardinal-spear, Cherokee-bean, Coral-Bean
Trifoliate leaf;
Constricted
dehiscent pod
with bright red
seeds.
Upright raceme to
about 2 feet long
Erythrina speciosa
Erythrina speciosa
Little Coral Tree
• A
• February – April
• Deciduous just
before and while
flowering
• 15’x15’
• Spiny
• Borers
Erythrina variegata
Coral Tree
Pachypodium lamerei
Madagascar Palm
• Flower Display: A
• Origin: Western
Madagascar
• Salt tolerance: Medium
• Drought Tol.: High
• Nutritional Req.: Low
• Growth Rate: Slow
• Dimension: 8’x8’
• Messiness: Low
Pachypodium lamerei
Madagascar Palm
Leaves: Simple,
alternate, elliptic, dark
green to 10 inches
long in whorls at
branch tips
Fruits: Capsules,
tube-like, to 8 inches
long
Flowers: Salverform, white, 5 petals,
fragrant, to 8 inches long arranged on
cymes
Plumeria rubra
Frangipani
• Flower Display: A
• Origin: Central
America, Central
Mexico
• Salt Tolerance: High
• Drought Tol.: High
• Nutritional Req.: Low
• Growth Rate: Slow
• Dimension: 15’x18’
• Messiness: High
when with leaves
Plumeria rubra
Frangipani
Plumeria rubra
Frangipani
Rubra form
Lutea form
Plumeria rubra
Frangipani
Flowers: Salverform,
fleshy, strongly
perfumed, white,
yellow, pink, to 4 ½
inches wide and 2 ¾
long, on a terminal
rather lax corymbose
Acutifolia form
Plumeria rubra
Frangipani
Fruits: Follicles, tapered to
6 inches long usually held
in pairs and not often
produced
A rust fungus, Coleosporuim
plumeriae, causes premature
deciduousness. In some cases, the
rust makes it appearance along with
the new leaves. By September of
each year, there can be so much rust
on a tree that a good shake of the
tree will rain down an orange dust of
spores.
Frangipani
caterpillars
Plumeria or Frangipani
Plumeria obtusa var. Singapore
• Flower Display: A+
• Origin: Bahamas,
Caribbean
• Salt tolerance: High
• Drought Tol.: High
• Nutritional Req.: Low
• Growth Rate: Slow
• Dimension: 12’x20’
• Messiness: Medium when
deciduous
Plumeria or Frangipani
Plumeria obtusa var. Singapore
Leaves: Simple, alternate, oblong to obovate, dark green, from 6 to 14
inches long, curved under at edge with blunt or indented tips
Flowers: Salvereform, to 2 inches long having 5, not overlapping, white
petals with yellow throat borne on terminal cymes
Plumeria pudica
Bridal Bouquet
A
Growth Rate: Medium
Flowering Month(s): April December
Typical
Dimension: 13'x9' Messiness:
Low
Drought Tolerance:
High Nutritional Req: Low
Major Problems: Whiteflies
Plumeria pudica
Bridal Bouquet
Leaves: Simple, oblong to spathulate, to 7 inches with a pair of large lobes
near the pointed tip
Flowers: Salverform, white, 5 overlapping petals, with yellow throat, up to
3 ½ inches across, and arranged on terminal cymes
Fruits: Follicles, dark brown, usuallay borne in pairs
Euphorbia leucocephala
Christmas Bush
• A+
• November –
January
• 33 flowering days
• Deciduous below
40F
• Low salt tolerance
• 10’x12
• Fruits rare in the
U.S.
Gordonia lasianthus
Loblolly Bay
•
•
•
•
•
C
May – June
Evergreen
Florida Native
Low drought
tolerance
• Natural in wet areas
• Pyramidal shape
• Straight-trunked tree
Gordonia lasianthus
Loblolly Bay
Gordonia lasianthus
Loblolly Bay
Leaf: Simple, alternate, long-elliptic, dark green, leathery 2-5 inches
long, margin evenly and finely toothed
Flower: Single, axillary, five creamy white petals surrounding a center
of yellow stamens
Tabebuia aurea
Silver Trumpet Tree/Yellow Poui
•
•
•
•
A+
March
16 flowering days
Semi-deciduous
or deciduous
before and while
flowering
Tabebuia aurea
Silver Trumpet Tree
T. aurea begins to bloom when the tree commences to
lose its leaves. Trees flower with varying degrees of leaf
retention. The most desirable flowering with no leaves.
Tabebuia aurea
Silver Trumpet Tree
Leaves: Palmate, opposite, to 11” long, with 5-7 oblong-elliptic to oblonglanceolate leaflets
Flowers: Funnelform, flaring mouth, bright yellow on terminal panicles
Fruits: Follicle, oblong, narrow at each extreme, somewhat woody, to 6 inches
long
Tabebuia bahamensis
Five Fingers/Bahamian Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia bahamensis
Five Fingers, Bahamian Trumpet Tree
•
•
•
•
•
•
C
March-April
Deciduous
High Salt Tolerance
High Drought Tolerance
12’x8’
Tabebuia heptaphylla
Bignonia heptaphylla, T. avellanedae
Tabebuia heptaphylla
Pink Trumpet Tree
• A+
• January – February
• Deciduous when
flowering’
• Medium Drought
Tolerance
• 40’x50’
Tabebuia hetrophylla
Pink Trumpet Tree
• B+
• March – April,
sporadic throughout
the year
• High Salt Tolerance.
Will grow on beach
sand
• 25’x20’
Tabebuia hetrophylla
Pink Trumpet Tree
Leaves: Palmate, opposite, 6-12 inches long, with mostly 3-5 leathery, elloptic
to obovate leaflets
Flowers: Funnelform, upper-half pink or lavender, rarely white, bottom-half
crème colored, yellow throat fades to white, to 3 inches long on terminal
panicles
Fruits: Capsules, narrow, linear-cylindric, green, to 8 inches long and 0.4
inches wide
Tabebuia hetrophylla
Pink Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia impetiginosa
Purple Tabebuia Tree, Ipe
•
•
•
•
A+
21 flowering days
February – March
Deciduous when
flowering
• High drought
tolerance
• Widely available
Tabebuia impetiginosa
Purple Tabebuia Tree, Ipe
Tabebuia ochracea
Gold Trumpet Tree
• A+
• February – March
• Trees flower when quite
young
• 21 flowering days
• 24 deciduous days
• High drought tolerance
• Velvety buds, fuzzy
brown velvety fruits
• Attracts epiphytic plants
Tabebuia ochracea
Gold Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia umbellata
No common name found
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A
March-April
15 flowering days
Open growth
habit
Very cold
tolerant/10F
High nutrition
demand
Slow growth
40’x34’
Tabebuia umbellata
T. eximia, Tecoma umbellata