any things in life come easily. Others take time and patience.That’s certainly the case when it comes to the plant world. Any gar-

dener could tell you that some plants are easy. Others, however,require a Zen-like sense of patience. But it is from these kinds of

plants that the true pleasures of gardening are often derived, from the plants thatrequire an extra bit of skill or sense of artistry, not from the carefree, ever-blooming, ever-producing ones. As anyone who has truly enjoyed thebeauty of the plant world can tell you, some things are worth the wait.

Blooming trees can offer just this type of horticultural pleasure.In Southwest Florida, unlike other areas of the country, our canopy treeshold the potential of offering much more than just the usual shade. Oursubtropical climate brings forth options for blooming trees with a paletteof color and a profusion of scent like few other areas of the world. Andwhile many of these trees are extremely prolific, blooming time and timeagain throughout the year, others produce less easily, often with brief,yet intense, explosions of color that stop most people in their tracks.Trees that one day appear simply as masses of green foliage—or, in some cases, skeletons of brittle branches—transforminto towering beauties covered in vibrant flowers. And whenit comes to these types of showstopping trees, gardenershere have many options from which to choose, no mat-ter the time of year.

44 MARCH/APRIL 2008

by Michael Allen

Blooming trees can add jolts of colorto Southwest Florida landscapes

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Crepe myrtles are popular trees throughout the South, withlong-lasting summertime blooms in a variety of colors.

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appearance.The jacaranda is well suited

to Southwest Florida. It toler-ates a wide variety of soils andis somewhat drought tolerant. Itneeds, however, some moderatecare, irrigation, and nutrition.

Although nowhere near aslarge, the frangipani plumeria(Plumeria acuminata) is anothertree that lies bare throughoutthe winter, then blooms in thespring before its release offoliage. Frangipani plumeria is relativelysmall in stature, reaching only twentyfeet at most. Some varieties are down-right shrub-like and might need a bit ofpruning to achieve a tree-like appear-ance. The branches are thick and succu-lent—even brittle at times—and are not

known for their structural integrity.When leafless, the tree can

seem rangy, wild, and evenborderline unattractive.

To be sure, duringwinter, some gar-deners have staredat their barren,

dormant frangipani plumeria and won-dered why on earth they planted such asilly-looking tree. But when springarrives, all doubts are put to rest. Forthe frangipani plumeria produces someof the most prized flowers on the globe.They are, in fact, most commonly usedfor the famous Hawaiian lei. Theblooms are typically either white or yel-low delicate tubular flowers, but theycan also come in a number of other col-ors, shapes, and sizes.

Many gardeners have a passion forfrangipani plumeria flowers that isrivaled only by orchids. Generations of

pring is still the most common timeto see flowering trees in bloom. Anddespite our year-round warmth and

sunshine, a springtime display of coloris always welcome, especially bloomingspecimen trees, with their stature anddominance in the landscape.

The jacaranda (Jacaranda acutifolia)might be one of the more widelynoticed, if not recognized, of theseimpressive spring bloomers. It isextremely large—up to sixty feet—which may preclude its use in manysmaller-scale homesites. But if spaceallows, the jacaranda can be a majesticspecimen and, when in bloom, impos-sible to ignore. The large upright treelies dormant and bare throughout thewinter, but then in early spring releasesa profusion of purple panicles (orflower clusters), covering the entirecanopy of the tree. Theseflowers are then followedby the release of thetree’s fine, featheryfoliage, which givesit an unusuallysoft and delicate

46 MARCH/APRIL 2008

SPRING

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gardeners have bred and hybridizedfrangipani plumerias for pleasure andprofit, giving rise to innumerable plume-ria clubs, societies, and events.

In the landscape, frangipani plumeriascan be a welcome addition. Like so manyother heavily hybridized floweringplants, not all varieties are suited forlandscaping purposes. Care should begiven to selecting a variety that is attrac-tive in both bloom and structure. Thetree is tropical and will not tolerate coldtemperatures. It prefers a rich, moist,organic soil. Some soil amending andample irrigation is recommended.

A tree that is perfectly suited toFlorida’s climate and soil is the orangegeiger (Cordia sebestena). Despite being aFlorida native, this compact, small tree isvastly underused in Southwest Florida.The orange geiger is attractive whetherin or out of bloom. It is evergreen, withrich, dark, leathery leaves that are

unusually coarseto the touch.

The tree itself issmall in size andsomewhat shrub-like.Over time, it can reach asize of nearly thirty feet but ismore commonly seen in the range oftwelve to fifteen feet. Its canopy is denseand rounded but can become wild-look-ing if not judiciously pruned. The flowersappear in late spring, forming small clus-ters of a dark orange or scarlet color.Orange geiger is nearly bulletproof,thriving in Southwest Florida’s sandysoils. It is drought tolerant, somewhatcold hardy, and extremely salt tolerant.

or large trees that can make a bigsplash, summer is definitely theseason. Several grand specimen

trees—and a few small ones—put

on a big showduring this season,

famously paintingSouthwest Florida

neighborhoods with anarray of colors.

Most well-known of thesesummer bloomers is the royal poin-

ciana (Delonix regia). This African nativelives up to its name, as its canopy devel-ops into a large, broad, somewhat flat-tened crown. The tree needs some space,more horizontally than vertically.Reaching a maximum height of only thir-ty feet, the crown of the tree grows fiftyfeet wide or more. It forms an appealingnetwork of branches atop a squat, thicktrunk and provides unparalleled shade.

The leaves are fine and feathery, soft-ening the look of an otherwise robustappearance, and in large open spaces,the royal poinciana isattractive year-round. It isin the summer, however,that it deservedly gar-ners the most attention.It is widely consideredthe most impressive of our flow-

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The royal poinciana (above) blooms during the summer and boasts a large,broad crown; the springtime flowers of the frangipani plumeria (oppositetop) are a favorite among many gardeners; purple panicles can be seen onthe area’s jacaranda trees (opposite bottom) during the spring.

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ering trees, and with good reason. Oncea year, the tree erupts in a riot of color,blanketing its crown with a profusion ofbright orange flowers. The show doesn’tlast long, but the enjoyment of seeingthe tree in bloom lingers after the flow-ers are gone.

Royal poinciana is nicely suited toSouthwest Florida’s climate and envi-ronment. It grows well in sandy soilsand is drought tolerant. Only minimalirrigation and fertilization is required.

Similar to the royal poinciana in bothname and form, but not officially relat-ed, is the yellow poinciana (Peltophorumpterocarpum). The yellow poinciana hasnearly identical leaves and structure tothe royal poinciana but has a moreupright, less flattened crown. Yellowpoinciana still provides excellent shadeand looks best when given ample room.It reaches a height of nearly fifty feetand is just as wide. Like theroyal poinciana, this treealso puts on a brief yetimpressive display,in this case of yel-low flowers thatgive off an aro-

matic perfume. The tree toler-ates a wide variety of soils andis drought tolerant. It is moder-ately cold hardy and receivesonly minimal damage duringbrief freezes.

The most famous of thesmaller summer bloomers is thecrepe myrtle (Lagerstroemiaindica). Crepe myrtles havebecome ubiquitous in theSouth, as both a commonstreetside tree and a mainstay inmost landscapes. The crepemyrtle is extremely versatile. It stayssmall in size—growing up to twenty-fivefeet at the most—and therefore fits nice-ly into a variety of locations and designs.

For flower power, crepe myrtles arehard to beat. They come in a wide vari-ety of colors—usually whites, pinks, orreds—and give off a powerful display

throughout most of the sum-mer. Because their branch

structure is attractive,even when not in

bloom, it is best toavoid over-prun-ing. Even its bark

adds to the crepe myrtle’s appeal; as thetree sheds off thin, papery layers ofbark, it reveals a slightly different colorof trunk. Overall, they are some of themost beautiful, easy-to-care-for sum-mer bloomers around.

ery few trees bloom in the fall andwinter, but there are a few excep-tions. These trees fill an impor-

tant void and can add seasonal colorwhen it is often difficult to come by.

The flamegold tree (Koelreuteria ele-gans) is an attractive, medium-sized

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world—giving thetree some of its

unique appeal.The form of the

Hong Kong orchidtree is sometimes too

inconsistent for some home-owners. It is often wild and rangy inappearance if not properly pruned andtherefore will require some care whenyoung. This extra work, however, willpay off once the tree blooms. The year-ly deluge of flowers makes it a truestandout. Large, purple flowers appearin long sprays at the branch tips. Theflowers are, as one might guess, remi-niscent in shape and color to that ofmany orchids. The tree is a delightwhen in bloom and provides an oftenmuch-needed dose of winter color. n

Michael Allen is the formereditor of Florida Growerand Ornamental Outlookmagazines and is cur-rent ly pres ident o fSoaring Eagle Nurseryin Bokeelia, Florida.

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tree that provides fall color. While itblooms in mid-summer, the quick dis-play of large panicles of yellow, fra-grant flowers soon gives way to pinkand red papery seed capsules, whichstay on the tree throughout the fall.These “Chinese lanterns” sit atop alarge, broad canopy of small, elegant,compound leaves.

The flamegold tree begins as a fair-ly small tree with an open, roundedcanopy and is commonly used instreetscapes, on patios, and in otherareas where small trees are desired.Over time, however, the tree will growto become much broader and flat-tened in appearance and will performbest when given a little more room.Some pruning will be required toensure a neat appearance, but other-wise, the tree is easy to care for. It istolerant of many soils and can survivedroughts once established.

The flamegoldtree is easily con-fused with othertrees of the samegenus, such as thegoldenraintree (K. panic-ulata) and Chinese flame tree(K. bipinnata), because of similar flowerand seed characteristics. While thegoldenraintree and Chinese flame treeare both more cold hardy, the flamegoldtree is evergreen and potentially bettersuited for Southwest Florida.

The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhiniablakeana), of Asian descent, as the namewould imply, is one of only a few optionsfor winter blooms. It is a widely crowned,often asymmetrical tree that can take adominant place in the landscape if givenadequate space. It reaches a typical heightof forty feet with a thirty-foot canopy. Ithas broad, unusual “bipartite,” or fused,leaves—only rarely found in the tree

The crepe myrtle (above) stays relatively small in size, so it can be used ina variety of landscapes; the Hong Kong orchid tree (opposite top) can addwinter color to area gardens; the yellow poinciana (opposite bottom) pro-vides good shade from the summer sun.

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