Why Flowering Trees?
Most trees, like pines, oaks, elms, hickories, ashes, and maples, produce relatively inconspicuous flowers. If you have room for another tree and want to add a splash of seasonal color, there are many options at your disposal in Central Florida. These trees also give a sense of seasonality in an environment that is relatively verdant throughout most of the year.

Where Temperate Meets Tropic
The climate of Central Florida presents an interesting problem for those seeking to liven their landscapes with flowering plants – the location is juxtaposed between temperate and tropical climates. In USDA Hardiness Zone 9b, it is just cold enough for frosts to remove most tropical flowering trees from consideration, but too warm and physiologically stressful for most of the intense flowering species used throughout the rest of the country. When people think of temperate flowering trees, it is the cherries, pears, crabapples, and other members of the rose family that tend to come to mind. In 9b, some of their relatives like flatwoods plum and Carolina laurel-cherry are still potential candidates for landscaping, but the cold-hardiest members of the tropics are often all that can be used here without heavy wind or frost protection.

Flowers Don’t Last Forever
Seasonality of flowering is highly linked to plant origin. Plants from temperate areas will usually begin flowering in the spring. Plants from more tropical origins often have more varied seasonality to their flowering dates. Many tropical and subtropical area are divided by wet and dry seasons, and Florida is no exception here. However, flower duration varies highly from species to species. For example, loblolly-bays and magnolias flower through most of the summer and even into fall, but the golden raintree typically only flowers for a couple of weeks in September.

Florida Native vs. Colorful Outsiders
Most Florida native trees that produce flowers are not particularly colorful, which can be problematic. However, loblolly-bay, magnolias, flatwoods plum, Chickasaw plum, and Carolina laurel-cherry can provide some options for native gardens and landscapes. For those open to non-natives, many more options based on tree size, color, and flowering interval are available. Invasiveness is also a heavy consideration. Many trees that are invasive but already established in Florida’s environment are frequent flowerers and have therefore been provided in this list. This is not an advocacy for their horticultural use but a call to attention for their identification.

A Tree for Every Need
Landscape architects draw heavily on principles of design, which emphasize size, texture, uniformity, contrast, and color. An aesthetically pleasing landscape does not require huge amounts of color, but when used correctly, can create stunning effects. The trees listed below can help with plant goals, horticultural endeavors, and landscaping pursuits.

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Species	Common Name(s)	Image	Max. Height	Max. Spread	Native Range	Flower Description	Flowering Dates	Notes
Bauhinia x blakeana	Hong Kong Orchid Tree		45′	30′	SE Asia	3-5″ long, fragrant, purplish to with, appears orchid-like and emerges in clusters at branch tips	Winter	Can be susceptible to cold damage; there are many species of orchid trees but the Hong Kong orchid tree is a sterile hybrid that does not drop pods and is therefore unlikely to become invasive
Ceiba speciosa	Silk-Floss Tree		50′	55′	Brazil and Argentina	Pink and White, ~4″ wide, occur in clusters at ends of branches	Late fall to early winter	Spectacular when in bloom; often has a spiny trunk
Clerodendrum quadriloculare	Starburst Clerodendrum; Bronze-leaved Clerodendrum		20′	15′	New Guinea and the Philippines	Showy; clusters are the tips of shoots; each inflorescence contains many flowers with a slender pink tube about 3″ long, each terminated by five slender white, reflexed corolla lobes about 1/2″ long	Late winter	Spreads easily via belowground root suckers
Gordonia lasianthus	Loblolly-bay		60′	20′	Coastal plain of SE United States	1-3″ wide, showy, white, occur singly in leaf axils at the ends of branches	Late spring through summer	Native
Grevillea robusta	Silk-Oak		75′	35′	Eastern coast of Australia	showy, yellow-orange, appear at one side of racemes on branches	Late spring to early summer	Not recommended near structures; not particularly long-lived
Handroanthus chrysotrichus	Golden Trumpet Tree		25′	35′	Brazil and N. Argentina	2″ long, bright yellow, trumpet-shaped, emerges at clusters at the ends of branches	Early spring	___
Jatropha integerrima	Peregrina; Fire-cracker		15′	15′	Cuba	1″ wide, bright red or pink, and emerges in clusters on terminal cymes	Year-round	Cold sensitive; all parts are poisonous; shade tolerant
Koelreuteria elegans	Golden Raintree		40′	40′	E Asia	Yellow, occur on 12-15″ panicles	Late August – September	Invasive; showy, pinkish, seedpods remain on tree from October through November
Lagerstroemia indica	Crapemyrtle		30′	25′	Asia through N. Australia	Small crinkled appearance; occur on 8-10″ panicles; colors range from white, red, pink, and purple	Late spring through summer	Size and color highly dependent on cultivar
Magnolia grandiflora	Southern Magnolia		80′	40′	SE United States	6-8″ wide, creamy white, fragrant, and saucer-shaped	Primarily spring and summer	Native; many cultivars available
Magnolia virginiana	Sweetbay Magnolia		90′	30′	Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plains (E. Texas to New York)	5-7.5″ wide; white flowers are borne singly at the end of branches	April to July	Native
Melaleuca quinquenervia	Melaleuca		100′	30′	Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands	1-3″ long, white has musty fragrance, and emerges in clusters on spikes that resemble a bottle brush	Primarily spring and summer	Invasive
Melaleuca viminalis	Bottlebrush Tree		20′	20′	Eastern coast of Australia	Small, with numerous bright red cylindrical stamens, and emerges in clusters 3-5″ long spike that resemble a bottlebrush	Spring to early winter	Hardy to urban environments but not particularly long-lived
Melia azedarach	Chinaberry		40′	25′	Eastern coast of Australia	White to purplish/lavender in color, fragrant	Spring	Invasive; fruit are poisonous; high-quality timber
Myrcianthes fragrans	Simpson’s Stopper		30′	20′	Florida and much of the Caribbean Basin	Small, white, fragrant, and emerges in clusters on long-stalked cymes	Spring into summer	Native; relatively slow-growing, clumping/spreading
Nerium oleander	Oleander		18′	15′	SE Asia to the Mediterranean	1-2″; white, yellow, pink, red, or purple (but mostly seen in the landscape as pink); emerges in clusters on terminal cyme	Mainly spring and fall but flowers year-round	All parts of plant are poisonous
Peltophorum dubium	Yellow Poinciana		50′	50′	N Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay	Showy, fragrant, yellow flowers on 1-1.5′ panicles	Mid-summer	Similar in appearance to Peltophorum pterocarpum
Plumeria sp.	Frangipani; Plumeria		25′	25′	Central America, N. South America, and the Caribbean Basin	Showy; fragrant; pinwheel-shaped; waxy; appear in clusters along terminal cymes; occurs in pink, red, yellow, orange, and white	Mainly early summer to early fall	Susceptible to cold damage
Prunus angustifolia	Chickasaw Plum		20′	20′	Southeastern US	1/3″ wide, white, fragrant, and emerges singularly or in dense clusters	Late winter to early spring	Native; multi-stemmed and often forms thickets
Prunus caroliniana	Carolina Laurel Cherry		40′	25′	Southeastern US	Small, white, fragrant, and emerges on 2-3″ long racemes	Winter	Native; often forms thickets
Prunus umbellata	Flatwoods Plum		20′	20′	Southeastern US	1/3″ wide, white, fragrant, and emerges singularly or in dense clusters	Late winter to early spring	Native; multi-stemmed and often forms thickets; forms less root suckers than Prunus angustifolia
Tabebuia aurea	Silver Trumpet Tree		25′	15′	South America	2.5″ wide, bright yellow, trumpet-shaped, emerges at clusters at the ends of branches	Spring	___
Tabebuia heterophylla	Pink Trumpet Tree		30′	25′	Caribbean basin	3″ long, showy, pink to white, appear on clusters at end of branches	Spring to early summer	___
Tibouchina urvilleana	Princess Flower		15′	15′	Brazil	5″ wide, purple, and emerges on terminal panicles	Primarily May-January	Invasive; can spread via belowground root suckers
Tipuana tipu	Tipu; Rosewood; Pride of Bolivia		90′	60′	Bolivia, Brazil	Yellow; form loosely apart and spread along terminal and axillary racemes that are 4.5-6″ long	Late summer	___

Resources and Other Links:

• Ten Common Flowering Trees of the Tampa Bay Area
• My webpage

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