Chrorisia speciosa (Ceiba speciosa) or the like. Should grow from foot long semi-hardwood cuttings potted up and kept shaded until you observe new growth.

Here is a link that might be useful: Floss Silk tree

We've never seen a flower or seed pod on this tree. Any idea why that would be? It's got to be at least 10 or more years old, based on the rate of growth for Silk Floss Tree youngsters.

Does it have pink flowers? It looks like it could be a Silk floss tree, Ceiba speciosa (formerly Chorisia speciosa).

Edit...sorry, didn't see the reply. That's what happens when you don't stay at the computer in the middle of something LOL.

This post was edited by deejaus on Sun, Apr 28, 13 at 16:41

As stated above, we've never seen a flower or seed pod, or anything other than leaves on this tree.

It does look mal-nourished, perhaps some palm/citrus fertilizer would
help? Might not bloom if in too much shade.

I notice the link said avoid competition with grass. Perhaps you could clear around the tree and put mulch there.

I really should pull that grass away... been planning to do that anyways.

The Loquat trees on either side are on the north and south sides of the tree... so this little guy gets sun from sunrise until almost complete sunset.

I'll try the grass removal and fertilizer... and DEFINITELY propagating it!

Thanks!

The lack of bloom does not disprove the identification given - the bark, leaves and branching habit are characteristic.

This post was edited by bboy on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 1:20

We've never seen a flower or seed pod on this tree. Any idea why that would be?

==>>> because of that GIANT GAPING WOUND ON THE TRUNK ... ????

crikey woman.. how did you leave out a picture of that wound ...

that is not frost damage.. what happened to this thing???

what are you waiting for.. the water sprouts to get big enough.. that it crushes the fence when it fails.. and it will ... there just can not be a good interface with that damage there ...

try your propagation.. but i would have that thing removed by fall .... and hope not to regret waiting that long ... physics is running against you ...

and for the rest of you.. we kid around ... dont go getting your knickers in a bind

ken

ps: looks pretty good for a tree growing in... wait for it.. lol ....

Canal sludge. LOL!

Ken, this post, and the photo shoot following, is for you :)

Ok, here's the rest of the story:

The tree didn't have a gaping wound for the first couple years we lived here and ~still~ never bloomed. The left side of the tree is north, and even with the Loquat protecting it, it lost every single branch and limb and was just a 4-foot and -foot stump that we were going to remove but hadn't gotten around to it. By the time we were ready to take it down, it had little tiny branches growing on the right side only. We left it there to "see what would happen." Then I decided not to remove it yet, even though physics IS physics, so that I could get lots of material for propagation. Last year it didn't look like this... it was much smaller. Already this year, the thing is taking off with new growth... so I realized I'd better make a plan... so here I am.

Here, you can see that this tree was actually "v" shaped, with the larger (rust stained) trunk on the left, and a smaller nub of a trunk on the right. It all died down to these points in that bad winter in 2010. (4' trunk and 1' trunk)

{{gwi:188756}}

Moving around the tree to the right, you can see that the smaller stump is just rotting away naturally, and you'll also notice other gashes and such. But don't panic just yet....

{{gwi:188757}}

As we continue to move around the trunk, I want you to notice that these green limbs are growing out of previous gashes... and that in the breaks in rust stain, that new green growth goes all the way down to the ground.

{{gwi:188758}}

Another view of how the new growth is anchored to the ground and breaking the old growth away... with help from nature.

{{gwi:188760}}

A close-up so you can see that the green is indeed all the way to the ground. I'm stressing that because I'm considering cutting this back and trying to prune it into a more balanced shape... while still propagating the cuttings.

{{gwi:188761}}

And Ken, I just had to show you my infamous "canal." (We fenced INSIDE our property line so that the HOA can come mow the embankment) In this picture, you can see the Silk Floss Tree branch hanging over the 4-foot fence... and the very edge of the embankment.

{{gwi:188762}}

Here I'm standing on the edge of the embankment... looking to the right. You'll notice you can't see water... just "water plants."

{{gwi:188763}}

Here I'm standing on the embankment looking to the right. I know it doesn't look like there's water under all that vegetation, but when they come mow and drag the canal, it's about 6-8 feet of water.

{{gwi:188764}}

Here, if you look very closely, the greenest... lowest thing hanging over the fence waaaaayyy down there is the Silk Floss in relation to the embankment.

{{gwi:188765}}

Thus ends the guided tour of my canal. You. Are. Welcome.

i will have to come enjoy the tour later..

but your tree is going to collapse.. sooner or later ...

at least its not hanging over the house.. but fence repair would .. i am sure.. still irritate you ...

ken

Nah... that's my husband's problem.

Why waste time on a lost cause? Rip it out and put something in that you can enjoy.

Life's short...

Elaine

First of all, because I love "wasting time" in my yard.
Second, because trying to save it is "free."
Third, because Americans are raised from birth to root for the underdog and support the lost causes.
Fourth, "ripping it out" is harder than in sounds.
Fifth, I don't wanna.'

LOL!

;)

This post was edited by shear_stupidity on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 15:43

Yeah, ripping it out can be a chore that never ends!
Mine resprouted from root fragments for several years
after the root crown was dug out.

Well, sounds like Ken and I are of like mind and you don't mind spending your husbands money and time when the fence gets busted down.

I've been gardening long enough to know when to cut bait, and that tree, IMHO, is bait.

Elaine

Elaine, thank you ever so much for your ~humble~ opinion about my tree, but I feel I've been gardening long enough to know when NOT to cut down a 20-plus-foot-tall tree and feel they're so quickly and easily replaced.
Also, LOVE how you assume that my husband is the one with the "money." How perfectly old-fashioned of you! (*please note the $500K house in the background... it's next to the $25K pool*) We can afford to replace an $18 piece of fence panel, and hubby has the extra 20 minutes on the weekend to replace the panel, should it ever come to that, though I appreciate your concern.

that tree has me very intrigued. I have never seen anything like that. It looks like another tree is growing from inside the original and is just busting out like the Incredible Hulk! A shame the damage is so severe. But it seems determined to survive, which makes me understand your will to help it. However your fence could suffer as you obviously know. Maybe you could peel off the old damaged area and try to brace it more upright and see if it might straighten up some.
I have never seen one of those before, I have had many pools and seriously disliked trees that spread cotton and trash that clogs up the pool filters. Hopefully this one behaves.

Yes, this tree is quite a wonder. It seems to be rejuvenating from underground and busting out ~through~ the old dead trunk. Perhaps I should have put my hand on the trunk for reference, because the new growth is quite substantial. I can't move, bend, or shake the tree by even grabbing the green "shoots" (limbs). I occasionally try pulling off dead growth, but the carpenter ants are helping mother nature along with removing the dead parts (like maggots on a flesh wound) so I am just fascinated letting it happen.

See, I'm ok with the tree falling down and continuing to grow naturally. Yes, physics is physics, but you CAN brace a tree, or allow it to fall and continue to grow... and in this case, it will likely fall to the side and NOT on the fence, if it falls at all. Nature, as always, strives for balance. This tree IS actually trying to remain upright and branch to the left. I'm inclined to continue the experiment, while hedging my bets with cuttings.

Thank you for your support, Raven. Oh! And it's so far from my pool (and has yet to flower, seed, or anything) that I'm not too concerned about that part... yet. I know what you mean, though. I have an UN-screened pool that's WAY close to two Live Oaks!

The name of this tree is Ceiba speciosa, formerly Chorisia speciosa. It´s native of the northern areas of my country (Argentina), Paraguay and southern areas of Brazil. It looses the foliage in winter and blooms in late summer and autumn. The flowers are beautifull, pink, 10 cms wide. This tree tolerates drought but doesn't resist continuous frost.

Rgds

I agree with the ID... Never doubted it. I wanted to know why a tree that was about 5 years old or older 7 years ago hasn't bloomed, nor produced seeds. The loss of foliage in winter wasn't as shocking as the fourth spring when the whole top of the tree fell off... I mean off. For a year or two, it had NO green growth, just stumps... Now this.
Strange... And lovely.

I was looking at some of the images of this tree on Google image search and came across this one, link below, and now yours doesn't seem so strange lol!
It really is a spectacular tree in full bloom.

Here is a link that might be useful: tree

This tree likes temperatures between 1° / 5° and 40° / 45°C. Which are the minimum and maximum temperatures in your are?

Rgds

Amazing to me is how many folks who've never seen or grown this plant
feel qualified to give advice. It tolerates short freezes just fine by the
way. A once a decade (or less) extreme low isn't any reason to not grow
a plant providing you're willing to deal with the consequences as the OP
has stated.

Yeah, that one winter in 2010 (I think... and I really should look that up) was so bad, people around here lost well-established mature trees and shrubs. I had about 20 or more Crotons that were almost 5 feet tall, with "trunks" as big around as my arms, and they're completely gone except for three. This tree took that bad hit. Our Magnolia never recovered either, and was as tall as my two-story house... had to be removed finally (last year to build the pool). This tree seems determined to continue growing, and I'm inclined to let it. It's not taking up much room, not stopping me from planning and planting the rest of the yard, and I really do love it.
(I tend to love every single plant I own... they're ALL my 'favorite.')
Once the rain stops in a few days, I'll start on propagation of cuttings, just in case. Though I do feel that if the tree fell over, it would just continue growing.

This post was edited by shear_stupidity on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 17:19

Well, at first I was a bit bothered with your tone to my posting of advice about your plant. But I can see from your other posts that you are the typical poster that ask for advice from people, gets reasonable answers from knowledgeable posters, then picks the answers apart or disagrees with people who obviously know what they are talking about.

You should listen to your granddaughter, she's smart enough to tell you to watch what you say.

I know what you mean, Elaine. At first I was bothered by the tone of ~your~ post, but then I realized you're the typical "my-opinion-is-more-relevant-than-your-opinion" response poster who doesn't like their two cents to be disagreed with.

I didn't ask for advice, I asked for a tree ID. Try to keep up.

FYI, my granddaughter said to "Be careful how you say words to people."

Trust me, that was as careful and restrained as I could manage.

You're welcome.

This post was edited by shear_stupidity on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 15:25

If raised from seed could simply be a matter of it not having reached sexual maturity. Some kinds of trees may take 20 years or more to get old enough to bloom, a common pattern is to remain vegetative for years - while height is being built - and then progress into a flowering phase, during which the crown may become more spreading and twiggy.

I would LOVE to see this tree in flower! I'll have to look around and see what the age of maturity is for this thing. I haven't seen another one in Florida, though I am SURE people must have them.

(We bought our house from a Taiwanese family living in Japan... this was their vacation home, and they planted many things from seeds and cuttings that couldn't thrive here, but didn't die either.)