Bottle Brush, Golden Rain tree, Hong Cong Orchid, Shady Lady, Magnolia, Dahoon Holly?????

Why not try a fruit tree ? My sister lives in Pembroke Pines and has a magnificent Carombola tree . It is in her front yard in the blazing sun and thrives . I now produces tons of fruit each year .

Cathy, how big of a tree did you have in mind? Shade tree or flowering tree? Fruit tree? Deciduous or not? How dense? Palm? Give us parameters.

In our yard we have mostly native trees- lots of live oak, cedar, cabbage palms, but also have a silk floss tree (deciduous), poinciana (semi deciduous), potato tree (semi deciduous), variegated coral tree (deciduous), michaelia alba (evergreen and a heavenly fragrance with not very remarkable blooms), geiger tree (deciduous-sort of), pink tabebuia, tipuana tipu, citrus, lychee. There are an endless array of palms that might fill the bill also. Let us know what you're looking for!

Anna

Yes, if you could give us some parameters, that would be helpful. Are you looking to create shade? Feature a showy specimen? Incorporate natives? You get the idea.

But just off the cuff, here are some sun lovers that I've had experience with:

Jacaranda
Hibiscus
Laurel Oak
Vitex
Acacia
Oleander

Cathy,
There are many great choices and as others have said, you need to decide what characteristics you want. If it helps: I went through the same process a couple years ago and decided on the Jacaranda. You need to check that one out to see if you like it.
I haven't planted mine yet because I'm still waiting to get a large palm tree removed first. But as soon as that thing is gone, the Jacaranda goes in.

Be careful in your search though! I fell in love with a couple other trees too and had to find places for them. (Tipuana Tipu and Silk Floss Tree)

Kate

it is deciduous,but it can get big(not as wide as an oak)but it is gorgeous.

I went to a tree nursery this weekend and saw one about 8' tall just coming out with its new leaves and I am about to get it, though I have no place to put it(I'll find a place).

They do well in city setting, apparently,tight spaces,etc. which is good to know. Just google and you'll get some nice pictures.btw, they don't get those roots that stick out of the ground unless they are in standing water....

teeka

Thank you for all the great ideas! I have a lot to google :) I guess I'd like something that is flowering, or has nice foliage and is a shade tree. It can be large, we don't have a limit in height. My husband would like to remove the palm tree, which would leave more width for us. It's really over in the corner and doesn't affect where we put the new tree anyways. The areas we'd be planting the tree is maybe 30' by 30' square(that's a rough guess).

Thank you!

Cathy :)

If you want instant gratification and purple flowers all year and super fast growing, get a Potato tree. The only downside is that it will shake off a few leaves after a cold front and the back of the leave have thorns. Someone also once said that they would get damaged in a hurricane. Since the tree will be 10-15' in a year or two that isn't a big deal, you could always plant another. I have two of these trees now. They make me smile :->

Hi Joan, your potato tree is as beautiful as ever. I finally got a small one started and I can't wait for it to get as big as yours. ;o)

JoanM, your Potato tree is by far the most beautiful one I have ever seen! I love it!

Cathy, what about a Japanese Fern Tree? They are tough, very good-looking and give nice shade. They seem to take on an umbrella shape naturally.

Jakfruits and Longans are also very pretty, and give fruit!

Lisa

FWIW: my bald cypress is not in standing water and it has lots of knees.

Hi Cathy,
Please do yourself a favor and NOT go with a Golden Rain Tree. If you do a search through GW, you'll see what I mean. A pretty tree with too many issues (negative) that you should be aware of.
I will follow this post as I too am looking for a tree, or possibly palms to fill in some front yard area.
It bears repeating, please do yourself a favor and don't plant a Golden Rain Tree. We rid our yard of 2 of them and it's the best landscaping erradication we ever did.
Good luck,
Sue.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

Joanm, your potato tree is beautiful! Now it is a tree I'm seriously considering :)

I think I've narrowed it down(a bit!) to these trees:

Lemon Bottle Brush
Potato Tree
Silk Floss Tree
Poinciana
Jacaranda(especially for ease of growing)
Pink Tabebuia

I loved the vitex, possibly for my backyard!

The amount of help this board offers is amazing. Everyone is so nice here, and I'm glad I've joined! I've only been gardening about a year, so the help is really appreciated!!

Cathy :)

Cathy - I could give you good and bad about all the trees you've selected, but I'll narrow it down to these simple points:

1. There are very few flowering trees in South Florida that are not deciduous. They'll drop leaves with the cold or drought, take your pick.
2. Most flowering trees only bloom once a year for a short period. Some will bloom twice, but only under odd weather conditions.
3. Whatever you plant, buy the largest specimen you can afford. (Sing "Instant Kharma" here.)

With those thoughts in mind, here are my suggestions:

Bulnesia arborea - Verawood - yellow flowers, several times a year, can grow to 50' but it will take 20 or 30 years to get that tall.

Cassia javanica - Apple Blossom Cassia - pink flowers, blooms all summer, rarely grows to more than 30'.

Lonchocarpus violaceus - Lancepod - purple to lavender flowers in the fall, medium tree to 25' with drooping branches.

Peltophorum pterocarpum - Copper Pod - and P. dubium - Yellow Poinciana - Copper Pod is a much better choice for shade, however, the Yellow Poinciana is more cold tolerant. Both will grow to 40' over time.

Spathodea campanulata - African Tulip Tree - You can't beat the huge orange flowers that come out most of the year. This tree will grow to over 50' if you let it, but it's easy to keep it smaller with pruning.

Tipuana tipu - Pride of Bolivia - One of my favorite trees. I've planted well over a hundred of them on various jobs. Disney uses them throughout Epcot in their parking lots for shade. Small yellow flowers in the spring and summer. I've seen them grow to 40' and their best feature is that they hold up great in a hurricane.

If you're coming to our swap, I have most of these in the garden.

I was going to mention the Verawood but Ricky beat me to it. From your list, I have a bottle brush and it looks nice all year, very hardy. I also have a Pink Tab but I am battling bugs with this one. I think they are Thrips. I wouldn't plant another one of these because I am too lazy to do battle. The pink flowers are beautiful but they don't last long enough for me.