One of my neighbors has a Texas olive. Its white blooms look spectacular against the brownish/brick colored stucco. I don't know where he bought it and he is overseas right now, so I can't ask. His is the only house in the entire neighborhood with this tree. It definitely looks MUCH better than the bottle brushes.

Some small nurseries will order trees for you. They have access to wholesalers.

Thanks Florah! Never thought of getting a nursery to order for me. The pics I have seen of the Texas Olive are lovely. Seems to have nice shape, flowers, leaf structure - very pretty. Our house is light in coloration but the tree would sit away from the actual house so the backdrop of pale color would not be an issue. Does this tree stay nice year round?

Funny thing with the bottlebrush trees, I had one at our old farm that was beautiful. It fairly dripped with color and the form was so graceful! I have seen others - and I hate to say it but MOST others - that seem so scrappy! I will likely have to put one somewhere in our yard as I do want to attract my little hummingbird - I hear they even like to nest in the bottlebrush - but to use it as a focal, I would want it to be pretty as well. If I could find one like the one I had in Tampa, I would be in business.

The Texas Olive looks stunning online, though, and perhaps a try at a new tree would be fun!

I live in zone 9b and I have the same question... Plus I want something that grows quick and wind resistant... Yep, Asking too much...

I did have a weeping bottle brush tree in my previous house. Initially very slow to grow but it is now beautiful (but I am not there to enjoy it :) )

I am thinking on a tipuana tipu (but have not found it yet), another option would be the moringa tree (white flowers, nice looking, quick growing, not very dense, plus edible), I also considered the persimon tree (nice fall colors and cold resistant)

I am interested in looking what others have to suggest here..

I am a little further south you guys, but the trees I have in my garden are:
tipuana tip,
jacaranda
African waddle
several pulmerias, different colors
royal poincianna
lance pod
gieger, yellow, orange
ylang ylang
ucarina (sp)
sweet accacia
queen crape myrtle
simpson stopper
fiddle wood
shaving brush, white, pink
assorted palms,bottle, spindle,foxtail,adondia, only self cleaners
pink tababuia
Jerusalome thorn
sweet bay magnolia
Japanese fern tree
bald cypress
bottle brush

That's what I can remember sitting here. I am trying for my own rain forrest on my city lot. lol Granted some are still quite small. Some of these might not do well in zone 9.

seegaye
you seem to have a lot of nurseries around you (on maps.google.com anyway). some of them must be selling trees.
Along with getting your focal point tree why not plant more different ones along your lot line. more, more, more :-)

fagopher
native oaks grows quickly and are wind resistant. FWIW.
very animal and Florida friendly. Live oak is my personal favorite.

Denise

A good start is to look for hurricane recommended trees .
Winged Elms are one of those on the list .
Another is Crape Myrtles .
Every day I walk out and tell my Crape Myrtles how very happy I am to see them . I have one that is the focal point in a bed that wraps around the corner of my house . It is striking now as it blooms and arches providing shade and beauty . In the winter , it drops it's leaves for the sun to warm the house . Cardinals and other birds love to nibble on the seed pods . Crapes come in many sizes from dwarfs all the way to 40 feet tall . They come in a wide variety of colors and require little care . They also need no more pruning than any other tree does .
I have seen Moringas and Bottlebrush trees freeze and die in colder sections of zone 9 .
The link below lists articles that will load as PDFs that you might find helpful such as pruning or trees that did well during hurricanes .

Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Forest Series

Thank you for all the prompt answers! I really do appreciate it! I have been blessed with the most beautiful home and land and am so wanting to make the right choices to make it 'mine'.

Denise - you are right about the abundant nurseries but most are wholesale only and the few that I visited that were not did not carry much variety. My property has ample oaks so I am not seeking more of those. The nurseries are generally full of Oak varieties, some Crepe Myrtles, and some hollies. Nothing against any of those but other than the one Crepe Myrtle guy in our area, I havent been bowled over by any varieties I have seen (yet).

I am - so far - narrowing down to the Texas Olive, the Mimosa, Bottlebrush, and Crepe Myrtles. I have not researched the trees that Fagopher mentioned - might be options.

I dont think finding a Texas Olive is going to be easy although I suppose I could order one online. Have never seen one in person though, and I am highly visual. Since this is to be a 'focal tree' I would rather choose an 'individual'. I may get a Texas Olive for another area, however, as they seem particulary nice.

Mimosas - probably the same issue. Gotta find one. Then there is that issue of them dropping young ones all over for my husband to clean up! I have heard that is an issue.

I just today stopped by a vendor on the roadside just down the road from me and she says she has Weeping Bottlebrush Trees - big ones - at her nursery. I may go take a look tommorrow. Those tempt me primarily because of my hummingbird. He / she used to visit our lemon tree but it died with the freeze. Our old place had a stunning Bottlebrush so I know they can be pretty but I sure havent seen many others that had much of a look.

Crepe myrtles abound around here and there is a fellow around the corner that has some beauties including red rockets and cotton burgandies that I found particularly beautiful. I will definitely add some Crepes to my yard - likely line my fenceline with them so that they blend in when dormant and display themselves when in bloom. My only concern with using one as a focal tree is that dormant time. How long does it last and is it worth the wait for the impact of other seasons? Gatormom - you mention the birds like them. Do you think they would be attractive to hummingbirds too? How do they look when dormant? Are they tolerable when 'naked?' Remember - this is a tree that will be in a prominant place!

Fagopher - I know where you can find a tipuana tipu - at Katkins house! :)

Thanks again for all the input and advice.

You mentioned preferring a tree that the hummer also prefers. I had never heard of a Texas Olive so I immediately googled it (wonder how many other GW did the same?). Info in tHe first site that came up (link below) indicates that your hummer should love it:

"This is a great hummingbird plant. The yellow-throated, tubular/funnel-like white flowers attract hummingbirds, who ardently claim an individual tree as their own."

This doesn't ID the type of hummer but I'd guess ruby throat since it mentions the hummer "claiming" a tree and we know how territorial ruby throats can be.

I haven't see a Texas Olive in person, but I have seen some beautiful weeping bottlebrushes here where I live and I'd definitely give them a thumbs-up.

June

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Olive tree

An important issue to consider when choosing a tree for hummingbirds is the blooming season. Make sure that it's blooming when you typically see hummingbirds.

Anywhere in Florida may see hummingbirds during either migration (Spring: March to May, Fall: August to October), but south of Tampa is more likely to see them in the winter and north of here is more likely in the summer. That said, there are areas up your way that seem to regularly attract them in the winter but not in the summer. I'm familiar with a few areas around Brooksville where this has been the case.

I've got a large Coral Bean tree that produces great hummingbird attracting blooms just about the time the hummingbirds leave my yard so by the time it blooms, there are no hummers left to use it. Many of the recommended plants for hummingbirds (black and blue salvia is one) are great for most hummingbird gardens to the north but do me no good because they stop blooming about the time the hummingbirds arrive for the winter.

So, make sure you consider blooming season. I've got a great upright 12 foot bottlebrush in my yard that seems to bloom with perfect timin for the hummingbirds in my yard.

I've recently started up a floridahummingbirds.net website (see the address in my signature) along with a forum (see my signature and the link below). There's not a lot of activity yet but I expect it to pick up as we get closer to the winter season. Summer has not typically been the season where I've receieved requests for information regarding hummingbirds. I'm hoping that eventually my site will get enough envolvement to where it will be a place to get answers to questions like yours from experieinced people familiar with the area being asked about.

Steve Backes
Valrico
http://www.floridahummingbirds.net/
http://floridahummingbirds.proboards.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Florida Hummingbirds Forum

Well, I found a Texas Olive. Also known as a White Geiger. I found an online source but the 'tree' was very tiny. I drove two hours to a special nursery with the assurance that they had 'first quality' only to find a couple of tall sticks in pots that were not in appearance of being trees of any sort. Then I saw one at - of all places - a Home Depot. It was a bit scraggly so they gave me a deal on it. I drove it home and put it in the ground about 10 feet out from the corner of my house as an intended speciman tree. I have to admit that right now I am 'under whelmed' at its appearance. I am happy I have one as I did want one after reading of its attributes but am wondering - how fast does this tree grow? Will it become pretty someday? Mine is about 5 feet tall and rather assymetrical. I understand they are propogated by air layering so perhaps I should - when it recovers to health - take that odd off shooting branch and try to make it into another tree.

Seriously, I do have some questions for other, more experienced gardners. It has not been in the ground for a week yet, so I am not too concerned, but this tree does look pretty unhappy. I water it well every day and have it in well drained and well ammended soil. I put some root start on it a couple of times. I planted it in a wide hole but not deeper than it was in the pot. This morning when I checked on it, leaves actually fell off when I lightly touched it. Is this normal? How long should I give it before I start to be concerned? Also, if it stays scrappy looking, I would want to replace it with a prettier tree since it is in a focal location. If I do decide to move it, I would wait till it looked healthy. I have many wonderful places to put trees and plants so it would not be 'tossed'. If there is hope for this tree to become as lovely as I have seen online, it can stay put.

Comments?

Congrats on finding your tree!

Nothing is going to look great right after you put it in, especially in the summer. I'm sure the tree is completely stressed and will take some time to recover. It's putting all it's energy into forming new roots right now and that's what you want it to do. Don't prune and I wouldn't fertilize either. Just give it a chance to get used to it's new home. Keep watering it and step around it once in a while to be sure the soil is compacted around the roots. Air gaps can be killers.
You might not see much growth until after the first of the year. By then it will be in it's new growth cycle and should start performing better for you.
I planted a tipuana tipu in 2005 and despaired that it would always look unbalanced and goofy until 2008 when it became the most beautiful tree on the block.
You have a great tree and I'm sure once it's established you'll be happy with it.
Kate

Thanks for the encouragement - and I am sure that "Tex" (my new tree) would appreciate it too! I had looked and looked for a Texas Olive after hearing that the hummingbirds like them, they flower, are evergreen, etc and so forth. So finding it was wonderful but it just looks so pathetic right now that I was doubtful of my choice - or at least of my choice to put it 'front and center' in my garden plan. It looks so stressed right now that I would not dare move it even if I decided I didnt like it there. I am being a bit impatient, I suppose. I will follow your advice and do as you have written. Is Root Stim something I should avoid also? I mixed a gallon of it per instructions and put it on a couple of times after regular watering. If I should avoid that, I will.

I have seen so many beautiful trees that appeal to me as I have been on my 'search'. I love the loquat tree for its interesting form. I think that the Pineapple Guava plant is lovely and have been told it makes a lovely tree as well. I found a stunning Weeping Bottle Brush but it was rather pricey so I passed - I still think of it though! I ordered and now have a Chocolate Mimosa. It is in a pot and will stay there till it is much larger and / or till I find a perfect spot for it. I also recently found Tricolor Mahoes (aka Sea Hibiscus) at the local Home Depot and am smitten by them. All the above are listed as hummingbird, bird, and butterfly attractors so that adds to my desire for them!

I have a wonderful place and dont want it to look crazy with tasteless landscaping! Somebody needs to rein me in!

Anyhow, I appreciate the advice and will give this tree a chance to prove itself. It would be very rewarding if it perked up and became a really nice tree!