Evelyn,

What about a White Geiger Tree?

Susan

Susan, I read it doesn't like wind and branches break easily. The place I need it for is open and not at all protected.

Evelyn

I nice smaller flowering tree that I'd ask you to consider is a Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus). It's a FL native, and Orange County is about as far south as you can grow it successfully. There is a terrific specimen of one in full sun at Leu Gardens. The only draw back I see is that it is compartively slow growing, and finding one of a decent size could require some investigating.

Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) would be wonderful as a fragrant small tree, but it is slwoer growing and finding one a bit larger could be $$ or just tough to locate.

I would ask you to re-evaluate White Geiger/Texas Olive (Cordia boisieri). There are different characteristics of that species as compared to the White Geiger (Cordia superba).

Perhaps a less desirable plant that could be grown/pruned into a small tree with LOTS of flowers would be a white oleander. It has its pluses and minues as you'd know.

As for small to average-sized yellow bloomers, Golden Trumpet (Tabebuia chrysotricha) survived the 2004 hurricanes very well in metro Orlando.

Of the cassias (which are all genreally weak wooded), I'd lean toward Gold Medallion Tree (Cassia leptophylla) if you are lucky enough to acquire one (Took me 3 years!)

Jerusalem Thorn (Parkinsonia aculeata) is wispy/ratty looking but drought tolerant.

Then there's Dwarf Yellow POinciana (Caesalpinia mexicana), kinda ratty looking, and definitely deciduous in zone 9 winters.

How about a crape myrtle with white flowers. I know that they handle strong winds just fine.

Another possibility is a chickasaw plum. Like the fringe tree (which is very pretty tree) it's native to florida and grows in full sun. It also stands up to strong winds well, is covered in beautiful white flower in the spring, grows fairly quickly, and doesn't get too big. The downside is it does like to put up suckers.

longwood
where did you find your cassia leptophylla? I looked it up and it looks interesting.

evelyn
my input about crepe myrtle: I had a nice white one in Delaware. My only complaint is that for 10 months out of the year it was uninteresting and as it got taller I couldn't even see the blooms because they were 15' high and unviewable.

denise

Denise, after being a mosquito to members of the Flowering Tree Societies on the southeast coast, I learned that nurseries that typically had it before the hurricanes were now having trouble with seeds germinating and surviing dampening off!

So, I asked Dolores Fugina of Bloomin' Good Nursery (miami)if she had any contacts that had any. She came through. Got a 3 gallon one (2') in April, now at 6 feet tall.

Are there any SW FL biggie plant sales (such as at the new Naples Bot. Garden), that has Bloomin' Good or Bob Lyon's Nursery as vendors?

thanks everyone for the great suggestions. In the next few days I will read up on each tree and I am sure I will want to have the most difficult to find (knowing me).

Thanks again,

Evelyn

Evelyn,
Let us know what you plant and post some pictures. Please and thank you.
Susana