Does it have to be a tree? Can it be a large shrub? I'd recommend Jatropha, which blooms all year long, but the tree-form is hard to find and you'd have to train the shrub one into a tree. Here's a site with some suggestions.

Small flowering trees

Tibouchina granulosa is one I'd love to have for myself - the flowers are so big & vibrant & the tree seems to have a very graceful form.

Hi

there are so many . Did you have a particular form or color in mind ?? Many have bad habits such as excessive seeding or large seed pods . One of my favorites dwarf poinciana comes in red /red yellow, pink. think there might also be a white form?? Not only evergreen but ever flowering if temps stay above 40 Also evergreen plumeria comes in many forms and colors as well as various aromas not to be confused with regular plumeria which are deciduous for months, depending on the temps the dormant period is under 2 months for these types . Comes in sizes ranging from under 3 feet to around 30 feet You'll have to hunt for these types ,much harder to find . but there are specialized nurseries so you can get exactly what you want. You can even get leaves in a couple of colors with a choice of around 25 aromas Even grafted if you can't make up your mind lol

Then there is the Bauhinia family gazillion choices among those also be careful with choices as some do have bad habits .

If looking for something a bit more exotic but also more delicate naturally there's always Burmese orchid trees Amherstia nobilis or Colvilles glory Colvillea racemosa or the so called Handkerchief trees while not noted for flowers the leaves change colors as they mature They range from brilliant red to various pinks with the white being really spectacular.

There are many many others to chose from . Do some research on types that interest you?? gary

Thanks guys, - you too Carol ( smile ). I am still perusing many small specimen trees based on your comments. Just curious, have any of you ever heard of an Orange Geiger tree ? This is the latest one I discovered online just yesterday. It's supposedly very comfortable in zone 10b and the Keys, but will also work well in 10a,..of which I am on the northern tip of.

I am open to all colors except white. That's because just 45 feet away, across the front lawn, is my main specimen, a 20 + ft tall, very healthy, Southern Magnolia with it's huge, scented white blossoms just now coming out. So yellow, orange, red, pink, blue,..multi colored would work on this smaller tree. Just as long as these colors are bright ( no dark purple ) and plentiful on the tree when they are in bloom. Year round flowers are not necessary,..just as long as they bloom for 2 - 3 months minimum at the same time yearly. Scented flowers would be nice, but not mandatory at all.

Looking for a smallish tree, but guess it could also be a large shrub. Most options are open.

Will be continuing my investigation today,..don't need a final decision until early July, so have plenty of time.

Thanks again.

Consider a lorapetalum. They're probably more frequently used as shrubs but they make a lovely small evergreen tree with burgundy leaves and rose flowers. As a tree it reminds me of a crabapple because the trunks can be gnarly and resemble a specimen in an Oriental garden. The zhu-zhu (or zhu-zhou) one is the one recommended to be used as a tree.

Orange geiger is a beautiful tree and has edible fruits.

I'm not sure that Orange Geiger will grow where he's located.

Here's a couple of suggestions:

Albizia julibrissin - Mimosa tree:

Bauhinia galpinii - Red Hong Kong Orchid. I have this growing on the north side of the garden under a huge Ice Cream Bean Tree (Inga edulis) and it's more of a bush, but it can be trained into a tree:

I'm gonna nix the mimosa. It's extremely messy, invasive and not evergreen.

Wow, sure appreciate all the knowledgeable inputs. I believe, due to a thorough 5 day search, ( for this old timer that's 2 hrs/dy max - lol ), I think I've found the tree/shrub I would be happy with. Have given up the on the Red Geiger, and instead like the sound/sight of the Dwarf Red Poinciana the more I hear about it. Gots to thank you all, especially Gary who initially mentioned it. It has all the ingredients I am looking for, - stunningly attractive flowers; at home in full sun in 9b/10a; smallish ( 8 ' - 12' max height is perfect ), fast growing and the clincher ; easy to care for.

The following are a couple of blurbs and a pic of the flower that pushed me over the edge. I have two local nursery's working on getting them shipped in.

I think this will be a gorgeous front-lawn specimen,..too bad the snowbirds in my large mobile home park will miss out on most of the flowers as it has them mostly March to October, according to the blurbs I've read ! lol Thanks again to all.

The blurbs :

These trees should be much more common than they are, yet for some reason they are not often seen in urban landscapes. Perhaps the reason is that young seedlings are rather gangly, and don't "canopy" for several years. Perhaps the thorns deter buyers, but they are hardly as risky as some cactus species.

A dwarf poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) is an evergreen shrub and a member of the Leguminosae or Fabaceae (Legume or Bean) family of plants. From March to October, the fast-growing plant produces brightly colored flowers. Poinciana's other common names include red bird of paradise, peacock flower, flower fence and the pride of Barbados. The plant is native to Mexico and its flower is Barbados' official flower. Poinciana grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 9 through 11 and is simple to propagate.

beautiful tree!!!

If you're in an area where you get alot of cold nights...Caesalpinia pulcherrima (I think the common name is Pride of Barbados?) gets kind of scraggy looking. I had mature specimans in zone 9a/b and it mostly looked mostly leafless and grey for half the year. I don't really think of it as a "front of the house" tree. The good thing is they grow well from seed and you can get different ones in pink or yellow. There's another, even showier cousin (common name Mexican Bird of Paradise? ). It's like plumeria, when they are growing and blooming, they are spectacular. But when they're not, you have a bare tree for 6 months.

Helen

Hi SweetM and Helen, thanks for your inputs. Regarding Helen's concern about possible low night time temps here in Englewood, I googled up a few sites that shed light on that subject.

Excerpt from : https://temperature.weatherdb.com/l/8126/Englewood-Florida

"The average temperature for Englewood is 74.15°F, 36% higher than the nationwide average (54.50°F), and 0.55°F higher than the Florida average of 73.60°F.

In the summer, temperatures rise to 81.5°F on average, 14% higher than the U.S. average. The winter average of 68.0°F is 66% higher than the U.S. average.

Temperature averages are generated from data collected over the last 32 years. "

Of course there are a few record lows that crop up,..er, down into the mid 30's or even, once every three decades, into the high 20's. ( smile ) I moved here from the Upper Keys in 2004, right after Charlie blew through this area and immediately started planting/growing my young mango trees, so watched the low temp's very closely from late Nov - early March. Do not recall in that time period, even one night under 45 degrees ! But even if a mid 30's night should come along, I would simply flip the switch on the strands of 9 watt Christmass tree lights strung thru the small tree/shrub. That strategy has worked ever since, - never lost a young mango tree to low temps in all that time, ( 12 yrs ). Now a 28 deg night ? All bets would be off ! ( smile )

So am willing to roll the dice on planting a 7 gal Dwarf Red Poinciana tree,..should stand 3 - 4 ft above the ground initially and be ready to rapidly sprout to 8 ft. tall. Englewood is well located,..drive less than 5 miles down I - 41 and I would be well within zone 10a.

Thanks for the heads up, but IMHO, I think a Dwarf Red Poinciana would do well here.

Englewood should be fine. I had one in North Port that never died until it got down to 25 for 3 night running, and then it came back from the heavily-mulched base and grew 10 feet in one season. Seriously, these plants are tough as nails.

Jojus, I'm not sure where Englewood is, but if the township of Buckingham-basically directly east of Fort Myers is not too far for you, Top Tropicals carries this plant-Pride of Barbados-and right around a ton of other tropical items. Not sure how much a ton is in that case, but it's a lot!

DG and Tom, thanks for the info. Top Tropicals, now that I know where it is thanks to MapQuest, will be visited in the near future. It's only a one hour drive away, so will be a nice leisurely escursion. Glad also to hear how tough these plants are, just hope they can blossom here into a decent looking small tree with those vibrant red/orange flowers I've seen so many pics of.

So hey, even if the tree doesn't live up to it's hype because of where I live,..nothing ventured, nothing gained. Am not expecting astounding success immediately. Will report back in 5 months !

You'll love your visit there. I spent a whole afternoon just wandering around. Plus, many of their planted trees-those intended to become a part of the landscape there-were in bloom in January. Awesome. Good folks too.

Thanks for the info! I live in Ft Myers and will have to check it out.