Need recommendation for a cool shade tree that compliments palms. zone 9b

[OverGrown]

In the past I have used jacarandas and floss silk trees...looking for something different that I may have overlooked... More recently I have tried summer chocolate mimosas but growth on this variety is rather slow.

I'm in SoCal, Orange county if that helps.

[Alicehunter2000]

In 9a I've always liked the look of Loquats. They have very few problems other than fruit drop which some people don't care for. Tropical looking, evergreen and ironclad in your zone.

[Kailua_Krish]

Tipuana tipu, Handroanthus/Tabebuia, or some of the former Michelia/Parakmeria sps?

[David in Berkeley]

Do you want it to be flowering/evergreen/fast/unusual/ or what else does it need to do? Tabebuias like T. impetiginosa or chrysotricha are dramatic. Bauhinias some less common flowering trees like Cassia leptophylla, Dais cotinifolia, Michelia doltsopa, Brachychiton rupestris, Cunonia capensis, Hymenosporum flavum, Corymbia ficifolia, Lagunaria pattersonii, Lyonothamnus floribundus asplenifolius, Robinsonella cordata are a few that aren't the same old, same old.

[Silas_Sancona]

Other rarer/ unusual trees worth researching, even if just for fun:

Pseudobombax ellipticum, particularly the pink flowering form.. Pseudobombax palmeri, harder to find though.

Acacia willardiana (Palo Blanco), Eucalyptus/Corymbia papuana, and deglupta. all 3 possess interesting bark/ structural form.. Rainbow Eucs gets HUGE.

Any number of the Erythrina species.. coralloides / lysistemmon / X syksii / caffra get big.

Ipomea arborea.. interesting tree if you can find one, still on the hunt myself.

Guaiacum coulteri, more of a small-ish tree but is the only Lignum Vite ( that I am aware of) that will grow in SoCal.

Cassia bakeriana, supposedly tolerates temps down to about 26-7F.. Maybe slightly lower? Thinking some other Palm Talk members were trialing it down there.

One small tree/large bush I hope to get seeds of this year; Bauhinia Leaved Acacia (Senegalia crassifolia). Can see something like this in a garden containing such palms as Sabal uresana, Brahea, Copernicia, Bismarckia , and Coccothrinax.


-Nathan

Edited January 27, 2015 by Silas_Sancona

[David in Berkeley]

Does Ipomea arborea actually grow and bloom in soithern California? It was very attractive in Puebla/Vera Cruz, Mexico. Calodendrum capense is another gorgeous flowering one. Acacia cognata is also great here in the SF Bay Area.

[DoomsDave]

Peter:

Where in the OC are you?

There's a wide range of climates there, which will have an impact on your potential selection.

[Silas_Sancona]

**Amendment to earlier post: Ment to say Ipomea arborescens.. Don't know where I got aborea. Doink! anyhow,

David- in Berkley, Believe I. arborescens is being growing there. Supposed to take cold exposure down to 25-27F, maybe lower. University of Arizona has a specimen growing in their Arboretum in Tucson.

-Nathan

Edited January 27, 2015 by Silas_Sancona

[Matt in OC]

Depending on how large a tree you want, how about a Cercis Canadensis? Bauhinias are really nice too.

[David in Berkeley]

I think I remember seeing a young Ipomea arborescens at Bill Baker's place years ago, but it wasn't in bloom in winter like they were in Puebla/Vera Cruz at the same time.

[mnorell]

Twenty-plus years ago I put some boxed specimens of Ipomoea arborescens into a botanical garden/walking-path complex I did for a big condominium complex in Pacific Palisades on a sprawling, dry hillside with typical coastal fog-desert climate right next to the ocean. I sourced them from San Marcos Growers and they were in bloom when we installed them. I don't think San Marcos would have sold them without testing them a bit to make sure they would perform from San Diego to Santa Barbara and pretty much within sight of the ocean. They were very pretty and interesting trees with big white flowers. Great for drought-tolerant usage. Haven't been back to see them in recent years but a friend was just there a week ago and said it all still looked in very good shape after all these years...so without knowing absolutely, I assume they are still there. A call to San Marcos and one of their long-term horticulture staff would probably answer the question definitively.

[OverGrown]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I spent a good two hours looking into every one...