Tropical-esque Trees

[OverGrown]

Curious as to what kind of trees you are pairing with your palms. For me its:

Silk Floss Tree

Jacaranda

Michelia Champaca Alba

Japanese Maples

[ariscott]

For me, it is the case of Palms pairing with my trees... I have more trees growing than palms... Hhmm, where do I start??

Regards, Ari

[rozpalm]

I am growing about 80 species of tropical and native trees. My favorite tree for quick and great tropical looking canopy are Cecropia trees. My favorite tree in the garden, although not rare, is my Bombax ceiba. When this tree flowers, there is nothing quite like it.

[MattyB]

Paulownia tomentosa has nice large foliage and is probably the fastest tree you can grow. You can grow it for temporary canopy and after several years cut it to the ground and it'll return w/ leaves 2-3 feet in diameter as an ornamental shrub. Expect about 15 feet of growth a year.

[rozpalm]

Paulownia tomentosa is a great tree but I would not pick a deciduous tree for canopy. I never realized its leaves could get so big. Maybe worth trying to get those big leaves.

[Peter]

Tabebuias, Caesalpinia ferrea+peltophoroides, Jacaranda jasminoides, Cassia bakeriana(experiment), Schizolobium, and the list could go on and on as far as potential canopy trees. I'm sure some of the others will pipe up.

[MattyB]

Ron makes a good point about using deciduous trees as canopy. They will lose their leaves and thus your canopy is gone. I use deciduous trees on the north side of where I want canopy so in winter the sun goes behind evergreens which are planted on the south side. Something to consider. Know your sun angles and know your leaf drop times.

A good evergreen canopy tree is Inga edulis. I'm taking quite a liking to it.

[joe_OC]

Ron makes a good point about using deciduous trees as canopy. They will lose their leaves and thus your canopy is gone. I use deciduous trees on the north side of where I want canopy so in winter the sun goes behind evergreens which are planted on the south side. Something to consider. Know your sun angles and know your leaf drop times.

A good evergreen canopy tree is Inga edulis. I'm taking quite a liking to it.

Saw nice ones at the Gilroy Gardens near their huge 20,0000 sq ft greenhouse. Those would make nice canopy evergreens.

[mnorell]

Evergreen or nearly so (in typical winters): Magnolia (Michelia) chapensis, skinneriana and a 'Jack Fogg' hybrid; Magnolia (Manglietia) insignis; Daphniphyllum; Viburnum 'awabuki' (both broadleaf spreading form and 'Chindo' narrower-leaf form which is more tree-like); Quercus virginiana; Prunus caroliniana; Illicium anisatum and henryi, Caesalpinia mexicana (this may be yucatanensis...and is deciduous below 27F), some unusual subtropical tree-like Camellia species (most are still young and very small); Hymenosporum; Tabebuia alba (this is deciduous below 27F); Sophora secundiflora, Cordia boisseri, Casimiroa edulis and C. pringlei.

Deciduous: Tetrapanax; Firmiana, Erythrina arborescens, Lagerstroemia hybrids (many of which fit in very well with the 'tropical' look), Hibiscus syriacus, Talipariti hamabo.

Many of the above are versatile, used either as large shrubs or small trees. I also grow various other more tropical species as perennial die-backs, and am always trialing new things here...

[MattyB]

Ron makes a good point about using deciduous trees as canopy. They will lose their leaves and thus your canopy is gone. I use deciduous trees on the north side of where I want canopy so in winter the sun goes behind evergreens which are planted on the south side. Something to consider. Know your sun angles and know your leaf drop times.

A good evergreen canopy tree is Inga edulis. I'm taking quite a liking to it.

Saw nice ones at the Gilroy Gardens near their huge 20,0000 sq ft greenhouse. Those would make nice canopy evergreens.

I got a small one I'm gonna give away at the BBQ. You're welcome to it Joe if you wanna call dibs.

[Alicehunter2000]

I really like Loquat trees. Evergreen, hardy, tropical looking and they have nice fruit as well......hard to beat this for my cold climate zone.

[Justin]

Enterolobium cyclocarpum

Prosopis chilensis

Kigelia africana

Castanospermum australe

Cassia fistula

Calodendrum capense

Khaya nyasica

Acacia koa

Jacaranda mimosafolia

Jacaranda cuspidifolia

Pseudobombax ellipticum

Bolusanthus speciosus

Tabebuia impetiginosa

Markhamia lutea

Spathodea campanulata

Erythrina x sykesii

Erythrina crista-galli

Erythrina caffra

Erythrina coralloides

Eucalyptus sideroxylon

Eucalyptus torquata

Corymbia ficifolia

Tipuana tipu

Ficus craterstoma

Ficus columnaris (Lord Howe)

Brachychiton acerifolius

Brachychiton discolor

Radermachera sinica

Rauvolfia caffra

Chriranthodendron pentadactylon

Meryta balansae

Auraucaria bidwilii

Paulownia kawakamii

Chorisia speciosa

Bauhinia x blakeana

Bauhinia galpinii

Ficus dammaropsis

Ficus religiosa

Hymenosporum flavum

Michelia champaca

Stenocarpus sinuatus

Plus about a dozen others that I can't think of, sitting at my office desk right now. Writing all of these out, damn, that's a lot of trees. No wonder my back hurts every so often.

[amazondk]

One of my favorites around here is Dinizia excelsa, or common name Angelim ferro. I does not work too well for most city lots though.

dk

[ariscott]

Good to see someone who likes trees as much as I do, Justin... . How big is your Markhamia? I have one in pot and it is rather slow... I thought.

Regards, Ari

[epicure3]

I don't really pair the trees with palms, per se. I am growing some trees, just because I like the look of them. Not a ton on my small property.

Spathodea Campanulata

Ficus Religiosa

Ficus Elastica

Ficus Aspera

Ficus Lyrata

Radermachira (2 varieties)

Cananga Odorata

Various citrus

Brugmansia Versicolor

Pachira Aquatica

That's about it.

[SunnyFl]

A lot of impressive collections of trees in this thread.

We're kinda down in the tree department here. Lost my 3 big loquats to fireblight. Huge laurel oak declined, had to be removed - the forestry dept. diagnosed it as ganoderma - hope it's not the zonatum variety, eeeek.

But our huge old shefflera has 3 large inflorescences on it, my tree-trained Tecoma stans is a riot of yellow blooms, and the other oak seems to be ok - doesn't provide much shade though. That's it for trees. I have a very small blood orange that I wish would grow faster, and a very small litchi, hoping to get a longan to plant near it.

The palms are all fairly small except for the full-grown spindle and roeb. The lutescenses are growing like rockets. The R. glaucas are only about 4' overall; the bottle is about 5'. The teddy x triangles (2 of them) are about 6' overall, the triple montgomery is 5' overall. Smaller palms include C. azul, L. lontaroides, & D. lepto.

[Justin]

Good to see someone who likes trees as much as I do, Justin... . How big is your Markhamia? I have one in pot and it is rather slow... I thought.

Regards, Ari

I have three of them in different spots, and they all seem to be doing differently. One is slow and steady, and always looks pretty good. One seems to be constantly struggling, getting very leggy and top heavy. And the third one has grown very fast and is very full. So I don't quite know what to make of this.

[rozpalm]

Here are about 95% of the trees I have planted ( Luckily, I didn't have to type the list out since its in a database ). Most are very young and not all that impressive yet. All of my trees are planted out among my palms and not as specimens but as part of the garden. I would buy more trees, but I am scared to death of the monster I have already set in motion.

Acer barbatum

Adansonia digitata

Annona glabra

Annona muricata

Barringtonia asiatica

Bauhinia candicans

Bombax ceiba

Brachychiton acerifolius

Brownea grandiceps

Brya ebenus

Bulnesia arborea

Byrsonima lucida

Caesalpinia ferrea

Caesalpinia gilliesii

Callistemon rigidus

Cananga odorata

Cassia bakeriana

Cecropia obtusifolia

Cecropia peltata

Ceiba pentandra

Chiranthodendron pentadactylon

Chloroleucon tortum

Coccoloba pubescens

Coccoloba rugosa

Coccoloba uvifera

Conocarpus erectus

Cupressus sempervirens

Deplanchea tetraphylla

Diospyros ebenum

Eucalyptus deglupta

Eugenia aggregata

Eugenia domneyi

Exostema caribaeum

Fernandoa ??? (not auth)

Ficus Elastica

Ficus pseudopalma

Filicium decipiens

Garcinia aristata

Garcinia livingstonei

Guaiacum officinale

Gustavia gracillima

Jacquinia armillaris

Lophanthera lactescens

Macaranga grandifolia

Magnolia grandiflora

Malpighia glabra

Mangifera indica

Michelia chapensis

Morinda citrifolia

Morus rubra

Mundulea sericea

Murraya paniculata

Myrciaria cauliflora

Peltophorum pterocarpum

Phenakospermum guyannense

Pimenta dioica

Pimenta racemosus

Plumeria bahamensis

Polyalthia longifolia

Pseudobombax ellipticum

Radermachera Kunming

Rhizophora mangle

Saraca indica

Schizolobium parahyba

Spathodea campanulata

Spondias mombin

Stemmadenia galeottiana

Synsepalum dulcificum

Tabernaemontana crassa

Tabernaemontana pachysiphon

Taxodium distichum

Tibouchina granulosa

[Peter]

Nice list Ron; that Tabernaemontana pachysiphon might have the best scent going... Wish we could grow those here in Socal.

[ariscott]

This is my list.... not all of them. I haven't updated my list for a while... and I still have tree seedlings in the shadehouse... still heaps to go in yet and I am still germinating . I also planted some of them more than one... if I like them... and if they are fast. One day, I might have something to show....

Adenanthera pavonina

Adensonia digitata

Adensonia gregorii

Albizia lebbeck

Attractocarpus New Cal.

Barringtonia acutangula

Barringtonia New Cal.

Barringtonia racemosa

Bauhinia Blakeana

Bauhinia forficata

Bauhinia sp.

Bauhinia variegata

Bixa orellana

Brachychiton acerifolius

Brownea grandiceps

Brownea Macrophylla

Cassia fistula

Cassia javanica

Cassia roxburghii

Cedrela australis

Chorisia speciosa

Clitoria fairchildiana

Cynometra ramiflora

Delonix regia

Delonix Regia var. flafida

Deplanchea tetraphylla

Dillenia alata

Diospyros maritima

Enterolobium cyclocarpum

Erythrina sp.

Erythrina variegata

Erythrina verna

Eucalyptus alba

Eucalyptus herbertiana

Ficus elastica variegata

Ficus racemosa

Gmelina dalrympleana

Hibiscus Tileacous rubra

Hibiscus Tileacous variegata

Intsia Bijuga

Jacaranda caerulea

Jacaranda caucana

Kigelia africana

Lagerstroemia speciosa

Leea rubra

Leptospermum longifolium

Maniltoa browneoides

Maniltoa Lenticellata

Maranthes corymbosa

Michelia alba

Michelia champaka

Mimusops elengi

Mimusops elengi variegata

Morinda citrifolia

Nauclea orientalis

Phaleria Clerodendron

Pittosporum Moloccanum

Plumeria sp.

Podocarpus grayii

Posoqueria latifolia

Samanea saman

Saracca indica

Saracca thaipingensis

Scaevola taccada

Schizolobium parahyba

Sesbania formosa

Spathodea campanulata

Spathodea campanulata var. oreum

Stenocarpus sinuatus

Sterculia holtzei

Swetenia mahogany

Syzygium forte

Syzygium nervosum

Tabebuia aurea

Tabebuia ochracea

Tabebuia palmeri

Tabebuia rosea

Terminalia cattapa

Terminalia microcarpa

Vavea australiana

Nah.... that will be it for now... I really have to update my list... Too many have been planted and too many to be planted. And, this is not including my fruit trees... now, that is a different list again.

Regards, Ari

Edited September 25, 2009 by ariscott

[OverGrown]

Wow...what an impressive collection some of you have! I've got my google work cut out for me!

[aussiearoids]

I have many fruit trees , and they will form my main canopy . Lucky that some are attractive , Artocarpus odoratissimus has lovely lobed leaves . Favourite and fastest grower for me is the Giant Lau lau ,, it was sold to me as Malay Apple Syzygium mallacense . Grown to 6m in 3 years and should get to double that with buttress roots mmmm

[ariscott]

I like fruit trees as canopy tree too, Michael. But, I found that after a while, you can't reach the fruit. I would rather eat the fruit than giving them all to the cockatoos. So, I have decided I would prune my fruit trees that I can prune... and I use flowering trees as canopy.

Regards, Ari

[aussiearoids]

And I suppose main theme of this post is trees that look tropical but are not .. or will grow out of the tropics .

I am really only interested in ultratropical trees that will not grow anywhere else

[amazondk]

Boy some of you have a lot tree species. Ari, you do have your work cut out. In the part of my land that is secondary tropical forest I am doing an enrichment plan. There are already quite a few tree species growing there, some of them I want to keep. But, I am planting primary forest trees and thining the canopy to allow them more light so that they can grow faster. I have a few rubber trees, Hevea brasiliensis, planted and intend on planting more. This is a great fast growing tree for anyone in the tropics. I also have a few small Brazil nut trees planted. They grow fast, but get real big. A great tree to plant is cumaru, Diptrex odorata. I have a few already growing on the land. Our native tabebuia in the region, T. serratiafolia is a great tree as well.

dk

[ariscott]

Ari, you do have your work cut out.

If you see my place, Don... you would understand why we are planting like mad!! It had nothing when we bought the block and we started planting trees before the house was even built because we want to establish canopy asap. But, when I actually get into trees... I discover a whole new world of trees that they are more than just providing canopy, but they are so beautiful in their own right... So, I started looking for different type, different flower, different foliage, etc, etc. I know in a few years, I probably will complain that I have no 'full sun' spot left. And 5 acres doesn't seem so big anymore when you are talking about massive trees like rain tree, enterolobium, parkia, etc, etc.

Regards, Ari

[anthrome]

I grow as many species of useful plants as possible. I have hundreds of species, mostly trees, and constantly adding more, many of them are palms, Mauritia flexuosa and Salacca zalacca are two of the more outstanding.

[Fouquieria]

I went nuts with Tabebuias this year. After the developer went kaput on his project in the canyon, we were finally able to put a fence up around the lower lot so I've been planting stuff down there. Because it's so far away and I won't be able to water as frequently down there, I decided on somethings that were pretty tough and drought-tolerant once established. On one side of the lot I planted various kinds of Tabebuias. Some I started from seed. Some I got as seedlings. A couple Peter picked up for me. Some I got off the Internet like toptropicals or rareflora. I think in total there are about 16 of them I'd guess. We'll see how it works out. Of course there's some other stuff down there too...Peltophorum, Cassia, Spathodea, Caesalpinia, Radermachera.

I guess I'll see how all that stuff survives this winter. Most of them are pretty small although the Peltophorum especially has grown like a weed. It's gotta be ten feet tall now.

[Peter]

Ron, which Peltophorum are you growing again?

[Fouquieria]

Ron, which Peltophorum are you growing again?

Peter, I've actually got two...P. africanum and P. pterocarpum. It's the P. pterocarpum I'm referring to. The other one is just a small bush-like tree near the cul-de-sac.

[ThunderSRQ]

I had sort of "lost track" of this post until today and figured I'd share my tree list, as well -- not all of these are planted yet -- there is a constant "battle" for prime planting locations between my trees, palms, and bamboo... ;-)

Abutilon chitendendii

Acer barbatum spp. floridanum

Acacia xanthophloea

Adonsonia digitata

Adonsonia grandieria

Adonsonia rubrostripa

Aleurites moluccana – Candlenut tree

Anthocleista grandiflora -- forest fever tree, cabbage tree

Butea monosperma -- Flame of the Forest

Bougainvillea sp. – thornless tree type

Brachychiton bidwillii

Brachychiton discolor

Brachychiton rupestris -- Queensland bottle tree

Brya ebenus – Jamaican Rain Tree

Cassia bakeriana

Cananga odorata -- ylang ylang tree

Ceiba pentandra – Kapok tree

Ceiba (Chorisia) speciosa 'USF - pink'

Ceiba (Chorisia) speciosa 'white - special'

Ceiba (Chorisia) speciosa 'variegated'

Chorisia insignis – white silk floss tree

Chiranthodendron pentadactylon -- Devil's Hand Tree

Citrus medica

Couroupita guianensis -- cannonball tree

Cordia sebestena – orange geiger tree

Dombeya wallichii – Pink Ball Tree

Elaeocarpus grandiflorus – Lily of the Valley tree

Erythrina bidwilli

Erythrina crista-galli

Erythrina herbaceae

Erythrina livingstonia

Erythrina madagascariensis

Eucalyptus deglupta -- Rainbow eucalyptus

Fernandoa madagascariensis

Ficus dammaropsis

Ficus macrophylla

Ficus pseudopalma

Ilex x attenuata 'East Palatka' – east palatka holly

Kigelia pinnata -- sausage tree

Lonchocarpus violaceus -- Lilac Tree-Lance Pod

Leptospermum scoparium -- hybrid New Zealand Tea Tree

Macaranga grandifolia

Magnolia x Alba aka Michelia x Alba

Magnolia grandiflora

Maniltoa sp. -- kerchief tree -- ??? re: exact species -- M. lenticellata (Australia), M. mariettae (PNG), M. vestita (Fiji)

Michelia champaca orange – Joy Perfume Tree

Moringa drouhardii

Morus 'Unryu' -- contorted mulberry

Musa sp. 'camoflage'

Musa coccinea - red banana

Myrciaria cauliflora -- Jaboticaba tree

Napoleona imperialis – Napoleon’s Hat

Pachira aquatica – “Money tree”

Pachira/Bombax glabra – French Peanut

Pithecellobium tortum -- Brazilian Rain tree

Plumeria rubra 'Burton Yellow'

Plumeria rubra 'Candy Stripe'

Plumeria rubra sp. pink

Plumeria rubra sp. white w/ yellow

Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ ‘Monstosa’ -- Flying Dragon citrus graft, Dwarf Contorted Hardy Orange

Pseudobombax ellipticum – pink shaving brush tree

Pseudobombax ellipticum – white shaving brush tree

Senna alata -- candle bush

Sesbania grandiflora ‘scarlet’

Solanum wrightii – Potato Tree

Spathodea campanulata – African tulip tree

Stemmadenia littoralis -- milky way tree

Stenocarpus sinuatus – Firewheel tree

Tabebuia gemmiflora

Tabebuia heptaphylla

Tabebuia heterophylla

Terminalia arjuna

Xanthocercis (Xantioceras?) zambesiaca

Tim

[Peter]

Tim, nice list, and I love that Pithecellobium-wish we could grow it here in California.

[Peter]

Ron, have you tried growing P. dubium?

[ThunderSRQ]

Tim, nice list, and I love that Pithecellobium-wish we could grow it here in California.

Thanks Peter -- and that Pithecellobium is also one of my absolute favorites (although it is a bit of a risk trying it here -- I just planted it this past summer so we'll have to wait to see how it does -- fingers crossed for a mild winter this year!!!)

Tim

[ThunderSRQ]

Tim, nice list, and I love that Pithecellobium-wish we could grow it here in California.

Thanks Peter -- and that Pithecellobium is also one of my absolute favorites (although it is a bit of a risk trying it here -- I just planted it this past summer so we'll have to wait to see how it does -- fingers crossed for a mild winter this year!!!)

Tim

I wanted to post an update specifically re: this tree since it has been the biggest (positive) surprise re: cold tolerance during this exceptionally brutal winter -- in short, it has shown no damage whatsoever! And this is even after the "dreaded" 30 days or so following a severe freeze event during which many (previously OK or mildly impacted) plants show damage and/or continue to deteriorate. Here are a few pictures I took this morning:

[Peter]

Very interesting Tim-I wonder whether it's worth a go here in Socal then? Where did you get yours? I purchased one years ago from a bonsai source online if I remember correctly.

[ThunderSRQ]

Very interesting Tim-I wonder whether it's worth a go here in Socal then? Where did you get yours? I purchased one years ago from a bonsai source online if I remember correctly.

I believe there is a bonsai place here in Florida that sells them (for a premium) but I got mine here: http://rareflora.com/pithecellobiumtor.html and, if you're not already familiar with Gardino's, I would HIGHLY recommend this nursery (absolutely one of the best I've ever dealt with -- top quality stuff).

[Peter]

Thanks Tim.

[sick1166]

kapok silk floss baobob of course i live in the south big oaks

[txrarefruitgrowers]

I am looking for a source for Casimiroa pringlei. Does anyone know where I can get seeds or plants?

Thanks,

Ed Self

Katy, Tx

txrarefruitgrowers@sbcglobal.net

, Casimiroa edulis and C. pringlei.

Deciduous: Tetrapanax; Firmiana, Erythrina arborescens, Lagerstroemia hybrids (many of which fit in very well with the 'tropical' look), Hibiscus syriacus, Talipariti hamabo.

Many of the above are versatile, used either as large shrubs or small trees. I also grow various other more tropical species as perennial die-backs, and am always trialing new things here...