White ( Texas) Geiger

[mike-coral gables]

what an amazing, beautiful tree for central Fl , but I never see it. Brought this baby from Miami as a large seeding and it seems to love the cooler winters up here . Anyone else have one ? 

[Silas_Sancona]

  Flowers on yours have yellow centers?  If not, you might have Cordia superba, another white flowered sp.  which is supposedly a bit less heavy of a seed producer but just as nice compared to the native Texas species, Cordia boissieri.  As common as that species is planted around here, didn't notice them much in Bradenton, or around Clearwater / St. Pete when i lived there.  Great small tree ( aside from all the fruit it can produce ) that flowers young ( 3rd year from seed ).

 Little Leaf Cordia, C. parvifolia is another white flowered species you see in landscapes here. ( bet it would do well there also ) Typically grows as a large weeping bush vs more tree -like. Loves heat, rarely seeds, and believe it takes more cold than the native Texas species. Looks great ( and puts on alot of growth ) when given water thru the summer.

Believe it or not,  have a seed- grown Red Geiger ( Cordia sebestena ) that has made it thru 3 winters here.  Though this winter,  being colder and wetter than the last 2, might have done it in but the thing didn't even drop half it's leaves this year.. Still no flowers yet, maybe this year.


 

[Xenon]

The leaves don't look quite right for C. boissieri imo. 

There are some nice small tree sized specimens in warmer parts of Houston so it will take some cold (freezes back in the lower 20s). It definitely loves the heat though; native to the lower Rio Grande Valley and the Tamaulipan lowlands (think humid 90s-100 for months on end with little rain). 

 

[Austinpalm]

Cordia boissieri is grown here in Austin with success. I have had some die-back  below 18F, but it has been quick to return and flowers well.

 

Silas - What temps has your C.  sebestena endured?

[mike-coral gables]

Thanks all , here are more pics for you experts to confirm what I have , please advise 

[mike-coral gables]

[Silas_Sancona]

Just now, mike-coral gables said:

Texas Olive ( Texas White Geiger ) Cordia boissieri.

[Silas_Sancona]

54 minutes ago, Austinpalm said:

Cordia boissieri is grown here in Austin with success. I have had some die-back  below 18F, but it has been quick to return and flowers well.

 

Silas - What temps has your C.  sebestena endured?

Sits under the back patio thru the winter but, other than some shade cloth i have up, the patio itself is open on all sides to heat / cold. Would estimate it got down to 29F on the patio the couple times it dipped to 26- 27F further out in the yard this winter. Originally, there were 3 other "siblings" that had germinated in the same pot as this specimen. The biggest of which ( about the same size trunk / height-wise as this specimen ) died after the winter of 17 / 18 even though last winter was warmer / dry - no rain at all here. I did bring it in for a couple nights around X-mas but stayed outside through other cold spells we'd had in Jan. / Feb.  Moved to a position under shade cloth, but not under the patio spring-fall.

[Hillizard]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Texas Olive ( Texas White Geiger ) Cordia boissieri. 

I've had a small one in-ground here in interior NorCal for just a few years. It's now leafed out after the winter and has a few flower buds on it. I hope someday it can serve as a shade/frost canopy for small palms. I think the throat color of the flower changes from yellow to brown after it's been visited by an insect. I had a potted Cordia lutea indoors for the winter but it still declined and died from root rot.   I may try again with that species if I can find a seed source.  I know it grows in SoCal: http://www.marriedtoplants.com/flowering-plants/long-flowering-season-yellow-geiger-cordia-lutea/

[Hillizard]

On 5/15/2019 at 11:22 AM, Hillizard said:

I've had a small one in-ground here in interior NorCal for just a few years. It's now leafed out after the winter and has a few flower buds on it. I hope someday it can serve as a shade/frost canopy for small palms. I think the throat color of the flower changes from yellow to brown after it's been visited by an insect. I had a potted Cordia lutea indoors for the winter but it still declined and died from root rot.   I may try again with that species if I can find a seed source.  I know it grows in SoCal: http://www.marriedtoplants.com/flowering-plants/long-flowering-season-yellow-geiger-cordia-lutea/

Here's my Cordia boissieri (aka White Geiger, Texas Olive, Anacahuita) now in bloom, despite the Brachychiton tree (see trunk behind) shading it.  Tough little frost-hardy tree that also handles heat well.