Colvillea racemosa- Colville Glory Tree

[Eric in Orlando]

This is Colvillea racemosa, Colville Glory Tree,  from Madagascar.  It is a close relative to Royal Poinicana, Delonix regia . It looks similar when not in bloom but is more upright without a spreading canopy.

I grew this tree from a seed collected from an old one at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens (with permission). I collected the seed in March 1996. It flowered last year for the first time but this year it has more. There was even a hummingbird feeding on it when I took the photos. The tree is about 30ft. tall.

[freakypalmguy]

Awesome!

[LJG]

Eric, if it took 10 years in FL 10a, then I am sure it will be 15 here in SoCal 10a. I have two of these about 3 feet tall. I will keep them in pots for a few years but will be planting them outside after that. Hopefully I can get mine to survive and look like yours.

What is the coldest this tree has seen for you?

[Peter]

I was surprised to see a Colvillea growing at a friend's place in Thousand Oaks, CA.  He's had it in the ground for several years now. It survived 20d this winter with little damage, while several surrounding Delonix sp. were hit very hard.

[Eric in Orlando]

Back in Jan. 2003 we had a night at 27F. It wasn't damaged, only the foliage yellowed and dropped (it was supposed to be bare anyways) while a Delonix regia nearby had twig damage.

This tree has survived the odds. I saw the parent tree at Fairchild flowering in Oct. 1995 when I attened a palm conference. I was back in Mar. 96 and saw a seed pod. I asked if I could take it. It is a big pod like Delonix so could potentially have dozens of seed. When I opened it there was one good seed, the others had never formed. This one sprouted and was about 4ft tall the next year in a container. I had went on vacation for a couple of weeks and when I came home the pot and blown over and was totally dried out. I watered and soaked it but the tree died but the root was still alive. After a month or so it resprouted and since then it has thrived.

[palmmermaid]

Spectacular!  Sid Gardino had these for sale at Mounts this past weekend.  It was the first time I had ever seen one.  Now I wish I had purchased one from him!

[LJG]

(Peter @ Nov. 08 2007,11:14)

QUOTE

I was surprised to see a Colvillea growing at a friend's place in Thousand Oaks, CA.  He's had it in the ground for several years now. It survived 20d this winter with little damage, while several surrounding Delonix sp. were hit very hard.

Wow. That is good news. How large is it?

[chris78]

I have one and it is much hardier than the royal poinciana but slower growing. After last winter two nights at 18F I did think it was died. In June it came up from the roots.  Also my Cassia grandis returned from the roots..

[fastfeat]

(palmmermaid @ Nov. 08 2007,14:31)

QUOTE

Spectacular!  Sid Gardino had these for sale at Mounts this past weekend.  It was the first time I had ever seen one.  Now I wish I had purchased one from him!

Kitty--

Should be some at Ramble next weekend at Fairchild. I can bring one back for you if you're not going.

[Really full garden]

I got seeds from Ortanique.I had 100% germination.All went well until we had three weeks of constant rain.I lost them all.

I saw this years ago at FBG .It is great alternative to Delonix regia because its bloom time is in the Fall.Delonix regia blooms here in April and May and this is the onset of our rainy season so the flowers get washed away.I will try again

                                                                                     

                                                                                              Scott

[cagary]

I've got one that is about 18 feet tall here in south Orange County, California. I grew it inside my heated greenhouse in the ground for a few years so the trunk would get nice and thick. I finally dug it up and planted it outside in April of 2006 and its done very well. No flowers yet.

[LJG]

(cagary @ Nov. 08 2007,16:00)

QUOTE

I've got one that is about 18 feet tall here in south Orange County, California. I grew it inside my heated greenhouse in the ground for a few years so the trunk would get nice and thick. I finally dug it up and planted it outside in April of 2006 and its done very well. No flowers yet.

Pictures?  

[PalmsZA]

Hi

These are popular street trees here in the older parts of Durban. The seed pods must be ready by now....I must take a look.

[Wai`anae Steve]

Here is a close up of the flower of my Colville racemosa.

[Wai`anae Steve]

And the tree w/o flowers

[fastfeat]

Good to see so many responses and success stories from around the world here! For those in areas where landscape design creativity seems to be based chiefly on what can be purchased at Home Depot--are you listening SoCal?--it's up to us to collect seed and help promote. You have your assignment...

[palmmermaid]

(fastfeat @ Nov. 08 2007,18:24)

QUOTE

(palmmermaid @ Nov. 08 2007,14:31)

QUOTE

Spectacular!  Sid Gardino had these for sale at Mounts this past weekend.  It was the first time I had ever seen one.  Now I wish I had purchased one from him!

Kitty--

Should be some at Ramble next weekend at Fairchild. I can bring one back for you if you're not going.

Ken,

Thanks for the offer.  I will see Sid in Ft. Pierce next weekend at Heathocote Garden sale.  I've asked him to bring one for me.

[Eric in Orlando]

Wow, they look good as a street tree. What is nice about Covillea is that it doesn't have a wide canopy so it is good in tighter locations.

How wind resistant were they in SoFL? Ours held up fine. These would make a good street/median tree as they are drought tolerant.

[Peter]

Here are some in Hawaii:

[mnorell]

That's great to hear the Colvillea is stem-hardier than Delonix and can return from the roots after cold in the teens...now the question is, does it bloom on old or new wood, and will it bloom in a single season under such circumstances? perhaps this could bring a new--albeit shrubby--tropical to the frost-prone humid south? I suspect that these may share with Delonix a shyness of blooming in cool-summer areas (anybody have experience in that department?) so wonder whether this would ever bloom in SoCal's coastal belt. But perhaps a great tree for Palm Springs!

[fastfeat]

Flowers are produced at the end of current-season terminal growth (at least in FL, from seeing the tree at Leu.) Looks like the tree has to gain some maturity (10 years in Eric's case, the smaller one at Fairchild, maybe 5 years old, hadn't bloomed as of a few months ago; I'll see it next weekend--maybe?) I'd imagine that periodic, trunk-killing freezes, would therefore limit blooming.

Don't know about how much lack of accumulated heat would affect blooming, though I'd suspect it would be similar to Delonix. Low desert CA and AZ would probably be great places to try it, last Winter notwithstanding.

[mnorell]

I do see it now as well, that the inflorescences appear on special branchlets at the terminus of the new growth. Notice that on Eric's tree the inflorescences all appear to be terminal to a main branch, but in the Hawai'i specimens and possibly on the Durban one as well, it appears to be on side-branches as well; perhaps this comes with age. It doesn't look like it puts on many leaves in a season, either. That may not bode well for using it as a shrubby die-back tree in frost-prone 9a/b Gulf-state areas, though plants can grow a lot in eight months of heat and humidity! Also, sometimes (as with Paulownia and Melia) when a tree is cut to the ground for whatever reason, they can push out growth with ferocity, often with larger leaves and much more branch/stem-length than woud otherwise occur on an undamaged tree. I may trial one next year here in Natchez...I never even thought to attempt this, one of my favorite trees, here in this frosty-winter area. I killed one when I lived in L.A. many years ago, I assumed it just hated the constant coolness and wet soil, but this gives me some newfound hope here in the schizo-semitropics!

[fastfeat]

(mnorell @ Nov. 11 2007,00:50)

QUOTE

I do see it now as well, that the inflorescences appear on special branchlets at the terminus of the new growth. Notice that on Eric's tree the inflorescences all appear to be terminal to a main branch, but in the Hawai'i specimens and possibly on the Durban one as well, it appears to be on side-branches as well; perhaps this comes with age. It doesn't look like it puts on many leaves in a season, either. That may not bode well for using it as a shrubby die-back tree in frost-prone 9a/b Gulf-state areas, though plants can grow a lot in eight months of heat and humidity! Also, sometimes (as with Paulownia and Melia) when a tree is cut to the ground for whatever reason, they can push out growth with ferocity, often with larger leaves and much more branch/stem-length than woud otherwise occur on an undamaged tree. I may trial one next year here in Natchez...I never even thought to attempt this, one of my favorite trees, here in this frosty-winter area. I killed one when I lived in L.A. many years ago, I assumed it just hated the constant coolness and wet soil, but this gives me some newfound hope here in the schizo-semitropics!

Michael--

To be honest, I'm not sure where the triggers that cause a plant to bloom after it has reach maturity are "stored"--in stem tissue (trunk) or the roots. (Sorry, botany was only a Minor for me at Cal Poly...) If in the roots, a mature, say 10 year-old tree, that froze to the ground, might well rebloom on current-season growth following a freeze.

I agree that the heat and humidity of your area during Summer months should be similar enough to the conditions of SoFla to encourage rapid growth. If you can get a few good mild Winters in a row, you may stand a chance.

If you have room, you may want to try Peltophorum dubium as well. While it lacks the bright orange flowers of Covillea,  the yellow flowers are produced in big terminal clusters and are very fragrant. It responds quickly to coppicing or freeze damage like Paulownia, Melia, blooms young and on current-season growth. It's probably slightly more cold-tolerant as well, plus seed is easily obtainable from central Florida trees.

Best of luck.

[mnorell]

I may very well try a Colvillea to test it out. And speaking of Peltophorum, I was going to try a P. africanum this next year, but may try a dubium, though I rarely (if ever) have seen plants offered mail-order. Let me know if you know of a source for dubium...I knew dubium could handle down into the low 20s but didn't know they were a quick-recovering/blooming tree, that's great news!

FYI a couple of other flowering trees I'm trialing:

- Cassia bakeriana, a pink-flowered species from Thailand that supposedly has some good cold-tolerance; I also just read someone else's post that C. moschata came back from an 18F temp in California this past winter, and I may try this and one or two other Cassias as well.

- Senna polyphylla, the Caribbean desert cassia, which is already blooming from a tiny plant I put in the ground this last April...I have no idea how cold-tolerant this will prove to be, but boy are they pretty all over South Florida!

- the yellow-flowered Tabebuia "aff. alba" seedlings that YuccaDo has been selling for a few years from a Sao Paulo collecting expedition, I have one in the ground that has seen considerable cold with no damage. 22.8F caught the tree in new growth and nipped only a freshly-growing 1" expanding leaf-set (I think that was an anomaly, otherwise the tree seems well-behaved in terms of going dormant in the cool months), and the tree easily sprouted axially at the top of the main stem. 27F won't even knock the leaves off a young 3' tree! (a similarly sized young chrysotricha was killed to the (mulched) base of the main stem by that 22.8F even though the plant was in a more protected spot (it is now 6' tall).

- Bauhinia purpurea and Blakeana, since they're fall-bloomers (on new growth) though Eric Schmidt says they are not all that reliable at coming back after a hard freeze.

- Bahinia monandra: again a new-growth bloomer but I know that at least the top-growth and stems are quite tender, and though I will try to mound/mulch around the base significantly, I don't hold out much hope. Still haven't seen a bloom on my two young trees. One was damaged by temps in the mid-30s in a pot last year before I took it in to safety, but it did come back stronger than ever this season.

- Caesalpinia yucatanensis (sold as C. mexicana), these are amazingly hardy, beautiful smallish trees, only tiny bits of twig die-back at 22.8F, and they seem to stay evergreen down to about 25F. Flowers like crazy all through warm periods of the year, my two specimens are now about 12-15' tall after 2/3 years with good-sized trunks! The only thing negative to say is that they produce lots of pods, seeds and volunteers, and they need a little careful pruning to open up an otherwise somewhat shrubby habit.

I do think there are many, many flowering trees that just have never been trialed in colder 8b/9a areas...perhaps some good widespread testing could yield at least a few that show themselves to be much hardier than anyone thought.

[epicure3]

(fastfeat @ Nov. 09 2007,19:54)

QUOTE

Flowers are produced at the end of current-season terminal growth (at least in FL, from seeing the tree at Leu.) Looks like the tree has to gain some maturity (10 years in Eric's case, the smaller one at Fairchild, maybe 5 years old, hadn't bloomed as of a few months ago; I'll see it next weekend--maybe?) I'd imagine that periodic, trunk-killing freezes, would therefore limit blooming.

Don't know about how much lack of accumulated heat would affect blooming, though I'd suspect it would be similar to Delonix. Low desert CA and AZ would probably be great places to try it, last Winter notwithstanding.

Little OT, but I'm wondering if you ever saw the picture someone posted here of the delonix beaut. flowering here in SD right near Petco. I posted it, with persmission of course, over at the jungle.

[LJG]

(epicure3 @ Nov. 11 2007,17:44)

QUOTE

(fastfeat @ Nov. 09 2007,19:54)

QUOTE

Flowers are produced at the end of current-season terminal growth (at least in FL, from seeing the tree at Leu.) Looks like the tree has to gain some maturity (10 years in Eric's case, the smaller one at Fairchild, maybe 5 years old, hadn't bloomed as of a few months ago; I'll see it next weekend--maybe?) I'd imagine that periodic, trunk-killing freezes, would therefore limit blooming.

Don't know about how much lack of accumulated heat would affect blooming, though I'd suspect it would be similar to Delonix. Low desert CA and AZ would probably be great places to try it, last Winter notwithstanding.

Little OT, but I'm wondering if you ever saw the picture someone posted here of the delonix beaut. flowering here in SD right near Petco. I posted it, with persmission of course, over at the jungle.

Yep, that is what gave me hope and got me to buy my plant.

mnorell, I am very surprised that Bahinia monandra took a hit in the 30s. That worries me as I germinated some seed this spring and was hoping it would take high 20s like all the others Bahinia's I have. I understand it is more tropical, but figured high 20s would be OK.

Bauhinia purpurea is a spring bloomer here for me in SoCal. My Bauhinia x blakeana, Bauhinia purpurea, Bauhinia variegata and Bauhinia forficata (no surprise here) all breezed through the freeze. I hit 27 - 28 in January. Many of my ficus were hit while the Bauhinia's were not.

[fastfeat]

Michael--

Looks like you've got a good variety of species there. Your info on cold-tolerance would be definitely helpful in the future, global warming notwithstanding...

The Tabebuia hybrid sounds especially promising. Is it a T. chrysotricha X T. impetiginosa cross? T. chrysotricha is one of the hardiest species normally. T. umbellata (yellow) is probably even hardier and is worth seeking out. It was planted frequently in the Orlando area awhile back, and 30-footers are common. Unfortunately, nurseries are only growing T. chrysotricha nowadays, though one can collect seeds of T. umbellata from mature trees.

The logic on the Bauhinia spp. seems sound. I'm not sure on root-hardiness of the various species though. I'd suggest trying B. forficata, as Len hinted; it's considered hardy to at least low 20s and will grow in CA's Central Valley.

I've got plenty of Peltophorum dubium seed, collected in Largo, FL last year. PM me with your address if you want some.

John--

Sure I remember the Delonix pics from SD. I was quite surprised by how early in the season it bloomed in a coastal area. The trees at Fullerton (OC, CA) also bloomed early this year, despite the cold Winter last year; go figure. I'd imagine that dry conditions, in addition to accumulated heat, also contribute to flower set. That drought also probably helped to harden the wood, preventing the cold damage one might have expected last year.

Len--

I grew Bauhinia monandra for a couple of years in SoCal before I left. They took a long time before growth started in the Spring, probably, again, waiting for heat/warm nights to build up. They took down to 30 in Irvine, but were decidedly less vigorous than B. Xblakeana grown under the same conditions. I never tried B. purpurea (one of the parents of B. Xblakeana, along with B. variegata) out west. My guess is that it is similar in requirements to B. monandra (pretty much tropical), so I wouldn't expect too much from it there. Keep us posted on how well it does  in SoCal.

[Eric in Orlando]

Around here B. purpurea and variegata were severely injured by the 2 nights of 19-20F in 12/89. Many froze to the ground and it took 2-3 years for them to grow before they flowered again. B. x blakeana seemed to be a bit more tender. The few that were around all went to the ground, a few were even killed. They also took 2-3 years before flowering.

Bauhinia monandra is one of the more tender species. I have tried them a couple times and they get killed around 26-27F and never came back from the roots. There are some Mexican Bauhinia, B. bartletii, lunaroides, macranthera, and mexicana that are hardier and might be a possibility if you give them well drained soil. B. forficata is good into the low 20s before damage. I have heard that it will flower the next year if it is killed back. I believe it as I have grown them from seed and got 6ft plants in less than a year that flowered.

Peltophorum dubium is common around here and is hardy into the mid 20s before damage. In 12/89, older trees suffered moderate to major damage. Younger trees went to the ground. They grew back quick but took a couple years to grow before they flowered. They semm to be a little hardier than Jacaranda but survived the 3 big freezes of the 80's better than Jacaranda. Many of the Jacarandas survived '83 and '85 but a 3rd freeze in '89 was just too much, same with Grevillea robusta. P. dubium suffered but grew back from all 3., not many were killed outright.

[ron@springhammock]

I have several planted on my property, but since it's heavily wooded, I fear I won't see much of the flowers when and if they do actually bloom.  So I saved the runt seedling as a potted patio plant and prune the roots each spring so they fit in a one gallon pot.  It's just  about 3 feet tall while its siblings are at 8 to 10 feet tall.  Seems to handle the abuse well, I just have to wait and see if it actually blooms.

[mnorell]

Len--

When I lived in L.A. I sprouted a bunch of monandras and since I was in those days the King of Damping Off, lost most of them, but the few that grew larger failed to thrive and I really got the impression they couldn't deal with the cool nights and sustained chilly winter temps...they eventually croaked, my advice would be to greenhouse them until they've got good wood on them, then let them out against a hot south or west-facing wall. My experience here in Natchez last winter seemed to confirm the tenderness issues, but I am buoyed by the fact that that small plant shot right up this year even in a smallish pot. One that I put in the ground this spring is much larger with more wood and threw out long branches and lots of leaves this year, but alas no flowers. I was really hoping that this species, which seems so free-flowering through the warm months in tropical and warm-subtropical areas, would flower at a young age. I'm leaving this one out this winter with a good mound of soil and mulch to protect some dormant growth-buds after it's frozen back (which will happen for sure here, unfortunately!)

Are you sure your B. purpurea is actually a purpurea? Most California plants sold as purpurea are actually variegata. One way you can tell is that variegata has fatter, tightly packed petals, and purpurea has long, thin, separated petals, flowering with the leaves. From all I've read it's a fall bloomer whereas most of us from California know variegata quite well with its showy late-winter/early spring blooms.

fastfeat--

The Tabeuia "aff. alba" is not a hybrid (at least not an intentional one)...it's a yellow-flowered tree that occurs, according to YuccaDo, on the highest peak in Sao Paulo province. They thought it might be T. alba but the foliage didn't key out, so they just call it "aff. alba." It has beautiful, large, 5-foliate rather rugose/corrugated leaves (not unlike T. donnell-smithii if my memory serves), and not really glossy but much more so than chrysotricha and umbellata. Not so fast-growing but remarkably hardy, I am really excited about this one and will keep my fingers crossed for the upcoming winter.

I will PM you for P. dubium seed, thanks for that offer! Funny that this tree is so prevalent in Central Florida but nobody (that I know of) seems to offer it in the mail-order trade.

It's great to see people flowering Delonix in California, since for years trees have failed left and right except out in the desert, obviously they need the right microclimate and perhaps a number of years to start doing their thing! One great tree to mention to California growers is Cassia fistula. I put a seedling into a job I did in Hollywood in 1989 up against a hot south-facing wall and it grew like a rocket and has produced fabulous blooms every July/August since its 3rd year or so. Others have failed to get blooms on this species, but I can tell you that in a hot, sunny spot it will perform almost as nicely as it does in the tropics. It literally stops traffic. I see such conflicting reports on its cold hardiness that it makes me think it's quite a variable species in that regard. Also someone told me that C. javanica was growing in Moraga, California, regularly surviving 26F and flowering each spring. I planted a seedling in Los Feliz in the early '90s but never saw it bloom. Haven't been to see it at the right time of year since I moved so don't know if it ever has put on a show. I'm really surprised to see the C. grandis in Fullerton, that's a beautiful tree!

Here in Natchez we need more subtropical/tropical flowering trees if some of sufficient hardiness can be found...Crepe Myrtles are planted by the thousands here, they're our unofficial city tree, as they seem to grow and flower here like nowhere else...but other than these and the oriental Magnolias and some large Camellia sasanquas, the showiest trees are Koelreuteria bipinnata (relatively common) and Parkinsonia aculeata (rare). Melia is a weed here but of course it's not really a showy flowering tree. Aleurites fordii is gorgeous in spring but people are terrified to plant it because of its poisonous seeds. Senna alata is a spectacular self-seeding 12' annual here so has great value though few are aware of it. Nobody here seems to grow Erythrinas, though crista-galli, x bidwillii and others will do fine. Perhaps somebody else has some suggestions for other trees that might be able to tolerate periodic sub-20F abuse and come back fighting? Temps here hit low 20s at least one night most years, occasionally warmer but also can be much colder in those nasty single-digit years like the arctic '80s. I'm trialing Magnolia (Manglietia) insignis and have high hopes for it, and will try to find some of the more unusual Caesalpinias that seem to show good hardiness to cold. I keep my copy of Menninger at hand and it's amazing to me how many of those trees he was able to obtain and grow, but sadly so many have never been trialed farther afield.

Eric--

Thanks for the further info on all these trees in Orlando and their behavior during the '80s freezes. I'm shocked to hear Grevilleas were killed by 19/20F readings. They're planted all over California, even in valley areas that could receive teens in the worst freezes, I thought they were certainly able to recover from relatively deep cold. As far as the Bauhinias go, I will try some of the hardy Mexican species, and am trying to find B. forficata as well but this one also seems to be impossible to find mail-order...do you (or anyone) know a source for plants and/or seed?

I will test out P. dubium and P. africanum (and now the Colvillea!). Do you have any knowledge of Jacaranda cuspidifolia? I understand this is a summer bloomer and perhaps it's root-hardy and able to flower on single-season growth...

Am in Hawai'i next week and will collect all the seed I can find there--oh boy!

Sorry for this long post!

[LJG]

(mnorell @ Nov. 13 2007,20:33)

QUOTE

Are you sure your B. purpurea is actually a purpurea? Most California plants sold as purpurea are actually variegata. One way you can tell is that variegata has fatter, tightly packed petals, and purpurea has long, thin, separated petals, flowering with the leaves. From all I've read it's a fall bloomer whereas most of us from California know variegata quite well with its showy late-winter/early spring blooms.

Michael ,

I bought both from the same vender. He is well known and I trust him, but I have always wondered. They are different plants for sure. One has lime green flower sheaths and seed pods. The other green/purple variegated flower sheaths and seed pods. Plus the petals are smaller on one. I was wondering this spring if maybe it is not just a strong variation of the same Variegata species. They are both early spring bloomers.

What do you mean "flowers with the leaves?"

Where is HI? I leave tomorrow for Kauai.

[mnorell]

Len--

I think there's a lot of confusion about Bauhinias, and there may be a number of species and varieties masquerading about. The last few years I've noticed a new Bauhinia being planted in the San Diego area (specifically Encinitas) with smaller, pinkish flowers and smaller leaves on long branches. Very, very pretty, but I have no idea what species it is, it's certainly not monandra, nor is it variegata, purpurea, or x Blakeana.

When I say flowering with the leaves, I mean that the leaves are still on the tree when the flowers pop, as with x Blakeana, as opposed to variegata, which flowers on a bare tree (as do, for example, most Tabebuias).

Going to Maui for Turkey week, with a day jaunt over to Honolulu. Though I lived in Honolulu in the late '80s, and have been to the other major islands, I've never been to Maui. Have you been to Kaua'i before? If you haven't already, you must go to the PTBG, both the Allerton Gardens and the Limahuli Gardens on the north shore. They are great!

[fastfeat]

Michael--

Good luck with Erythrinas there. Hopefully stem borers aren't the issue there that they are in SoFla. I've pretty much given up on all the species I brought from SoCal. As I've posted here before, these, and a new gall wasp, have made  Erythrinas too much work now.

Don't know if I posted this here before, but this was the first (one of only about 3) Cassia fistula I'd seen in SoCal. It was a street tree in South Gate (LA Co). Unfortunately, this tree was removed about a year later.

What's with everyone going to Hawaii these days??

[Eric in Orlando]

B.if it is a true B. purpurea it should be flowering now. They start in late Oct. and go to Dec. around here. They seem to have a bit larger leaves than B. variegata and a slightly more weeping habit, to me they look more like a B. x blakeana than B. variegata except the flowers are smaller and paler than B. x blakeana. As for leaf drop, B. variegata starts flowering here with the leaves on then often sheds the leaves while it is flowering so it can be messy with fallen flowers and yellow leaves, both the white and purple forms.

I will look to see if the B. forficata is holding seed. They never set many pods, we have 3 specimens and it is hard to find much seed on them.

Bauhinia semla is supposed to have some cold hardiness, maybe to 20F. I think it has been lumped into B. roxburghiana now. I haven't found plants of this yet.

Try to find a Michelia maudiae. It is supposed to have intensely fragrant flowers and is hardy in zone 8. Some good sources for other Magnoliaceae is ForestFarm, Woodlanders, Camellia Forest, Nurseries Carolina, and Cistus. We are trying to establish a good collection of Magnoliaceae here.

Another tree to get is Exbucklandia populnea. It is an evergreen with big shiny leaves. It has just very small insignificant flowers but is real tropical looking but hardy. It is actually a Hamamelidaceae but you would never guess it. Also Camellia sinensis var. assamica is cool. It is the big leaf tea camellia and can grow 40-50ft and is fairly fast growing. One other is Liriodendron chinense. It is similar to the native species but has leaves almost 2x the size. Ours is growing nicely and has a tropical look to it. The flowers are supposed to be large. Some of the Callistemons would be woth investigating also.

Have you tried Moringa oleifera, Horseradish Tree? They will freeze down below about 26F but grow so fast and will flower the next year. I see people growing them and they just cut them down every year. By next fall they are 10ft and flowering. They came back fine after the 80's freezes.

Those Grevillea robusta were a suprise. They were everywhere here, a very common tree and many huge old specimens 50-60ft tall. The 12/83 damaged them but they were coming back nicely. Then the next big one hit 1/85 and it severly damaged them again but most were growing back strong. Then the big one hit 12/89 and most couldn't take a 3rd major freeze in 6 years. Now it is rare to see one and no nurseries carry them not even in SoFL. The few around have grown back nicely and flower.

[Eric in Orlando]

Here is a young E. populnea;

[fastfeat]

I've never been too impressed with Grevillea robusta in FL, especially after seeing how much more vigorous they are in CA. They seem better in drier climates. Out west, they can be spectacular, esp. after a cool Winter knocks off leaves and they bloom on near-leafless branches. I've inventoried 80' trees in Fontana and San Bernardino with DBHs well over 36". High quality lumber too.

Eric--

That Exbucklanda looks almost like a Liriodendron. Where's it from? Habit?

[Eric in Orlando]

G. robusta looks and grows better in central FL. It likes the acidic sandy soil better than the alkaline marl in SoFL

Here is where Exbucklandia is native to according to GRIN

ASIA-TEMPERATE

China: China - Guangxi, Guizhou, Xizang, Yunnan

ASIA-TROPICAL

Indian Subcontinent: Bhutan; India - Assam; Nepal

Indo-China: Myanmar; Thailand

Malesia: Indonesia - Sumatra; Malaysia

[mppalms]

Interesting.  It's rare to find subtropical trees that like both the cool(er) climate of the SF bay area and also central Florida.  Exbucklandia populnea grows well here and I guess there as well.  It gets very large and provides dense shade.

Jason

[fastfeat]

(mppalms @ Nov. 14 2007,11:10)

QUOTE

Interesting.  It's rare to find subtropical trees that like both the cool(er) climate of the SF bay area and also central Florida.  Exbucklandia populnea grows well here and I guess there as well.  It gets very large and provides dense shade.

Jason

Jason--

This is the first I've heard about this tree. Has it been in the Bay Area for awhile? Any pics of big ones?

[LJG]

I just got back from Kuaui and touring a few gardens. Some Colvilleas were flowering at the McBryde Garden in the NTBG.

Nice lagre one

Smaller one

Stands out in crowd

Flower detail