Florida's Small Flowering Trees
Trees filter dust and carbon dioxide, release oxygen into the air, reduce unwanted sounds and serve as privacy screens. Mature trees around a house can increase property value by up to 15 percent. Strategically-planted shade trees can even cut a home's cooling bills in half, according to the Arbor Day Foundation. Flowering trees that grow to less than 40-feet tall can provide these benefits, as well as aesthetic beauty, to your Florida landscape. Does this Spark an idea?
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White
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The calamondin (Citrus spp.) blooms with fragrant, white flowers in spring. Varieties range from 10- to 30-feet tall. The calamondin prefers rich, well-drained soil and tolerates light salt spray. The lychee (Litchi chinensis) grows up to 40-feet tall. This broad-leaved evergreen produces white-green flowers in spring. Lychee trees prefer sandy, well-drained soil.
Red to Orange
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The bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) grows up to 20-feet tall. This broad-leaved evergreen blooms with red blossoms in spring and summer and tolerates a range of soil types.
The Geiger tree (Cordia sebestena) produces reddish-orange flowers throughout the growing season and blooms year-round in warmer Florida regions. This broad-leaved evergreen grows up to 25-feet tall and tolerates salt spray.
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Pink
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The Pink Chimes Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonicus 'Pink Chimes') grows up to 30-feet tall. This deciduous tree produces clusters of drooping, bell-shaped pink blooms in late spring and early summer. The slow-growing tree tolerates a variety of soil types and can thrive in full sun to partial shade.
The pitch apple or autograph tree (Clusia rosea) grows between 25- to 30-feet tall. This round, evergreen tree produces showy pink blossoms in summer.
Yellow
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The Jerusalem thorn (Parkinsonia aculeate) grows up to 30-feet tall. This deciduous tree produces yellow flowers in spring and thrives in well-drained soil.
Peltophorum (Peltophorum pterocarpum), a deciduous tree, blooms with bright yellow summer blossoms. Peltophorum prefers well-drained soil and grows up to 40-feet tall.
The yellow tabebuia (Tabebuia caraiba) grows up to 25-feet tall. This deciduous tree produces masses of bright yellow blossoms in spring. Yellow tabebuia prefer full sun and well-drained soil.
Purple to Blue
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The lignamvitae (Guaiacum sanctum), a slow-growing evergreen, produces showy blue flowers through the growing season. This tree flowers year-round in warm regions. Lignamvitae grow up to 8-feet tall.
The orchid tree (Bauhinia spp.), a semi-evergreen, produces purple blossoms throughout the growing season. In warm climates, some varieties of the orchid tree bloom almost constantly. This ornamental tree grows between 20- and 30-feet tall and tolerates a range of soils.
Multi-Color
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The crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp.) produces white, red, purple and pink flowers in spring and summer. A deciduous tree, the crepe myrtle thrives in a variety of soil types.
The frangipani (Plumeria spp.) grows up to 35-feet tall. This deciduous tree produces white, yellow, pink, red and purple blossoms in summer. Frangipani prefers moist, well-drained soil and tolerates salt spray.
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References
- Arbor Day Foundation: Benefits of Trees
- University of Florida IFAS Extension; Ornamental Trees for South Florida: R. J. Black; 2003
- University of Florida IFAS Extension; Native Trees for South Florida: A. W. Meerow, et al.; 2009
- New College of Florida: Reference Notes on Florida Flowering Trees near the Library; Gail Novak; 2005
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Styrax Japonicus 'Pink Chimes'; Edward F. Gilman, et al.
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Ornamental Trees for North Florida; R. J. Black; 2003
Resources
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