In My Garden Blog
Tropical South
November 14, 2002
By
Robert Haehle,
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Sorrow-less tree or Ashoka (Saraca indica) is sacred to the Buddhists because Buddha was supposed to have been born under it. This beauty has yellow to orange fragrant blooms.
Flowering Trees
Flowering trees are increasing in popularity now. We often can spot blooms from far off towering over houses as we drive along. Many of these trees continue to be quite rare, but flowering tree societies are helping to spread the word, through meetings, sales, and lectures.
Top Choices
The floss silk tree, Chorisia speciosa, is one of the great flowering shows in the fall. Huge pink dogwood-like blooms 4 to 5 inches across heavily decorate a 30- to 40-foot-tall and wide, spreading tree with a thorn-studded trunk. Some varieties, such as 'Tem', can bloom from July to December, but the more common type is best in October and November. I have a number of good flowering trees on my property including jacaranda, bulnesia, cassias, caesalpinia, brownea, 'Lakeview' jasmine, white geiger, and sweetbay magnolia.
Sacred Tree
My latest favorite flowering tree is the winter/spring blooming Sorrow-less tree or Ashoka (Saraca indica). This tree is sacred to the Buddhists because Buddha was supposed to have been born under it. This beauty has yellow to orange fragrant blooms like an ixora, and they grow from the branches and trunk right on the bark. The tree can reach 30 feet tall. Mine is growing where a grapefruit formerly stood and is doing quite well in a shady site. I can hardly wait for the blooms to start appearing. The tree is only 4 feet tall now, and I may be planted myself before it flowers. I think this kind of hope is what keeps gardeners going.
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