By Lewis Eastlick

I am happy to announce that our annual Tropical Flowering Tree Show and Sale is upon us! This year we have over one hundred and seventy species of flowering plants. This is amazing considering that five years ago there were about fifty species offered. Many exotic and wonderful plants await you at this year’s show. A complete list of plants is available on the web site: www.tfts.org. The award-winning author, Mark Stebbins will be on hand to sign copies of his recent book, Flowering Trees of Florida. A newly commissioned T-shirt adorned with many spectacular flowering plants will be available as well.

By Rob Bobson

Our 12th annual Mother’s Day show and sale is on May 13^th and 14^th. We will have over 170 species of flowering trees, shrubs, and vines. There will be many new and rare plants available at the show. So come on down!

This is a great opportunity to see many flowering trees, shrubs and vines in one location. In addition to plants:

• Mark K. Stebbins will be at the show and sale May 13^th to sign his book, Flowering Trees of South Florida.

· We will have a new t-shirt designed by artist Diane Lary. This is a beautiful collage of flowers that she especially designed for the TFTS. It is a watercolor print with many of the flowers that bloom in South Florida. Diane will also have her notecards and botanical prints available.

 

• Fertilizer specially formulated for flowering trees will be offered for sale.

· We will have experts to answer questions about how to plant and care for your trees.

 

• Tree delivery will be available this year.

• There will be a tour of the flowering tree area at Fairchild Tropical Gardens May 13^th at 11:00.

We look forward to seeing you!

By Cathy Ryan

This large deciduous tree native to Madagascar has a wide spreading canopy. The leaves are graceful and fern like. Blooms late spring through summer with red, orange or yellow flowers and one petal is white. The fruit is foot long pod with many uses. Prune when young to establish a trunk. Likes full sun and will drain soils. It has been said that there are more Royal Poinciana Trees in Miami than Madagascar. This author saw a tree almost in full bloom as late as December 1 last year.

A semi-evergreen tree native to South Africa. Grows to 50' and blooms late spring to early summer on almost bare branches. Likes full sun and will drain soil and can be thorny. Hummingbirds are attracted to this tree.

Grevillea Robusta = Silk Oak =Proteaceae

Found in the subtropical rainforest of Australia’s East Coast this 100' tree is valued for it’s beautiful timber. The fern like leaves have silvery undersides and blooms in spring with golden-yellow flowers in one-sided racemes. This species is drought tolerant, likes full sun and dry soil. Roots should not be disturbed when planting.

This vine grows at least 10' in one year and needs frost free conditions. The long tubular flowers are rose pink or purple. Leaves are dark green and accentuate the flowers. Needs full sun and a moderately fertile soil.

A deciduous species from to India and Southeast Asia. Grows up to 80' with a spreading crown. Have long leathery leaves that turn red in the Fall plus large showy rose-pink, lilac and lavender-purple flowers that bloom Summer and Fall. The bark of this tree sheds, giving the trunk a mottled appearance. Seedpods can be used in flower arrangements. Needs full sun and well-drained soil. Plant in a sheltered location from strong winds to protect the flowers.

Native to the southern United States, this tree has deep green leathery leaves that are rust-colored underneath. The tree forms a dense evergreen canopy and can grow to 80' if it is not effected by windy weather. The blooms are white and 10" across followed by reddish brown cones. Likes sun or part shade and deep will drained soil. The flowers are nice for flower arranging

A twining woody shrub native to west central Africa. Leaves are rounded with silky hair and blooms in late summer in clusters of yellow flowers with a red felted middle. The bracts are blood red in color and are up to 3" long. Likes sun or part shade and fertile will drained soil.

Twisting stem vine climbing up to 12' high. The fern like leaves have up to 11 rounded leaves. Pink flowers are funnel-shaped with red markings and bloom Spring-Fall in terminal clusters. Likes part shade and supplemental watering during its growing period. Propagate by seeds or cuttings and prune in winter or summer as this plant blooms on new wood. Needs a support to grow properly.

A wide spreading attractive shade tree 50'-70'. Have dark green 10" long leaves with 15-19 leaflets. The yellow orange flowers bloom in the spring and are followed by winged pods in the fall. Are fast growing, likes full sun and a mild climate. This author saw these trees in full bloom along with Jacarandas at Epcot in Orlando several years ago and I see why they refer to the tree as Pride of Bolivia.

By Dora Merris

Whatever is that tree?

The Palm Beach County TFTS is confronting another mystery (the last one was cause for death of our Poinciana trees). This time we are trying to identify a lovely tree that bloomed in this area early in April. Perhaps some reader of this newsletter can help us.

Mike Zimmerman at Alberts and Merkle, a nursery that has sold orchids in Boynton Beach for decades spotted our unidentified tree. Mike is an arborist in Palm Beach County and past president of our TFTS chapter. He knows a lot about trees. As he could not identify this one, we know it is unusual. That Frank Mergen could not identify it either added to the conundrum.

The first and obvious course was to ask Mr. Merkel what kind of tree he is growing in his nursery. He does not know. Now in his active 80s he says that the tree has bloomed only very rarely over his long lifetime.

It is growing next to a mature Erythrina and is about the same height with flowers about the same color. But they’re the similarity ends. The flowers of the unidentified tree hang down in plumes, with each individual flower on a plume shaped like an upside down goblet. The leaves are large with three lobes; the seeds are enclosed in pods about 1.5 to 2 inches long.

We have taken photographs (with a disposable camera so the quality is not the best) and have collected leaves, seeds and flowers (now well dried) to show people who know flowering trees. Larry Schokman of The Kampong has seen our collection but cannot identify the tree from these materials. He thinks it comes from a tropical, wet climate. We are also passing it by Gene Joyner of the Palm Beach Extension Agency.

As noted above, if anybody can help, we will be delighted to hear from you.