Flowering trees in Jacksonville (Orlando: living in, garden, move)

[Caladium]

Do you have lots of Jacaranda trees in NE Florida? How about Crape Myrtles? What other flowering trees/large bushes are common there?

[Chelito23]

Crepe Myrtles and Magnolias are the main ones. There are many "northern" flowering trees since it gets cool enough for many to go semi dormant, unlike in Orlando where there aren't enough chilling hours. Jacarandas in Jacksonville are not common. Lots of raintrees and Oleander though.

[ssclulow]

Also Hibiscus and Bottle Brush.

[Keith-n-Jax]

A lot more than people think are here. There also dog woods, red buds, and let's not forget oranges, peaches and many others. I just can't think of all the different names.

[Caladium]

So not many Jacarandas? Are there any? I used to love having them in California and would love to grow one in FL if they grow there.

[Keith-n-Jax]

I've seen a few, not sure why they are not popular here. I think it may be tough getting them through thereto first few winters. Though I have seen them in bloom here

[Robyn55]

Jacaranda trees probably aren't very common because they aren't very cold hardy. You don't want to spend a lot of money to plant a big tree - and then spend a lot of money to take it out after it freezes to death.

There are lots of crape myrtles. They are pretty much ideal for our area - and flower for at least a couple of months (I don't pay much attention to flowering trees that flower only for a couple of weeks). Although they are subject to some problems - like powdery mildew. And are kind of messy when they drop leaves/flowers/seeds (especially on walks and driveways). Anyway - this is one of mine:



You have to keep in mind that we have lots of micro-climates here. For example - we don't get as many hard freezes out at the beaches as you'll find inland (although we do get some). And the freezes don't last as long (we're talking numbers of hours - not days). Even if there isn't a freeze - our night temps are often warmer than those inland.

This is good or bad - depending on your gardening tastes. For example - we don't usually get enough "chill hours" out at the beaches to get things like dogwoods or Bradford pears to flower well. Whereas they do well in some other parts of town. OTOH - things that are somewhat cold-resistant/hardy may not die over the winter at the beaches - whereas they would die in many inland areas.

Also - there are differences in terms of soil acidity - nature of the soil - how wet it is - etc. One shrub that hasn't been mentioned is azaleas. They hate my property (soil is too wet - too alkaline) - but love living in many other places. Ditto with Confederate Rose (a fairly cold hardy member of the hibiscus family).

Many people here like knock-out roses (about the only rose that doesn't need a full-time nanny here). But I just don't care for them.

I've been an avid gardener here for 15 years. Most of our land is native trees and shrubs - only one with significant flowers is a native magnolia that a bird planted. But I also have a pretty decent sized herb/butterfly/hummingbird/bee (and wasp) garden (no way to attract bees without attracting wasps). And - after some expensive lessons - my rule of thumb is don't plant anything that isn't cold hardy unless I'm prepared to trash it at some point in the winter. That would mostly be things like hibiscus and thryallis. I also have 2 types of flowering shrubs with yellow flowers - one blooms all spring/summer (yellow cestrum) - the other in the fall (can't remember the name of that one off the top of my head). Both attract butterflies/hummingbirds/bees. They are usually ok over the winter (they don't die - but have to be pruned back to various degrees in the spring due to cold damage. They look pretty ratty once we start to get cold weather - you wouldn't want them in your front yard.

One of my favorite flowering shrubs is camellias. Although only the Sasanquas do well on my property (the Japonicas don't). I have some of those.

Other flowering plants I have and like include my bottlebrush "tree" that I keep pruned like a shrub. Great hummingbird plant. Then there are less obvious plants - like rosemary. Mine is huge - and totally covered with purple flowers now. Rosemary grows so well here I would swear it's a native.

I could go on. But - in the end - it's a question of what you're trying to do - where you're trying to do it - and what colors you want. For example - no one can see my back yard unless they're on my property - so I can plant things there that look ratty in the winter. In the front yard - I have to keep it looking good. E.g., I always plant some hibiscus in the front in the spring - but remove them if they freeze (and get black and look horrible). Robyn