A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 purple trees in so cal?

went to mexico for a week and we landed in san diego. what are the purple trees in bloom everywhere? they are gorgeous!!!!!!

wow thanks! i loved them! wish they'd grow here- they are absolutley gorgeous!

they have a cousin that will grow in your area. white flowers and shorter bloom time, but one of my favorite eastern trees.

catalpa

Pagarden, you were near here when you landed in San Diego. Encinitas is San Diego.
My neighborhood has several jacarandas, all in bloom.
Are you sure you want one? They're messy-purple drifts of spent and falling flowers EVERYWHERE.
They are pretty though.

they could not live in his area. the only relative that I have seen in that area are catalpas.

also, they make yards look beautiful w/ fallen flowers. and the mower picks them up.

some of my favorites in the PA area, in case you would like to enhance your yard...

bradford pears, when the wind blows the petals off, it is like summer snow.

smoke tree, one of the most beautiful orange colors in the fall, only maples are better.

flowering almond, incredibly showy for about 6 weeks.

flowering crabapples, they are magnificent.

A word of caution, be aware that Bradford Pears are fast-growing short-lived deciduous trees. Here in Texas, they will last about 10 years or so and then begin to decline (i.e., have problems). For example, last week we had some strong winds in the area that made some of the old established ones loose huge limbs (about 20% of the tree). But, they are indeed gorgeous in the spring and Fall. A neighbor has one that attracts quite a few birds, looks pretty covered in white blooms in early spring and then looks equally nice with yellow/orange leaves in the Fall!

But the danger is serious. Two winters ago or so, a forum member posted pictures of his gated community where he was called to in an emergency during winter as a large percentage of the Bradford Pears trees in a big row self-destructed during an ice storm. The pictures he posted were just wow! bone chilling awesome....

Luis

wow, I have never seen anything of the sort in the WV - PA area. maybe because there is plenty of rain & long winters for the trees to get used to snow & ice.

my yard is actually quite small to go planting big trees but i can dream......