replacement for Bradford pears
I was planning on planting some Bradford pear trees, the flowering kind, but after reading about them I have changed my mine. The odor is said to be bad and the trees splinter in wind storms, etc. My question is, what can I plant which will do the same thing I.e. bloom in the spring and turn beautiful colors in the fall? I live in Northwest Florida.
Bummer about the Bradfords! I never knew they split like that...
There are many trees that can offer you nice blooms in the spring and a little color in the fall - I'll name a few off the top of my head and probably by morning will have remembered a few more. I didn't get much color in FL - I was mostly in the South and then the past 7 years was in the central part.
Dogwood (in your area, pink dogwood will grow as well as white, though I am not sure about red dogwood).
Crape Myrtle - more of a summer bloomer but in FL - they bloom for soooo long compared to the ones I see here in N. GA. They CAN turn kind of orangy in the Fall, but I never knew that till I moved here.
In my own yard in central FL, like I said I never saw anyone with any fall color. You can have Spring bloomers, summer bloomers and fall bloomers, and I can name those out the wazoo - Golden Trumpet is gorgeous in the Spring (blooms about the same time as azaleas, very nice companion plant), so is the purple Jacaranda. I could list many good companions if you want to go this route, and have color somewhere in you yard most of the year.
Oh and if you go to a local garden center - I tell everyone this: DON'T buy a Golden Raintree. Sure it's pretty in the Fall (it has a beautiful bloom) but the rest of the year you are pulling literally thousands of seedlings out of your lawn like weeds. It's awful.
There are many trees that can offer you nice blooms in the spring and a little color in the fall - I'll name a few off the top of my head and probably by morning will have remembered a few more. I didn't get much color in FL - I was mostly in the South and then the past 7 years was in the central part.
Dogwood (in your area, pink dogwood will grow as well as white, though I am not sure about red dogwood).
Crape Myrtle - more of a summer bloomer but in FL - they bloom for soooo long compared to the ones I see here in N. GA. They CAN turn kind of orangy in the Fall, but I never knew that till I moved here.
In my own yard in central FL, like I said I never saw anyone with any fall color. You can have Spring bloomers, summer bloomers and fall bloomers, and I can name those out the wazoo - Golden Trumpet is gorgeous in the Spring (blooms about the same time as azaleas, very nice companion plant), so is the purple Jacaranda. I could list many good companions if you want to go this route, and have color somewhere in you yard most of the year.
Oh and if you go to a local garden center - I tell everyone this: DON'T buy a Golden Raintree. Sure it's pretty in the Fall (it has a beautiful bloom) but the rest of the year you are pulling literally thousands of seedlings out of your lawn like weeds. It's awful.
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The Helpful Gardener
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There is a red maple (Acer rubrum) that goes by the cultivar name 'October Glory' that I ward my northern guys away from because it's parentage is from Florida stock (the tree is native there). Takes the hots you guys get and dishes the great fall color. Not a showy flower, but the very first one in spring and cherished by bees and other pollinators. Great plant; I like native trees for their toughness and benefits to wildlife.
Not willing to give up on the spring flower show? Try redbud, also known as Judas tree and Cercis canadensis. Flowers before the leaves come, so it's very showy, but the fall color thing lacks a little, goes yellow but drops fast. There is a red leaved cultivar called 'Forest Pansy that is sweet, and a white flowered form as well. I really like the heart shaped leaves and crooked branches (where the Judas thing comes from).
My final suggestion would be to not give up on the Callery pear, just forget 'Bradford' (which is just a single cultivar of Pyrus calleryana). That one got so overused that the name has stuck to the whole species, but there are new and improved forms. 'Capitol' and 'Red Spire' are fastigiate forms (tall and skinny) that eliminate that weak crotch problem with Callery pears (they always break off right at the trunk). Those ones would work for you. But why choose? Get 'em all!
Scott
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Not willing to give up on the spring flower show? Try redbud, also known as Judas tree and Cercis canadensis. Flowers before the leaves come, so it's very showy, but the fall color thing lacks a little, goes yellow but drops fast. There is a red leaved cultivar called 'Forest Pansy that is sweet, and a white flowered form as well. I really like the heart shaped leaves and crooked branches (where the Judas thing comes from).
My final suggestion would be to not give up on the Callery pear, just forget 'Bradford' (which is just a single cultivar of Pyrus calleryana). That one got so overused that the name has stuck to the whole species, but there are new and improved forms. 'Capitol' and 'Red Spire' are fastigiate forms (tall and skinny) that eliminate that weak crotch problem with Callery pears (they always break off right at the trunk). Those ones would work for you. But why choose? Get 'em all!
Scott
[/I]
You may also want to try autumn brilliance serviceberry (Amelanchier g. 'Autumn Brilliance'). This tree tends to grow as a multi stemmed tree, but you can find them as a single trunk specimen. Nice small white flowers in spring, and great red fall color.
Also, check out the native blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica). You will not get spring flowers, but the fall color is fantastic!
Also, check out the native blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica). You will not get spring flowers, but the fall color is fantastic!
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The Helpful Gardener
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Hey Scott-The Helpful Gardener wrote:Both nice adds as bird feeders, too. Nice native additions, Brad...
I say, do I know you, suh?
Scott
I'm in the retail side of hort. I just found the site yesterday. Nice forum!
I haven't had a lot of time to look around here yet but I really like it so far. If you are in the nursery industry, we may have crossed paths somewhere.-
The Helpful Gardener
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