As the brighter days begin to summon you and your family outside for longer hours, you may be wondering about flowering trees in south Texas. There are many beautiful trees that can add color and a hint of spring to your yard.
When you are seeking to take the perfect snap or have a picnic with a beautiful backdrop, you can consider these flowering trees.
Flowering trees in south Texas
You can choose to plant these seedlings in your yard and wait for them to mature and produce those colorful flowers to beautify your yard.
1. Redbud
This is one of the best ornamental trees to brighten a yard with pinks and purple blooms. The tree enthusiastically announces spring with a vibrant cloud of flowers, heart-shaped leaves, and bright buds.
The redbud tree grows up to 20 feet tall and can withstand drought and increased alkalinity in the soil.
2. Magnolia
Also referred to as the southern magnolia, the tree produces large white or pink flowers synonymous with the southern style.
The little gem magnolia is a perfect addition to the indoor garden or a small outdoor landscape. The larger variety does well in the yard centerpiece as it grows to 60 – 70 feet tall.
3. Desert willow
Desert Willow is a great option for those who need low-maintenance trees. It is also a good option for the increased heat in Texas as it can adapt and survive well in hot, dry soils.
It brightens the yard in spring with its pink and violet orchid-like flowers that are members of the bignonia family.
4. Vitex
You will identify the vitex tree by its ostentatious canopy made of purple flowers produced in the fall and summer months. It boasts an aromatic sense from its rich green leaves and can grow very quickly in varied soil conditions, making it productive in the warm soils of Texas.
To many people, vitex is known to be a south Texas native tree and grows to about one foot every year but will stop growing once it gets to a height in-between 10 and 20 feet.
5. Texas Mountain Laurel
Texas Mountain Laurel is a slow-growing, green, small-sized tree with several trunks that produce dense dark green compound leaves. It produces showy, long-lasting clusters of blue-like lavender flowers that give away semi-woody pods that contain poisonous red seeds.
The tree tolerates drought and grows well in the sunny, partly shaded areas with well-drained dry, and rocky soils.
6. Crape Myrtle
The crape Myrtle blooms both in summer and fall, charming the atmosphere with brilliant blooms in summer and fall. The blooming period is relatively long, and that’s why it is at times referred to as the “100 days flowering tree”. It is available in many varieties that grow at different heights creeping to about 25 feet for the larger varieties.
7. Texas Buckeye
The Texas Buckeye is a deciduous tree with a rounded crown. Its foliage is dense and dark green but turns golden yellow or orange in fall. The blooms are greenish-yellow and are famous for attracting hummingbirds.
8. Texas smoke tree
The Texas smoke tree is an American smoke tree that grows upright to about 25 feet. It is also a multi-trunked tree with an open crown of widely spread branches producing blue or dark green leaves that turn red or orange in fall. It produces large clusters of small purple and pink blossoms and thrives well in hot areas with dry alkaline-based soils.
9. Parsley hawthorn
The tree provides an all-year-round interest of white flowers, parsley-shaped bright green foliage, and fall colors. It is a good plant in Texas and produces well, especially when exposed to sunlight.
10. Dogwood
This ornamental tree will grow well in some areas of Texas, especially where the soils are sandy and acidic.
Even though they require sunlight to grow, too many hot sun rays will scorch the plant, which is why it should be planted under a shade, but not too close to deny it space to expand or spread. It has green leaves that turn purple in fall and produces white flowers which attach to pink bracts.
11. Narrowleaf crab apple
This is a medium-sized flowering tree with spread branches and a broad open crown. Its blossoms are pink in color and have a sweet fragrance. The tree thrives in well-drained, partly shaded areas of south Texas.
12. Guayacan
It is also known as the Soapbush and can grow to 20 feet tall. Guayacan is an evergreen tree with a dense and compact habitat. The stems are decorated with pine-like compound, leathery dark green leaves.
Its blossoms have five petals which range from violet to purple, and long prominent yellow anthers. The tree flourishes in dry and partly shaded areas with alkaline soils.
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