🌈 Compact Bauhinias - everblooming container trees
📸 Pictures for the previous post, Bauhinias:
Bauhinia madagascariensis - Red Dwarf Orchid Tree. Blooms from winter through fall, up to 10 months a year. The most cold-hardy of all.
Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree. A large tree in the ground, but compact in pots if trimmed. Grafted trees flower right away. Winter bloomer, cold hardy to light frost.
Bauhinia tomentosa - Yellow Orchid Tree. Flowers from Winter through Summer, cold hardy to light frost.
Bauhinia monandra - Napoleon's Plume Orchid Tree. Almost everblooming with the longest flowering period (less cold hardy than the first three).
Bauhinia acuminata - Dwarf White Orchid Tree. Blooms from summer through winter (also less cold hardy than the first three).
Q: We just moved to Florida and our yard is
currently just plain grass. I want to add some beautiful tropical plants, but I'm not sure
where to start. Can you suggest easy-to-care-for plants that look nice in winter, preferably with flowers? Considering it's Winter
time and some trees look dormant... But I can't wait to start my tropical garden!
A: Florida residents are blessed to have mild
winters, and many tropical and subtropical plants enjoy this climate year around. Just be mindful of your location's specific conditions (sun-shade, wet-dry, cold sensitive or hardy). Here
are some recommendations for easy-to-grow, evergreen plants that love
Florida and look great even in winter. They'll establish well during cooler months, add a splash of color to your garden with their flowers, and even treat you with fruit!
👍 If you are lucky to have a large bathroom with a skylight, you can create your little tropical oasis! Plants on the video are the easiest candidates that require minimum care:
Most tropical flowers bring in pollinators, and bees are usually first in line. But what if you’d rather avoid them? Maybe you’re allergic, or just don’t want bees buzzing around. Good news: some flowers attract butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, or even flies - but not bees.
👉 Quick rules:
✔️ Night-blooming + strong fragrance = moths or bats, not bees.
✔️ Red tubular flowers with little scent = hummingbirds or butterflies, not bees.
✔️ Rotten or fermented smell = flies, not bees.
✔️ Carnivorous plants = trap insects, no bee nectar.
1.
Night-blooming, fragrant - moth and bat flowers
Bees forage by day, so many night-fragrant flowers skip them.
Brugmansia - Angel’s Trumpet - big, hanging blooms, moth and bat pollinated.
