Date: 16 Jan 2026
The most asked-about tree in the Sunshine State: Bauhinia
Purple Orchid tree - Bauhinia purpurea
🌸 The most asked-about tree in the Sunshine State: Bauhinia
🛒 Discover Bauhinias - Orchid trees
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- 🌸 If you visit Florida in winter, chances are you will notice a tree covered in orchid-like flowers and wonder what it is. That tree is often an orchid tree, most commonly Bauhinia purpurea. It is fast growing, wide spreading, and blooms from late winter through spring, sometimes with a second round in summer. The flowers range from magenta to lavender, are lightly fragrant, and stand out even from a distance. The leaves are just as distinctive - split into two halves like butterfly wings, which is why these trees are also called butterfly trees.
- 🌸 Orchid trees are easygoing and practical. They thrive in full sun, tolerate many soil types as long as drainage is good, and need little water once established. Growth is quick, often 2–3 feet per year, making them excellent shade trees for hot climates. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and in some cultures the buds and blossoms are used in cooking, while the bark has a long history in folk remedies. Beautiful, useful, and low maintenance, orchid trees are a perfect fit for Southern landscapes.
🛒 Discover Bauhinias - Orchid trees
📚 Learn more:
- ▫️Bauhinias - Orchid trees in Plant Encyclopedia
- ▫️Compact Bauhinias - everblooming container trees
- ▫️Cassia vs Bauhinia: which is better as an everblooming container tree?
- ▫️You won’t believe this red orchid tree exists!
- ▫️Rare Orchid Tree you may never find again and everyone wants
- ▫️Why gardeners love the Pink Butterfly Tree: blooms, shade, and zero fuss
- ▫️Napoleons Plume - Orchid Tree that blooms in a pot
- ▫️How to grow Orchid Trees in pots
- ▫️Bauhinias: trees with Orchid Flowers and Butterfly Wings
- ▫️Why Bauhinias are called Orchid Trees: orchid flowers with butterfly wings...
- ▫️Bauhinia blakeana - Hong Kong Orchid Tree
- ▫️Bauhinia galpinii (punctata) - Pride of De Kaap or Nasturtium Bauhinia
#Trees
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