Spectacular, Summer and Fall blooming tree native to the Coastal Forests of Columbia and Venezuela closely related to Lignum Vite ( Guaia...Read Morecum sp.).
While a somewhat uncommon sight in the landscape, Verawood possesses several traits which make it a wonderful shade/flowering tree option for landscapes in warmer regions of zone 9b and higher. Here in Florida, this tree was originally introduced by David Fairchild after he had seen it growing in a Courtyard while visiting Venezuela.
A heat loving species, Verawood enjoys a full sun exposure and some room to develop in the landscape. Over time, this species can attain heights approaching 40+ feet with roughly the same spread making it a great candidate for larger gardens, Parks, or wide street medians.
Though considered fairly drought tolerant when older, trees will happily accept regular water during the warmer months.
Younger trees are often irregular in form and benefit from early training to achieve good structural form. Left untouched, trees will often develop multiple leaders and possess a cascading/droopy canopy, bringing the 2-3" wide flowers close to eye level height.
Flowering on and off through the summer month further south, local specimens I have encountered seemed to flower between latest August and October.
Large, Buttercup Yellow flowers fill branch ends and provide quite a show around the time most of the other summer flowering trees like Royal Poinciana have dropped their last flowers. Trees will often flower young and in containers also.
Interesting looking seed pods are 5-sided capsules and contain 1 or 2 seeds each. Interestingly, some trees seem to produce large amounts of seed while others don't, or, will in alternating years. Having additional trees nearby seems to ensure better cross pollination between individual specimens.
Leaves are a bright green and provide great summer shade. The soft, ferny appearance adds great appeal to an already outstanding, generally evergreen tree.
While the jury is still out on absolute cold tolerance, this is a tree best suited to warm/hot summer regions of zone 9b and warmer. Mature trees established in South Florida have withstood exposure down to roughly 29F with little more than pronounced leaf drop/maybe some minor burn. Younger specimens however should be protected as they would suffer more severe damage at this temperature.
There have been a few reports over the years of this tree taking temps even lower, perhaps down into the mid/lower 20'sF without suffering fatal damage though id imagine one would loose a fair amount of wood/structure after experiencing such exposure, especially if prolonged. Again, always protect younger specimens.
Overall, Verawood is a tree which deserves wider use and further trialing in areas where other trees of similar hardiness survive the winter.
Spectacular, Summer and Fall blooming tree native to the Coastal Forests of Columbia and Venezuela closely related to Lignum Vite ( Guaia...Read More