Tabebuia chrysanthaGolden Trumpet Tree

Listed for decades as Tabebuia chrysantha and now placed in Handroanthus, this is the golden trumpet tree of tropical America: a compact deciduous tree that empties its crown of leaves and then refills it with yellow trumpet flowers for a fortnight at the end of the dry season.

At 6 to 12 metres it fits planting pockets that a larger flowering tree would outgrow, and once established it holds condition on low irrigation in genuine heat.

Specifications

• Height6 to 12 metres, occasionally to 20 metres in habitat
• Width5 to 8 metres
• Native toTropical America, from Mexico south to Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru
• FoliagePalmately compound leaves with five softly hairy leaflets; deciduous before flowering
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers well-drained soils; tolerates poor and stony ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in tropical, subtropical and arid regions under irrigation

Additional Features

• FlowersGolden yellow trumpet flowers filling the bare crown at the end of the dry season
• UsesStreet medians, avenue and feature planting, car park islands and hotel entrances
• SpacingPlant 6 to 8 metres apart for street and median work
• Low MaintenanceFormative pruning to lift the crown; little attention thereafter
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient in hot, dry conditions
• Drought TolerancePerforms on low irrigation once the root system is established
• FormCompact rounded crown on a clean single trunk

The Golden Trumpet Tree gives a flowering tree at a size that fits a constrained streetscape, and it does it on very little water.