Summer flowering trees very special
the most common species and can have catkins up to 50 centimetres long hanging pendulus from its branches. It tends to produce suckers from its base similar to those on the lime tree Tilia platyphyllos. A non suckering species Pterocarrya macroptera has even longer drooping catkins and fruit chains stretching to as much as 70 centimetres in length on large trees.
Talking of lime trees they also flower in early July and while not stunning to look at they are stunning in fragrance and can fill even a large garden with scent. Many limes have aphid infestation problems as you will know if you have left your car under one for an afternoon on a street and come back to find it covered in a sticky residue. This sticky residue is know as honeydew, a lovely name for what is effectively aphid waste. In a general garden situation this isn’t a problem though unless you fall asleep beneath one for the afternoon. Tilia tomentosa, the silver lime, tends to be aphid free and Tilia tomentosa ‘Petiolaris’ is one of the most beautiful of all large weeping trees available. It has exceptionally richly scented flowers even for a lime. Tilia henryana is a rare slow growing lime that flowers in early autumn but also has pink tinged leaves when they emerge in spring. Both these trees are right up there in my list of favourites.
Also on the rare side is Cladrastis sinensis the Chinese Yellow wood. Patience is need as they don’t flower on young trees but are remarkably beautiful when they do, producing large panicles of white flowers. More patience is needed if you want to grow a Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, and witness it flower. This can take up to thirty years or more but it will entertain you with its speedy growth and unusual duck foot shaped foliage that reliably turns butter yellow in autumn.
The Indian Horse chestnut, Aesculus indica ‘Sydney Pearce’ in particular, does flower on young trees. Its leaves resemble those of the sweet chestnut, Castanea which also flowers in summer, but are arranged differently. The flowers on a large Indian horse chestnut can be individually 2.5 centimetres across borne in upright panicles of 40 centimetres high by 13 centimetres across soft pink in colour.
Two more striking trees to consider for summer impact that both have their roots in the Asian subcontinent are Catalpa bignonioides, Indian bean tree, and Koelreuteria paniculata, Pride of India or the Golden rain tree. Both want hot summers to be at their best. Kolereuteria have, as the common name might suggest, large tumbling clusters of small golden yellow flowers. Catalpas have large heart shaped leaves that warrant growing it for that alone. The flowers are white with yellow and purple marked and very beautiful. These are followed by bean pod like dangling fruit hence the name.