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Tabebuia aurea

I concur with dirtyshovel. This winter of 2009 almost killed my tree. Fortunately it is starting to come back, but I thought it was frozen too. I'll rate a positive because I like the tree, and it is suitable for my small front yard, but although it's sold here in the Orlando area- I bought mine at Lowe's, it's really not in the right zone. I saw lots of them in Fort Lauderdale where apparently the temperatures are better for it.

Grew my 10ft tree from a seed handed out at a garden show a few years ago. Nothing in my yard has been 'show-ier' than this yellow wonder until this winter/2009 when it completely froze. Thankfully the older Tabebuias in our Central Florida area survived and are blooming in all their glory. I would have selected Positive but for its premature death.

The very common Tabebuia seen in South Florida especially around Miami where it's one of the most common trees planted. The city likes to plant it along streets where it's so common that after living in Miami for a while one forgets they're there. Almost like seeing a palm tree.

This Tabebuia can attain some 30' (10m) yet almost all the trees seen there at least until the mid 2000's were considerably smaller which either means this species has been planted en masse recently or all the larger specimens were cut down after being toppled by Andrew in 1992. Well-irrigated speciments are probably the ones that get to reach a good height, like one at the FIU main campus in Miami. Recently the University of Central Florida has planted a few adult specimens and If warm winters continue it should become a common sight around Orlando as well.

When in bloom against a deep blue sky it's probably the prettiest sight of any tree in the Miami area after the Royal Poinciana. .As it grows the bark turns from pale to dark and develops grooves, otherwise this is a rather plain, often asymmetrical tree that won't turn any heads for most of the year.

The naming of this species is often confusing, as T. Argentea and T. Caraiba seem to be more often used names although T. Aurea might be the standard nomenclature now. There are two other species (T. Umbellata and T. Chrysotricha) that look very similar when flowering although easily distinguised by the leaves. These are seen more often in central Florida around the Orlando area where they're starting to be commonly planted as they might be slightly more cold tolerant. To add to the confusion there are at least two more similar species while blooming like T. Chrysantha, which don't I've ever seen and T. Guayacan, a larger tree that might be too ttropical and is not planted in Florida.

Tabebuia caraiba, a.k.a T.argentea; from "argentum": gold.
Seeds: held in the centre of a pair of papery-white "wings", dispersed by wind. Said to be easy to propagate from seed, but I've had no success...so far. Nursery-raised saplings begin with trunks all twisted up which start to straighten out only after the first year or more. A frustratingly slow grower! The yellow inflorescence, i must confess, can be a bit sharp on the eye, especially when viewed against bluest of blue skies!

The foliage is mostly deciduous. Some trees lose 100% of their leaves prior to blooming (best) while others can hold some of their old leaves while in flower. The tree in this photo never gets more than rainwater.

Tabebuia caraiba, Yellow Tabebuia, is a small tree from Brazil and is related to the flame vine and the jacaranda tree.
This tree blooms early in the spring in South Florida. The foliage is mostly deciduous, they hold their leaves all winter then drop them just before blooming masses of yellow trumpet shaped flowers. Cutting off all added water 6-8 weeks before spring will encourage leaf drop and produce a much heavier show of flowers. The blooms last about a month. Spent blooms fall to the ground creating a colorful carpet beneath the tree.
After being established the tree is drought tolerant and does not require special feedings.
Prefers full sun and well drained soil.