Flowers: Pruning Esperanza

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lostintexas Abilene, TX (Zone 7b) June 29, 2007 07:41 PM	Hey guys. I need some help. I have an Esperanza plant in my yard. I have had this plant for about four years. This thing grows about 10 to 12 feet tall, does not get very wide, maybe has about 7 or 8 shoots. My problem is that it does not bloom until around September. When it does bloom it is gorgeous but when I see these plants in garden centers they are always blooming. So I was wondering if I need to prune this thing back down to a small size and then it will bloom more. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much. Leslie
WeeNel Ayrshire Scotland United Kingdom July 10, 2007 06:04 PM	Hi Leslie, sorry no one came into the thread to help, I personaly dont recognise the plant by name, that might be the problem for others too, so do you have a photograph, a label with some other name that could help, we all have different names for plants where we stay, so more info would let us all help you out. WeeNel.
DaleTheGardener Tampa, FL (Zone 10a) July 10, 2007 08:25 PM	Leslie, There is more than one kind of Esperanza. There is a variety that blooms much earlier and more often, I work in a yard that has one of each. One blooms on and off all summer, they other only in the fall. The one that blooms all summer has to have the old flowers removed and then blooms again very quickly. I would suggest you find one that is blooming now (at a nursery) and plant it.
lostintexas Abilene, TX (Zone 7b) July 11, 2007 01:32 PM	I guess I should have called it Yellow Bells, I think that is the other name for it. And Dale perhaps mine is just a late bloomer. When it does bloom it is spectacular so I cannot complain about that. Actually last year I did buy one that was blooming from the garden center but it did not come back this year. Oh well. Thanks guys. Leslie
jataylor Marble Falls, TX (Zone 8a) July 11, 2007 04:05 PM	are you talking about the "Yellow Bell" Esperanza? I have two of these in a front bed, they bloom and then seed where the spent blooms were ...... I cut the seed pods off and it blooms off of a new stem ....
lostintexas Abilene, TX (Zone 7b) July 11, 2007 10:01 PM	Hey Jataylor. I will have to pay attention to the spent blooms, once I get the blooms. As I said I don't even get them until September or so. Luckily we don't get winter here until about January so they do bloom a good bit before they freeze. I think next year, since I cut them all the way to the ground after they freeze back, I am just going to keep the plant small and see what happens. Hopefully I will get longer blooming time. Thanks guys. Leslie
floridapj Largo, FL October 13, 2008 03:17 PM	Planted in full sun, my esperanza blooms profusely pretty much year round with luscious yellow clusters and graceful arching branches. After it blooms seedpods (that look like string beans) appear on tips of branches where the flowers were. I trim off the tips of the branches (just a few inches), removing the pods, and off it goes again into another blooming spree. Have trimmed it back gently after freeze but never to the ground. 7 or 8 shoots (as you describe) seems a little sparse. Would rather let it recover naturally.
dp72 Woodway, TX (Zone 8a) October 13, 2008 05:55 PM	Let those of us in Texas help you. Tecoma stans, locally called Esperanza, is native to Southwest Texas; the improved variety, Gold Star, is listed as a Texas Superstar by Texas A&M. You can Google Texas Superstars and find it easily. It is hardy only in zones 9 and up. That means it is always going to freeze to the ground in Abilene, as it does here in Waco. The best thing by far to do is to cut it completely to the ground after the first freeze nips it. Not before that! Occasionally, you will have a winter that will kill the roots and you will have to replace it. In ten years, I've had to do that only once. Whether to mulch over it after you cut it to the ground doesn't seem to matter as far as it surviving the winter. It depends on how severe the winter is. In late spring, it is likely to start coming back. They are late, because they are warm-weather plants. Don't give up on it too early, because it may surprise you. I'd say that in Abilene if it's not resprouting by the first week of May, it's dead. But your chances are good that it will come back bigger and with more branches each year, and every year that it survives means it has a better root system and a better chance to make it through the winter. Mine this year is over 6 feet tall, and absolutely gorgeous. Why yours doesn't start blooming in early summer is somewhat of a mystery- it may be a genetic thing. Or, you may not have Gold Star, the improved variety. Best of luck with one of the best plants for our landscapes.
softballmama Katy, TX October 15, 2009 06:10 PM	Hey guys I live in Katy Texas and I am new to Dave's Garden. I have three Yellow Bells Esperanza in my yard. They get at least 7 to 8 hours of sun. I keep them trimmed to about four feet tall. They are beautiful green and full, but no flowers on any of them. Am I doing something wrong? Should I not be trimming them? I only trim them every five months or so. Thanks
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) October 15, 2009 08:36 PM	I would try backing off and pruning just once a year and see if that helps--if they need to be pruned more often than that because of the space they're in I would think about moving them to a different area of your yard where there is room for them to spread out a bit more.
dp72 Woodway, TX (Zone 8a) October 15, 2009 09:57 PM	mama, sounds like you are pruning off potential bloom-bearing stems. Does it go dormant in the winter in Katy? I know your winters are mild. Next year, leave it unpruned from spring to fall and see if it blooms.
sharonf1 Lake in the Hills, IL (Zone 5a) October 17, 2009 03:30 PM	Smiling at the pruning advice. At my last house, I pruned the NOID bush next to the patio every fall. I skipped one year and that spring discovered it was a very small apple tree variety! Live and learn... ~Sharon
softballmama Katy, TX October 17, 2009 05:19 PM	Thank you all for your advice. Can't tell you how excited I was when I saw your posts. I kept pruning trying to get a three tier look, with the Esperanza ( Yellow Bells) being the middle tier. I am going to stop pruning them and see what happens. Thanks again

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