When designing a landscape that steals the spotlight and remains remarkable year after year, it’s important to consider every aspect of your plant selection. From seasonal blooms to towering tree coverage, every element has its place.

One of the staples of a beautiful Tampa Bay landscape is trees that fall somewhere between small, shrub-like options and truly large varieties. These medium flowering trees work well on multiple fronts—including providing privacy, producing shade, and adding to your property’s aesthetic—making them valuable additions to your landscape.

Because of the benefits they can bring, choosing the right medium flowering trees for your property is essential. There are a handful of options that thrive in Florida and will enhance your Tampa Bay landscape for the foreseeable future, and we’re here to offer you our favorites.

The Benefits of Medium Flowering Trees

If you’re on the hunt for something hardy, enduring, and good-looking to add to your Tampa Bay property, medium flowering trees fit the bill. Not only do they excel in Florida’s climate, but they also add form (beauty) and function (shade and privacy) in one convenient package.

At Landcrafters, we enjoy being intentional with the way we design and maintain a landscape. Part of this process involves selecting plants and trees that serve multiple purposes. Medium flowering trees are an excellent example of that strategy at work.

They accomplish the aesthetic goal of looking fantastic and complementing the other elements of your landscape, generating both curb appeal and everyday beauty that residents and visitors alike can appreciate.

Additionally, they add the functionality of providing shade and privacy, both of which as essential in Tampa Bay. Whether yours is a commercial property where employees need shaded areas to rest or a residential property where residents crave a bit of privacy, medium flowering trees excel.

Enhance Your Tampa Bay Property with These Medium Flowering Trees

While there are several varieties (or should we say, “varietrees”) to choose from, we have a handful of favorites that we’ve come to love over our past two decades of professional landscaping service in the Tampa Bay area.

Magnolia Grandiflora

A true icon of the South, this flowering tree is affectionately known as the Southern Magnolia. It is grand and proper, bringing a semblance of beauty and grace to any property it blesses with its presence. With a strong trunk that grows straight before expanding into an impressive crown of large evergreen leaves.

Its shape is stately and provides wonderfully-welcomed shade from Florida’s sun. Popping up amongst the rich leaves are soft, white flowers that are accompanied by a tantalizing fragrance. It also produces cone-shaped seedpods, adding to its visual texture.

Magnolia grandiflora grows a maximum of approximately 80 feet tall and 50 feet wide, putting it on the larger end of the medium flowering tree spectrum. It grows well in Florida and requires very little maintenance, making it a wonderful addition to most Tampa Bay properties.

Tabebuia

There are a number of tabebuia tree varieties ranging from a 25-foot maximum height to nearly 160 feet tall. These trees bloom in the spring and create quite a spectacle. Their blooms burst forth in clusters, typically boasting a vibrant golden hue.

It’s not just the warmer season where the tabebuia shines, either. In the winter, its seed pods grow between three and 12 inches, ensuring that the visual interest this tree is known for never wavers. This is true in climates without a true winter season, too, so properties in Tampa Bay shouldn’t hesitate when considering this gorgeous species. In fact, they thrive in areas without the possibility of freezing!

Thanks to their high resistance to drought and ability to grow in sandy soil, tabebuia is ideal for coastal Tampa Bay communities. While they do best with mild pruning—particularly of dead and brittle limbs—they are very low maintenance. Pests and disease are rarely issues, making tabebuia an excellent choice for those who want trees that require minimal care.

Natchez Crape Myrtle

Highly ornamental and instantly recognizable, Natchez crape myrtles are well-known throughout the Sunshine State. Its popularity is entirely understandable, as its good looks are matched by its ease of maintenance. If you’re searching for a medium flowering tree for your Tampa Bay landscape, the Natchez crape myrtle is practically the definitive option.

While the densely packed clusters of bright, ruffled flowers tend to steal the show, the crape myrtle has far more to offer than its blooms. It grows in an appealing vase shape with multiple trunks forming the structure. The bark is cinnamon in color and texture thanks to its tendency to peel from the trunk. These captivating shades of rust are complemented by rich, dark green leaves that shift to orange and red in the Fall.

With a maximum height of 30 feet and width of 25 feet, the Natchez crape myrtle falls squarely into the medium flowering tree category. It grows well in Florida and is tolerant of both drought and heat—two essential traits in Tampa Bay. They do require trimming before spring to encourage maximum blooms.

Jacaranda

If you want to ensure that your Tampa Bay property makes an unforgettable impression, opting for jacaranda trees is a surefire way to achieve that goal. Every spring, they explode with unbelievable lavender blossoms that catch the eye and transport you to a world of pure beauty. Better still, they thrive in Florida.

Not only do these flowering trees prefer the climate in Tampa Bay, but they actually do best in sandy soil. When fully grown, they can reach heights and widths of 60 feet, making them a splendid option for those wanting to fill their property with shade and aesthetic wonder.

Jacaranda does require slightly more maintenance than the other trees on this list, but the work is worth the reward. When the flowers fall, they do so en masse, necessitating quick cleanup to prevent them from decomposing and killing the plant life beneath them. They also require pruning to craft them into attractive shapes, encourage their blossoms, and keep them as healthy as possible.

Choosing the Right Flowering Trees for Your Tampa Bay Property

Even when they are in close proximity, no two properties are the same. Your Tampa Bay property is unique, as are your goals and desires for it. As such, it needs to be treated with respect and the trees you choose to plant should match your overall vision for the landscape.

Landcrafters has over two decades of experience in the Tampa Bay area, and we’re happy to bring all of our passion and expertise to your project. No matter what your dream landscape looks like, we’ll work with you to make it a reality. All you have to do is reach out to us, speak to our team of experts, and kick off the process.

If you want to expand your landscaping knowledge in your free time, we love to share what we know via our blog. It’s updated regularly and is accessible for free, so be sure to peruse it at your leisure. From tips and tricks to industry insights, it’s packed with resources you can use to better your Tampa Bay landscape.