Is there a Geiger tree hybrid ?

[Bill H2DB]

I've had great success with the white " Texas Geiger" here in Daytona Beach .

It has endured for about 18-20 yrs . I know that the native Florida Geiger has been considered

to be too tender for our NE Fla typical winter lows .

I wonder if a Hybrid is possible, and might be a bit hardier ?

My Texas " Wild Olive / Geiger " , is about 18' and I've had a lot of folks stop by and ask about it.

[LJG]

Try Cordia lutea. It does great here in SoCal.

[Silas_Sancona]

Bill,

Agree on Texas Olive's hardiness. Being planted a lot more around Sarasota lately. Also saw many of these around Phoenix when there a couple years ago.

As for a cross between this species and the native Florida species, can't see why it wouldn't be possible. Having specimens of both, will be attempting such a cross once my Orange Geiger seedlings reach flowering size.

While harder to come by, another species I have, Cordia parvifolia, has done well here thus far. Shrubbier than the "tree type" species, this native of Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico takes lots of heat/drought with ease but is noted to be difficult to propagate from seed. Cuttings are also a challenge. Supposedly is hardy down to at least the mid-lower 20's. Here are a couple pictures from last spring. Flowers like mad once the humidity/ afternoon storms kick in.





-Nathan

[Eric in Orlando]

2 other Cordia species that have grown well here at Leu Gardens is Cordia africana and C. superba.

Cordia africana grows 15-20ft tall and bears white flowers. It has larger leaves and is fast growing Ours is about 15ft tall and 3 years old from seed. It hasn't flowered yet. It is native from a wide region of African from South Africa up to Nigeria and Ethiopia and even into Yemen.

Cordia superba also bears white flowers. It grws 10-15ft and is from eastern Brazil.

[SubTropicRay]

There are good sized Texas Geiger all over the Tampa Bay area. None were damaged in the "big" 2010 freeze. I suspect many larger specimens predate the 1980's.

[Bill H2DB]

My geiger.

Texas Geiger by Air Void King 4.0, on Flickr

[fastfeat]

That's a good-looking C, boissieri.

Agree with Eric. Cordia superba is typically a slightly larger tree with fans of pure white flowers. Slow-growing and difficult to find in the trade. Not sure about frost tolerance; I'd expect damage in the mid-low 20sF on young trees.

Cordia africana is a much larger tree in SoCal; 60-footer at Fullerton Arboretum. Smaller white flowers in rounded heads are prolific in spring, carpet the ground below each morning in season. Again, uncertain as to cold-hardiness, but I suspect it would take low 20sF once it gained some size.

[JasonD]

Cordia boissieri is a good tree even inland in Northern California. A friend planted it on his property in the Gold Country around 2000 feet elevation, where snow occasionally falls, and morning lows can dip easily into the 20s in the winter.