Tuesday, March 26, 2013

CAN YOU HELP ME IDENTIFY THIS TREE

 
Does anyone know what this tree is?  While I was at the farm, I was roaming around and found this one that was in bloom.  The tree has been there for a long time of course but I have never seen it in bloom.  


It was covered in these little pinkish purple flowers.  It was actually very stunning to see in full bloom.  You know, looking back, I forgot to see if they had a scent.  I was just excited to see something somewhat "new" to me.  I'm sure it bloomed last year but if it has a short bloom time, I might have just missed it when I was there last time.


Here they are closeup.  Any clue?  Since our property is mostly covered in Mesquite trees, whenever there is anything else in bloom that I can perhaps identify, I'd like to know what they are so I can properly care for them and clean out around them to make them stand out as a focal point.

Thanks in advance!

UPDATE:  Thanks to those of you that responded, it appears to be a 
CHINABERRY tree.


22 comments:

  1. flowering cherry? it looks a bit like my fall flowering cherry which blooms in spring and again in fall. it does not bear fruit.

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    1. I googled images of that but doesn't seem like what I saw but it's similar (though they are beautiful, ha!). Of course just my luck it wouldn't bear fruit. I'll have to make sure I plant my own fruit bearing trees!

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  2. I have several of those trees, they have a scent almost like faint lilac. My daughter says they are China Berry Trees, when the blossoms fade they produce clusters of green berries that dry to brown. Fun to save dried berries and spray paint them for floral arrangements.

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    1. I have looked that up and yep, it seems like that's it! Thanks for the info about the dried berries, I think that at least makes the tree 'somewhat' useful. ha. Awesome!!

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  3. Check this out ......

    http://www.ask.com/wiki/Melia_azedarach

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  4. We have one in our yard, it is a China Berry. The flowers are very fragrant, I am surprised you didn't smell them when you were taking pictures. The berries that come after the flowers smell like dog poo when they fall on the ground and get stepped on.

    They make a nice tree but tend to be brittle and break in the wind. My friend had one in her yard that was a mature tree. The whole top of the tree snapped in a bad wind storm. Thankfully no one was hurt.

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    1. Yep, that's it. Thank you so much for the info. You know I didn't really notice the fragrance. I hope they are still blooming this weekend so I can check it out. I don't like the dog poo smell though, LOL!

      It's not near the house at all so that's good.

      Thank you again for the info! I will update the posting!

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  5. We loved our China Berry tree as kids. We had an awesome treehouse in it. The berries are great for China Berry fights!
    Blessings,
    Lorilee

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    1. Chinaberry fights? Now that sounds like fun for adults too, LOL. I'm going to explore this tree in greater detail this weekend (have to get a whiff of the fragrance too). Thanks for stopping by!! Happy Easter!

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  6. Its beautiful, hope lots of other such surprises pop up on the property

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    1. I love exploring, sadly though there aren't many different trees. but there are always small surprises, like little plants and flowers and things like that. :-)

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  7. Looks pretty...and apparently it smells pretty, too!

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    1. I finally smelled it today, and yes, it was very nice. It's a nice scent, it would actually make a good room spray if they could bottle it up, ha.

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  8. Sorry, but we in the Dallas area regard Chinaberry trees as a mixed blessing. They are pretty. Their flowers are nice and its fun to see drunken Bluejays from eating soured chinaberries. BUT as mentioned, they are brittle and each berry dropped germinates and you pull more of their starts than you do weeds. If your yard is wooded, as mine, then they shoot straight up for the sun. I have some 30-40 feet tall ones that I fear in a windstorm. Why didn't I cut them young?

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    1. Thank you for the info. I'll take the good and the bad info, ha. It's not anywhere it would hurt something if it fell, so that's good and from what i can see, it's the ONLY one on the property. Go figure.

      Now the drunken bird story would be fun to watch, ha.

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  9. There were old chinaberry trees outside my office. They can be messy, but are lovely when trimmed properly. They make great habitat trees for cavity nesting birds. We had the most amazing birds in the chinaberries -- flickers, other woodpeckers, nuthatches, bluebirds, etc. These created an 'early warning system' that also attracted hummingbirds and vermillion flycatchers to nest in the branches. If you can keep them under 20 feet tall, and from getting too leggy, you may find a few are a welcomed addition to your landscape.

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    1. Thanks for that info too. It's under 20 feet now and it's a bit leggy but I want to trim it. Now that makes me really want to clean out around it and make it a centerpiece for that area. I'd love to see more variety of birds on the farm.

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  10. Agronomist Ariel Shai - IsraelMarch 30, 2013 at 1:53 AM

    I have plenty unwanted Melia azedarach on my farm. It is a noxious invader tree that should be eliminated from farms. It is highly poisonous in all its parts. However bats and a few birds consume it. The berries are used in games by blowing through plastic pipes. In order to avoid the flowerin I simply prune back the stem to 1 meter and have 3 years of rest from the billions germinating seeds. The wood is not great and too soft and light.

    Agronomist Ariel Shai
    central Israel

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    1. Thank you for this info! Sounds like i have my work cut out for me. Much appreciated!!! Please come back and visit, I've got some other trees I'll be posting for identification. :-)

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  11. Chinaberry, NICE~! I had to find out what the answer to the tree identification question. It's such a beautiful tree and flower set. :-)

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    1. Well thank you!! Appreciate the comment. It is a pretty tree. It's still on my list to trim up but might have to wait until early Spring, ha. Thanks again for stopping by!

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