"sacha" wrote in message
...

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a species of tree that
flowers from mid-October?

I doubt that it would be a native species, but my neighbour had one
in his garden for a short period. During late October it suddenly
flowered, and attracted Red Admiral butterflies in quantity on mild,
sunny days. As a butterfly enthusiast this was an unexpected bonus,
that is until one February day the following spring a man with a
chain-saw arrived and cut the entire tree down.

Had I have known this was planned, I could have asked to take a
couple of cuttings and tried to propogate them for my own garden. The
neighbour is not a gardener and therefore has no idea what species of
tree it was, and it was there when he moved in, so he did not plant
it.

Sadly, I have no details except that it was about 12-15 ft tall by
its demise, and seemed to grow relatively slowly, plus it had
dark-ish waxy leaves.

A very inadequate description, I'm afraid, but can anyone provide any
clues?

Taking a stab in the dark, try Arbutus unedo or Myrtus communis. But
where you live will make a bit of difference to the flowering period
and it would help to know the flower colour. The other possibility is
a Hoheria but that's more a late summer flowering tree than an
autumnal one. And was this one evergreen or deciduous?

Thanks very much Sacha.

I am in Somerset, and so quite mild - relatively speaking. I can't ever
remember the tree being without leaves, so presumably it was evergreen.
I cannot recall the flower colour, as the tree was quite a distance
away. I would not have known that it was flowering except for suddenly
noticing the butterflies, so I guess the flowers must have been
relatively small.

I think therefore it is more likely to have been the Strawberry Tree
rather than the Myrtle, and now I have some names to assist me.

Thanks again.

The Myrtle flowers aren't very large but are noticeable because the
trees tend to be absolutely covered. Ours are flowering now for the
second time. The thing with myrtles is that they tend to seed
themselves around quite a lot so your neighbour would probably have
noticed that! But I'm just wondering why he had it cut down? I mention
that because sometimes things flower out of season if they're dying.
It's as if they put in one last effort at propagating themselves. We
had a Eucryphia which suddenly flowered in January (iirc) and promptly
died. It's supposed to flower in summer!

With hindsight, I think he had it cut down because it was shading his
conservatory, especially in the Autumn and early Spring when the sun is
relatively low in the sky. He seems not to like anything that grows above
about 8 feet tall.

Don't remind me of plants flowering immediately before dying; my cactus
always seem to do that.

Comfort yourself with the thought that these things happen to all of us!
Anyway, perhaps your cacti are monocarpic and will bequeath you some of
their baby selves!


--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon


What about Eleagnus x ebingii ours is in full flower now and is attracting
butterflies,

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk