Learning to Grow: The semi-tropical shaving brush tree an unusual beauty

About 15 years ago, my husband and I were walking along Simonton Street in Key West, and we saw what appeared to be a colorful shaving brush on the sidewalk. We picked it up to examine this colorful, pink pompon-like flower. We looked up and saw a beautiful tree full of these unique pink flowers. What an unusual tree. 

Being interested in gardening, I just had to learn more about this tree. It is a pseudobombax ellipticum, commonly known as the shaving brush tree. This deciduous tree is native to southern Mexico south to Honduras and El Salvador. It is grown as an ornamental in Florida, Hawaii and other semi-tropical parts of the world.

It reaches 50 to 70 feet in height.

In spring, large cigar-like buds that grow 5 to 6 feet in length develop quickly as the temperatures increase. 

Shortly afterward, bright pink shaving brush-like flowers topped with yellow pollen decorate bare branches much like our magnolia trees. The flowers, which also can be white, last only a couple of days and the tree blooms for a few weeks before the tree begins to fully leaf out.

After it flowers, new leaves are maroon in color and then slowly fade through orange and bronze shades, before changing to bright, granny-apple green and – finally – a deep green.

During the summer, the large, lobed leaves provide much needed summer shade. At the end of summer or early fall, seedpods may form and open to expose a cotton ball fluff.

The tree's bark is smooth textured with whitish-green stripes that provide year-round interest, particularly at night.

I'm sure the locals would consider the tree quite messy as it drops its flowers, but I think that is a small price to pay for a tree that has some many transformations throughout the year.

Since my husband and I have only seen this tree in spring, I'm voting for a road trip sometime in summer or fall.

• Vicki Hagstotz is a University of Illinois Extension master gardener for Kane County. Call the extension office at 630-584-6166 for more information.