Flowering Trees in Texas: 16 Species That Handle the Heat

Texas has more flowering tree options than most people realize. The problem is that half the trees sold at Texas nurseries came from breeding programs in Oregon or the Carolinas, and they melt in a Dallas July or choke on Hill Country caliche.

The trees on this list actually work here. Eleven of them are Texas natives. The rest are proven performers that have survived decades of 105-degree summers, alkaline clay, and the occasional February ice storm. If you’re planting a flowering tree in Texas, start with this list.

If you’re looking for flowering trees across all zones (not just Texas), check our guide to trees with pink and purple flowers or our full flowering trees list.

Pink and purple flowering trees for Texas

These are the trees people search for when they type “purple trees in Texas” or “pink flowering trees Texas.” The good news: some of the best purple-blooming trees in the country are Texas natives.

Texas Redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis)

The Texas redbud is the state’s best spring show. Every February and March, these trees explode with magenta-pink flowers on bare branches before a single leaf appears. The whole tree looks like it’s on fire for two to three weeks.

The texensis variety is smaller and tougher than the Eastern redbud sold everywhere else. Glossier leaves with wavy edges, better heat tolerance, and real drought tolerance once established. It tops out around 15-20 feet, which makes it perfect for front yards and patios.

• Zones: 6a-9b (all of Texas)
• Mature size: 12-20 feet tall, 15-25 feet wide
• Growth rate: Fast
• Bloom: Magenta-pink, February through April
• Drought tolerance: Moderate to high once established
• Native: Yes

Plant it where it gets afternoon shade in South Texas and the Gulf Coast. Full sun in North Texas and the Hill Country is fine. The ‘Oklahoma’ cultivar has deeper rose-pink flowers. ‘Texas White’ exists if you want the form without the color.

One honest warning: Texas redbuds rarely live past 25-30 years. Borers and canker diseases catch up to them. Plant one knowing it’s a 20-year tree, not a 100-year tree. Still worth it for those February blooms.

Texas Mountain Laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum)

If you’ve driven through the Hill Country in March and smelled grape Kool-Aid, you’ve met the Texas mountain laurel. Those drooping clusters of violet-blue flowers are unmistakable, and the scent carries 50 feet.

This is an evergreen that stays green year-round, grows slowly (plan on 1-2 feet per year), and thrives in the rocky limestone soil that kills half the trees at Home Depot. It actually prefers poor drainage and caliche. If you have terrible Hill Country soil, this tree was made for your yard.

• Zones: 7a-10b
• Mature size: 10-15 feet tall, 8-12 feet wide
• Growth rate: Slow
• Bloom: Violet-blue, February through April
• Drought tolerance: Excellent
• Native: Yes (Hill Country and Edwards Plateau)

The bright red seeds in silvery pods are poisonous. Seriously poisonous. If you have small kids or livestock, either skip this tree or remove the seed pods each fall. The seeds contain cytisine, which is no joke.

Deer leave it alone, which matters in rural Hill Country where they eat everything else. Not cold-hardy in the Panhandle (zone 6b).

Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)

Desert willow is the tree that blooms when everything else has given up. Trumpet-shaped flowers in pink, purple, violet, or white start in April and keep going through October, heavy in May and June, then sporadic after summer rains. That’s one of the longest bloom windows of any Texas tree.

It handles the worst soil Texas can throw at it: caliche, rocks, sand, poor drainage, full-blast sun. Native to desert washes and arroyos in West Texas, it evolved for conditions that would kill a dogwood in a week.

• Zones: 7a-11b
• Mature size: 15-25 feet tall, 10-15 feet wide
• Growth rate: Fast when young
• Bloom: Pink, purple, violet, or white (varies by cultivar), April through October
• Drought tolerance: Very high
• Native: Yes (South-central and West Texas)

The ‘Burgundy’ cultivar has deep purple flowers. ‘Timeless Beauty’ is lavender-pink. Pick your color. All of them attract hummingbirds.

Desert willow can self-seed and get weedy if you let it go. Pull seedlings in spring or deadhead spent blooms. It’s not reliably cold-hardy in the Panhandle, but DFW and south is fine.

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

You already know crape myrtles. Every strip mall parking lot in Texas has them. But there’s a reason they’re everywhere: nothing else blooms this hard for this long in Texas summers. July through September, when everything else looks fried, crape myrtles are covered in flowers.

The trick is buying the right cultivar. The Indian x Fauriei hybrids resist powdery mildew, which is the disease that turns crape myrtles white and ugly by August. ‘Tuscarora’ (coral-pink, 16-20 feet) and ‘Sioux’ (dark pink, 15 feet) are two of the best. ‘Natchez’ (white, 20-25 feet) has the added bonus of cinnamon-colored peeling bark. If you want more pruning guidance, read our guide to trimming crape myrtles.

• Zones: 6a-9b (all of Texas)
• Mature size: 6-35 feet depending on cultivar
• Growth rate: Fast
• Bloom: Pink, red, white, lavender, or purple, July through September
• Drought tolerance: High
• Native: No (China and Southeast Asia)

Do not top your crape myrtle. “Crape murder” (cutting the canopy back to stubs every winter) is the most common tree crime in Texas. It destroys the tree’s natural form, produces weak regrowth, and makes the mildew problem worse. Prune only dead wood, crossing branches, and suckers at the base. That’s it.

Alkaline clay? No problem. Crape myrtles don’t care about soil pH. They handle heat, drought, air pollution, and neglect. Just give them full sun.

Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana)

Mexican plum is one of the earliest trees to bloom in Texas. White and pink flower clusters appear in February and March, sometimes before Valentine’s Day in Central Texas, filling the air with a sweet fragrance. It’s one of the first food sources for bees and butterflies each spring.

Beyond the flowers, the mature bark is worth the tree by itself. Blue-gray and satiny smooth with horizontal striations. In a yard full of rough-barked oaks, a Mexican plum trunk stands out.

• Zones: 4-9 (all of Texas, plus most of the US)
• Mature size: 15-20 feet tall, 15-25 feet wide
• Growth rate: Moderate
• Bloom: White to pink, February through April
• Drought tolerance: High
• Native: Yes

The fruit ripens from yellow to purple in late summer. It’s edible and makes good preserves if you get to it before the birds do. Deer, turkeys, and songbirds love it.

Mexican plum handles alkaline soils, clay, and rocky limestone without complaint. It’s one of the easiest native trees to establish if you follow a proper tree planting process.

Vitex / Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus)

Vitex fills the gap between spring bloomers and summer crape myrtles. Those fragrant purple flower spikes (3-6 inches long) start in early summer and keep going for four to eight weeks. Deadhead them and you’ll get a second flush.

It grows fast (up to 2 feet per year), tolerates drought, and laughs at alkaline soil. Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds swarm it. Deer leave it alone, which makes it a Hill Country favorite.

• Zones: 7a-8b (dies back to roots in zone 6)
• Mature size: 10-20 feet tall, 10-20 feet wide
• Growth rate: Fast
• Bloom: Purple to lavender (pink and white cultivars available), early to late summer
• Drought tolerance: Strong
• Native: No (Mediterranean, widely naturalized in Texas)

Fair warning: vitex self-seeds aggressively. It’s considered potentially invasive in parts of Texas and naturalizes along roadsides. Deadhead before seed pods mature to keep it from spreading. If you’re in a rural area, this is worth paying attention to.

In North Texas (zone 7), hard winters can kill it to the ground. It regrows from roots, but you lose a year of structure. ‘Montrose Purple’ reaches 25 feet. ‘Blue Diddley’ stays compact at 6 feet if you need something smaller.

Mexican Buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa)

Mexican buckeye is one of those native trees that should be in every Hill Country yard but almost nobody knows about. Bright magenta-pink flower clusters appear in March, right alongside the redbuds. The flowers are fragrant and the fall color is golden yellow.

It’s tough. Rocky limestone, dry soil, full sun or part shade. It usually grows as a multi-trunked large shrub or small tree (8-12 feet), but you can train it to a single trunk if you start early.

• Zones: 6b-9b
• Mature size: 8-15 feet tall, 10-15 feet wide
• Growth rate: Fast once established
• Bloom: Bright magenta-pink, March through June
• Drought tolerance: High
• Native: Yes (West and south-central Texas)

The seeds are toxic. Like Texas mountain laurel, this is a “keep an eye on the kids” tree. It’s also a host plant for the Henry’s Elfin butterfly, which is a nice bonus if you care about native insects.

White flowering trees for Texas

Anacacho Orchid Tree (Bauhinia lunarioides)

This is a Hill Country endemic. It grows nowhere else in the US naturally. The white to pale pink orchid-like flowers appear in February through April, and the two-lobed butterfly-shaped leaves are distinctive enough that you’ll recognize the tree even without blooms.

It’s small (6-12 feet), slow-growing, and perfectly adapted to thin rocky limestone soil. In the right spot, a mature Anacacho orchid tree is one of the most beautiful small flowering trees in Texas.

• Zones: 7b-10b
• Mature size: 6-12 feet tall, 6-10 feet wide
• Growth rate: Slow to moderate
• Bloom: White to pale pink, February through April (may rebloom in fall)
• Drought tolerance: High
• Native: Yes (endemic to Texas Hill Country)

It can die back in severe Hill Country winters (it got hit hard during Winter Storm Uri in 2021), but usually resprouts from the base. Plant it in a protected spot on the south side of your house for the best odds.

Texas Olive (Cordia boissieri)

If you live south of San Antonio, Texas olive is one of the showiest white-flowering trees you can plant. Large white trumpet-shaped flowers with yellow throats bloom nearly year-round in South Texas. In the Rio Grande Valley, this tree barely stops flowering.

• Zones: 8b-10b
• Mature size: 15-20 feet tall, 15-20 feet wide
• Growth rate: Moderate
• Bloom: White with yellow throat, near year-round in South Texas
• Drought tolerance: High
• Native: Yes (Rio Grande Valley and South Texas)

The catch: it can’t handle cold. Damaged at 25 degrees, killed at 15. If you’re in Dallas, Austin, or anywhere north of I-10, this tree won’t survive a normal winter. It’s strictly for the southern third of the state.

Southern Magnolia ‘Little Gem’ (Magnolia grandiflora)

Don’t plant a full-size Southern magnolia in your yard unless you want a 60-foot tree that drops leathery leaves year-round. ‘Little Gem’ is the cultivar you want: 15-20 feet tall, tightly columnar, with 4-inch fragrant white flowers that bloom from late spring through summer. It blooms intermittently for months, not just a two-week spring show.

• Zones: 6a-10b (all of Texas)
• Mature size: 15-20 feet tall (over 20 years), 8-10 feet wide
• Growth rate: Slow
• Bloom: Creamy white, late spring through fall (intermittent)
• Drought tolerance: Moderate
• Native: No (southeastern US cultivar)

Here’s the Texas-specific issue: magnolias prefer acidic soil, and most Texas soil is alkaline (pH 7.5-8.5). On limestone soils in the Hill Country and Central Texas, you’ll see iron chlorosis (yellowing leaves with green veins). Acidifying fertilizer helps. Gulf Coast and East Texas have more acidic soils and are better magnolia territory.

Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)

Fringe tree earns its nickname “old man’s beard.” In late April and May, it covers itself in drooping white clusters of strap-shaped petals that look like shredded tissue paper. The effect is feathery and unlike any other flowering tree.

It’s a slow grower (6-10 inches per year), which limits its appeal for impatient Texas gardeners. But in the right spot with consistent moisture, a mature fringe tree is a genuine showpiece. It does best in North Texas and East Texas, where it gets more reliable rainfall and heavier soils.

• Zones: 3a-9b (all of Texas)
• Mature size: 12-20 feet tall, 12-20 feet wide
• Growth rate: Slow
• Bloom: Creamy white, late April through early June
• Drought tolerance: Moderate (needs consistent moisture)
• Native: No (eastern US native, adapts to Texas)

Not ideal for West Texas or South Texas. The drought and heat are too much without supplemental watering. If you’re in DFW or East Texas with clay soil, fringe tree actually handles the heavy clay better than most flowering trees. For help keeping newly planted trees alive through their first Texas summer, see our watering guide for new trees.

Yellow flowering trees for Texas

Esperanza / Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans)

Esperanza earned Texas Superstar designation from Texas A&M, and it deserves it. Bright yellow trumpet flowers bloom nonstop from June through November in South Texas. The ‘Gold Star’ cultivar was specifically selected for Texas performance.

• Zones: 8a-11b (dies to ground below 28 degrees, returns from roots)
• Mature size: 10-25 feet in South Texas; 3-6 feet where it freezes back
• Growth rate: Medium
• Bloom: Bright yellow, late spring through frost
• Drought tolerance: Excellent
• Native: Yes (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico)

In San Antonio and south, esperanza grows into a real small tree with a woody trunk. In DFW and north, treat it like a perennial: it freezes to the ground, grows back from roots by May, and blooms by July. Either way, hummingbirds and butterflies are all over it.

Retama / Jerusalem Thorn (Parkinsonia aculeata)

Retama is one of the showiest yellow-flowering trees in the Rio Grande Valley. Bright yellow flowers with one orange-spotted petal bloom in spring and rebloom after summer rains. The weeping, airy canopy with green bark is distinctive even without flowers (the tree photosynthesizes through its bark and stems, so it stays green even when leaves drop in drought).

• Zones: 8a-11b
• Mature size: 15-30 feet tall, 15-20 feet wide
• Growth rate: Fast
• Bloom: Bright yellow, spring through fall
• Drought tolerance: Exceptional
• Native: Yes (South Texas)

Two serious warnings: the thorns are real and they hurt. Not a tree for a yard where kids play barefoot. And it self-seeds aggressively. It’s been classified as invasive in some areas worldwide. In a managed yard it’s fine, but don’t plant it next to open rangeland.

Goldenball Leadtree (Leucaena retusa)

This might be the most underused native flowering tree in Texas. Golden yellow puffball flower clusters (like mimosa flowers, but yellow) bloom from April through September on a fine-textured, feathery canopy. It’s native to the limestone canyons of Big Bend and the Edwards Plateau, which means it handles the worst caliche soil in the state.

• Zones: 7b-10b
• Mature size: 12-20 feet tall, 10-15 feet wide
• Growth rate: Moderate to fast
• Bloom: Golden yellow, April through September
• Drought tolerance: Exceptional
• Native: Yes (Big Bend, Edwards Plateau)

If you’ve got a rocky, dry, seemingly impossible planting spot in the Hill Country or West Texas, goldenball leadtree is your answer. It’s semi-evergreen in mild winters and provides food for white-tailed deer and other wildlife. Hard to find in nurseries because few people know about it. Ask for it by name.

Red and orange blooms

Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

Pomegranates are both ornamental and edible, which is a combination most flowering trees can’t offer. Orange-red crinkled flowers (they look like crepe paper) bloom from late May through fall. Then you get actual fruit in September and October.

Fruiting is better in hot, dry regions. West Texas and Central Texas pomegranates produce better fruit than Gulf Coast plantings, where summer humidity interferes with pollination. In North Texas, use cold-hardy cultivars like ‘Salavatski’ or ‘Russian Red.’

• Zones: 8a-10b (cold-hardy cultivars to zone 7)
• Mature size: 12-20 feet tall, 10-15 feet wide
• Growth rate: Moderate
• Bloom: Orange-red, late May through fall
• Drought tolerance: Strong once established
• Native: No (Central Asia, naturalized worldwide)

Alkaline Texas soils are fine. This is a Mediterranean plant used to limestone. Pomegranates are long-lived (200+ year specimens exist) and nearly trouble-free once established. If you’re growing fruit trees in Texas, see our guide to fertilizing fruit trees in February for the right timing.

Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora)

Red yucca isn’t a tree. It’s a 3-5 foot succulent that sends up arching 4-6 foot flower stalks covered in coral-red tubular flowers from April through October. I’m including it because it’s one of the most iconic Texas native plants and the flowers are spectacular.

• Zones: 6a-10b (all of Texas)
• Mature size: 3-5 feet tall (foliage), 4-6 feet (flower stalks)
• Growth rate: Medium
• Bloom: Coral-red, April through October
• Drought tolerance: Exceptional
• Native: Yes (West Texas)

Hummingbirds are obsessed with it. Plant red yucca at the base of a flowering tree for a layered effect: pomegranate or desert willow above, red yucca below. It handles full sun, reflected heat from pavement, caliche, sand, and rock. Zero maintenance once established. The ‘Brakelights Red’ cultivar has even brighter red flowers.

What to know before planting in Texas

The soil problem

Most Texas soil is alkaline (pH 7.5-8.5). In the Hill Country and West Texas, you’re dealing with caliche hardpan on top of limestone. In North Texas, heavy black clay that shrinks and cracks in summer.

The native trees on this list evolved in these soils. Texas redbud, mountain laurel, desert willow, Mexican plum, Mexican buckeye, Anacacho orchid tree, retama, goldenball leadtree, and red yucca all handle alkaline soil and rocky conditions without amendment. Crape myrtles and pomegranates tolerate it too.

Magnolias are the exception. They prefer acidic soil and struggle on limestone. If you’re set on a magnolia in Central Texas, plan on regular acidifying fertilizer treatments.

Summer heat and when to plant

Texas summers kill more newly planted trees than any disease or pest. The best planting window is October through March, when root growth outpaces water loss. Check our best time to plant trees guide for specifics, but the short version: fall planting gives your tree an entire cool season to establish roots before the first 100-degree day.

For the first two summers, plan on supplemental watering. A TreeGator watering bag slow-releases 20 gallons right at the root zone and takes the guesswork out of how much to water. Use one from May through September during the establishment period.

Deer

In the Hill Country and most rural Texas, deer eat everything. The deer-resistant trees on this list: Texas mountain laurel, vitex, desert willow (usually avoided), red yucca, and flame acanthus. Everything else is fair game unless you protect it with a tree guard or cage for the first few years.

Winter Storm Uri and cold hardiness

February 2021 changed how Texas gardeners think about hardiness zones. When Austin hit -2 degrees and San Antonio dropped to 5 degrees, trees rated to zone 8 died by the thousands. Texas olive, retama, esperanza, and many crape myrtles were killed to the ground or outright.

For species listed as zone 8+, plant them with a possible Uri-level event in mind. South-facing locations near your house provide 5-10 degrees of protection. A layer of frost cloth over small trees during an extreme freeze can save them. For more cold protection strategies, see our frost protection guide.

Quick comparison: best flowering trees by Texas region

North Texas (DFW, zones 7b-8a): Texas redbud, crape myrtle, Mexican plum, vitex, fringe tree, pomegranate (cold-hardy cultivars)

Central Texas (Austin, San Antonio, zones 8a-8b): Texas redbud, Texas mountain laurel, crape myrtle, Mexican buckeye, desert willow, Anacacho orchid tree, pomegranate, esperanza

Hill Country (zones 7b-8b): Texas mountain laurel, Anacacho orchid tree, Mexican buckeye, goldenball leadtree, desert willow, Texas redbud

South Texas and Rio Grande Valley (zones 9a-9b): Texas olive, esperanza, retama, desert willow, crape myrtle, red yucca

West Texas (zones 7a-8b): Desert willow, goldenball leadtree, red yucca, retama (low elevations), pomegranate

Gulf Coast (zones 8b-9a): Crape myrtle, magnolia ‘Little Gem’, Texas olive (southern Gulf), fringe tree (northern Gulf)

If you want more tree recommendations for other regions, check our California native trees guide or our general ornamental trees guide for picks that work across the country.