Tecoma stans
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Common Name: yellow bells
Type: Broadleaf evergreen
Family: Bignoniaceae
Zone: 10 to 11
Native Range: United States, Mexico to northern Venezula and Argentina
Height: 2 to 6 feet
Spread: 2 to 4 feet
Bloom Time: Flowers freely
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Unknown
Flowers: Showy Flowers, Fragrant Flowers
Leaves: Evergreen

Culture

Winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-11 where it is best grown in fertile, organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. In St. Louis, grow plants in pots/containers that are overwintered indoors in bright sunny rooms as houseplants. Deadhead flowers to prolong bloom. Prune as needed after flowering.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Native to the West Indies, Florida, and Mexico to South America, yellow bells will grow to 20’ tall in frost-free areas where it also will typically bloom year-round. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree that can be trained in containers as a standard. Features odd pinnate medium green leaves with 5-13 ovate-oblong toothed leaflets (2-4” long). Bell-shaped bright yellow flowers (to 2” long) in axillary and terminal racemes bloom throughout the growing season. Flowers are slightly fragrant.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for spider mites and whiteflies on indoor plants.

Garden Uses

Popular plants in southern Florida and California where they are often planted as specimens, massed in gardens and shrub borders or planted as informal hedges or screens. For the St. Louis area, grow in containers that are overwintered indoors as houseplants. Also may be trained as a standard.

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