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by Gloria Bennett
(Natcitoches, Louisiana, USA)

xduranta-tree-21857438

Duranta Tree picture

I have a small Duranta tree and it seems to be losing its flowers and leaving bare branches where there once was beautiful purple flowers. The bumblebees and honey bees love the blossoms and are on it constantly. Could they be part of the problem with it not continue to produce flowers?

I live in Northwest Louisiana where we have extremely hot temperatures and high humidity. This is the first type of tree that I had seen of this type and loved the beauty of the blossoms on it. It also said that it would attract butterflies and hummingbirds. It has small yellow berries on it and I believe those have seeds in them according to the internet. The limbs where once were beautiful blossoms are now very bare with no leaves or anything on them.

Hope you can help me on this. Oh yes, I have it potted in a pot and not in the ground. The Miracle Gro soil I potted it in said it had fertilizer in it so I have not added any fertilizer. I have owned it about 1 1/2 to 2 months.

Comments for Duranta Tree

Jul 06, 2016
New to me
by: Jacki

These trees have gorgeous flowers even when young, but they tend to have thorns when older, so that’s not a good trait.

The bees wouldn’t affect the plant, the flowering itself is a sign of stress, and the fact that it’s lost all its leaves means it’s most likely dead. Sorry.

The seeds in the berries can be germinated, and that’s why it’s termed a noxious weed in some areas, such as Australia, South Africa and China. The birds really like the berries and spread the seeds.

In most cases, I prefer to wait for a plant to get established before feeding it.