Tecoma X ‘Orange Jubilee’
Many people call this plant Esperanza, but others use the common name yellow bells, since the flowers are long, tubular, and bell-shaped. The common species (Tecoma stans) has large, yellow flowers, but this cultivar, as its name implies, has orange flowers.
The leaves of ‘Orange Jubilee’ are a deep, glossy green, with a glossy brightness to them. You may see this plant listed as a semi-evergreen, but it will usually be deciduous here in Central Texas. In cold winters, ‘Orange Jubilee’ will freeze to the ground, but unless it’s unusually cold, this root hardy shrub will come back once spring temperatures warm-up sufficiently, so you’ll need to prune out all the dead stems. Even if ‘Orange Jubilee’ doesn’t freeze to the ground, you might consider pruning it to about 3 inches from the ground anyway, since that will make the plant fuller, and bushier.
This fast-growing shrub loves the full, hot sun, so it would do very well in a southwestern exposure, where you might have too much reflected heat for anything else to survive.
‘Orange Jubilee’ can tolerate virtually any soil type, and will grow very quickly to over 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide. This gorgeous shrub thrives on very low water, so if you’re looking for a virtually care-free plant, ‘Orange Jubilee’ would be a great choice.