Yellow Bells is a tropical shrub native to the West Indies, Florida, and Mexico through South America that transforms gardens with masses of bright yellow tubular flowers. Hardy in zones 10 to 11, this broadleaf evergreen grows 2 to 6 feet tall and wide, producing fragrant, showy blooms that attract butterflies throughout the growing season. In cooler climates, it thrives as a container plant moved indoors for winter, flowering prolifically in bright sunny rooms much like Mandevilla or Bougainvillea. The medium green, pinnate foliage with toothed leaflets provides an elegant backdrop to the blooms, while deadheading keeps flowers coming.
Full Sun
Moderate
10-11
72in H x 48in W
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High
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The flowering is the main event here: once Yellow Bells gets established, blooms arrive in abundance, with some sources reporting continuous flower production while others note a June peak that extends into frost. The fragrant tubular flowers attract butterflies reliably, making this shrub as much a pollinator magnet as it is a visual showstopper. Gardeners in cooler regions have learned to treat it as a seasonal patio specimen, moving container-grown plants indoors where they continue flowering in a bright window. Unlike many tropical shrubs, it tolerates moderate watering and moderate maintenance once established, asking mainly for full sun and well-drained soil.
Yellow Bells is grown as an ornamental shrub for its prolific, fragrant flowers and attractive foliage. In zones 10 to 11, it serves as a landscape specimen or backdrop planting. In cooler climates, gardeners grow it as a tender annual or seasonal container plant for patios, moving it indoors during winter months where it continues to flower in bright, sunny rooms.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
In zones 10 to 11, transplant established plants into fertile, organically rich, well-drained soil in full sun. In cooler climates, grow in containers and move outdoors after the last frost, then return indoors before temperatures drop below freezing.
Prune as needed after flowering to shape the plant and remove any dead or crossing branches. Deadheading spent flowers prolongs the bloom period and encourages more flowers to form throughout the season.
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“Tecoma stans has traveled the Americas for centuries, native to tropical and subtropical regions from the West Indies through Central America to South America and parts of Mexico. The plant arrived in cultivation as gardens in warmer zones recognized both its ornamental value and its prolific flowering habit. In temperate regions like the St. Louis area, nurseries adopted the container cultivation method, essentially importing the tropical growing tradition and adapting it for seasonal patio gardening, much as they do with Mandevilla and Bougainvillea.”