Hi, there is a tree in my area on the Eastern Shore of MD that has a gorgeous purple cone shaped flower, similar to a butterfly bush, but not. This tree is 20 - 30ft tall. Someone told me about a bush with a name that begins with a c but I thought it was more of a bush not a tree. Any guess as to what this tree might be? Thanks!
Any chance of us seeing a photograph of the tree in question? It would make IDing it so much easier for us.
I have no idea without seeing a picture of the flowers and leaves, but it sounds like it could be either a catulpa or Empress tree--a cousin of the catulpa. They get over 60 ft full grown. The Empress tree has lovely lavender or purple flowers.
Are you maybe thinking of a Bottle Brush Buckeye? I don't have a picture I can post, but you could look it up and see if that's what you have. It is a shrub and grows in zones 5-9. Approximately 20' tall.
Paulownia tomentosa (Empress Tree, Princess Tree) Blooms on the Catalpa tree are white, so that one is eliminated.
Vitex agnus-castus? Different sites online say it can grow on the east coast of the US and get to tree size. The flowers look a whole lot like butterfly bush flowers.
A wild guess from me. Maybe it's a lilac tree?? The flowers appear in the summer and last for about a month. Lilac flowers are very fragrant and do resemble those of a butterfly bush. The trees can grow to a height of 15 to 30 feet.
