Dr- thanks for the pics of the kousa in the front yard. I love the flowers it puts out...does it bear fruit though? I've heard alot of flowering trees bear fruit of various sizes...the smaller, less conspicuous and less messy the better for me. Of course that may not be possible in the smaller trees I'm interested in.
Bill thanks for the suggestions...I've been trying to find some pics of stewardia or franklinia without much success. They seem to be rare trees that are difficult to find --which doesn't discourage me though.
The kousa you mentioned has great flowers and appears to about the right size, but I wanted to know do the lower branches get far off the ground? The reason I ask is I'd like to maximize my backyard view of the sunset under the canopy of the trees if possible so a tree that branches near the ground would let me do that.
I'm sure I'm being too picky, but if there is a flowering tree out there that's not too tall and branches 3-4 off the ground then maybe some more educated folks might be able to point me in the right direction.
Thanks again for all your help Tim