An evergreen for that space would be an Arbutus "Marina". It does attract hummingbirds so should also bees. Branching structure is beautiful shiny and red bark. Al

Arbutus 'Marina' gets more like 40 to 50 feet at maturity. If you want something that is extra long blooming and also primarily attracts hummingbirds, I would suggest large shrubs such as Callistemon citrinus or C. viminalis, Iochroma cyanea, Cantua buxifolia, Fuchsia boliviensis, F. paniculata or Tecoma x smithii. All of these will get to 15 to 18 feet tall, attract hummingbirds, and have extended bloom seasons. On the other hand, most of them aren't exactly drought tolerant,(Callistemon and Tecoma excepted), and need some protection from hot winds to look their best. The Iochroma and Fuchsia also don't work very well in hotter inland locations.

I've never noticed any hummingbirds attracted to either Tabebuia chrysotricha or Erythrina coralloides, which I grow, and the bloom season is rather short for both.

David is right about the possible size of the Marina. You can keep it at 25 feet, but it will require regular drop crotch pruning, and most of us would need to hire it done. I have a Chitalpa that only grows to 25 feet, but becomes so "weedy" I still have to prune it every year. For ease of maintenance I think a large shrub probably would be better. Al

I vote for the Callistemon citrinus or C. viminalis. We have some very lovely Callistemon citrinus in our local area (Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista) trimmed up to trees that are well established and after 20 or 30 years, still look just gorgeous. Covered with lovely red bottlebrush flowers. The C. viminalis is the weeping variety, and the citrinus varieties now come in several lovely shades of pink as well. I just planted several C. citrinus along our fenceline down in the south part of our yard to help create a screen, along with some Melaleuca nesophila as they also have the neat, brushy type flower. So pretty together I think!

Patty S.

We have a purple Iochroma in a spot that gets partial sun. It's against the back fence and could use some support. I cut it down to within inches of the ground this year (an experiment) and it's coming back very nicely. It seems to like this spot, in amended rich clay.

Al: How is your Chitalpa "weedy"? We have a new one (planted very early 2010) in our front yard.

Crape Myrtles attract bees, are smallish and beautiful in bloom, with beautiful bark developing as they age.

The Spathodea is spectacular in bloom. My neighbor's is taller than 20', though. Pictures of Spathodea flowers in this blog post:

Here is a link that might be useful: Spathodea flower pictures

Does Erythrina x bidwillii actually get that big in San Diego? I grow this one here in the SF Bay Area, and it is more like 8 foot tall by across, maximum. I love this shrub/small tree, but again, it doesn't seem to attract hummingbirds, even though it is their favorite color. A lot of the other flowering trees suggested so far, while individually nice, aren't attractive to hummingbirds, which prefer tubular flowers with nectar and usually red in color.

I too was going to suggest a Crepe Myrtle. Clemson University has an excellent page with the varieties sorted by size.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson University Crepe Myrtle info

Sorry about my bad spelling.... it's not Crepe, it's Crape. Haist makes waist, LOL.

Well I settled on the Desert Museum Palo verde. I think it is a good choice. I do love the Desert Museum palo verde! The tree is covered in flowers and bees (which I love!).

Crepe or Crape I have seen both spellings all the time. I always thought it was named for the crepe-paper appearing flowers. Any-hoo, I used to live in the south and have had enough crepe myrtles to last a lifetime.

My E. x bidwillii attracts Anna's hummingbirds in droves! They were checking it out as soon as the buds started coloring up.
But there is a new project!

We are also taking out three Melaleuca quinquenervia and am thinking of replacements that won't hit the power lines as these have done. I am now kind of thinking of a taller Arctostaphylos glauca or perhaps the Cassia that Bill suggested. I also like the idea of a Tecoma there too. Decisions, decisions...

Jenn my pruning complaint with Chitalpa, is the amount of yearly growth. Each shoot will grow about four feet per year, and if not pruned yearly the shape of the tree and the amount of bloom will be compromised. It also produces lots of small growths, less than pencil size, from the major branching, if not removed it has a "weedy appearance". This area of the garden has never been fertilized. Al