Can this plant be grown as a house plant? Maybe as a Bonsi, Out doors here is not an option because of the winters, but I would like to try as a bonsi, will it work????
Bauhinia Purpurea, Orchid tree questions
It would probably be happier if you took it outside during the warmer months vs keeping it indoors year-round, but you could probably keep it in a pot. I grow B. x blakeana in a pot and put it in the greenhouse every winter and it does OK, so I would assume you could do that with B. purpurea as well.
Don't know how small you want to keep it, but with all the pruning you'll have to do to make a bonsai out of it, you may never see a flower, which would be a shame.
Again related to blooming, I'd think your only chance of seeing flowers would be to summer it outdoors so it can have some full sun for as long as the weather is warm i.e. nights above about 50 or so.
I'd say it's always worth a try. They're fairly tough trees but it's hard to imagine them bonsaied after seeing them so big. They're fast growing so you'd need to prune them back regularly. Probably best kept to the largest size you can manage.
I planted some seeds (there is also a seedless variety), planted out a few of the seedlings and left about 4 in pots. Those in the pots have been neglected, frequently missed out on watering, never fertilised, too shaded, generally neglected. They're still okay although still very small. I wouldn't call them bonsai, just spindly undernourished plants. The ones in the ground just rocketed up and one is about 2 metres tall in 5 months. They do like direct sun, or at least very strong light. Here they're considered an environmental weed and you do see them surviving under tree canopy and dense vegetation.
Yup, they're an invasive species here, too. Very vigorous and self-seed all over the place.
Pretty flowers, but as a pot plant, I'd choose something more docile.
Annabelle, unless you have very long, warm summers, or a very large greenhouse, I'd think your chances of ever seeing a flower are slim. IF you're wanting to grow it for the flowers, better move to Florida! Sure as a gun, it would just be getting ready to bloom in Sept. or Oct. and you'd have to prune it back and bring it indoors.
thanks, i thing that one will be off my list. I'm a California girl, and miss all of the tropicals I had there, but jobs are where you find them, thanks everyone
Logee's, a very old and venerable greenhouse business in Connecticut has a wonderul selection of tropicals that are suited for indoor growing. You can find all sorts of blooming plants that will do well on the windowsill during the cold months. Bear in mind their plants are not inexpensive, and they are quite small too, but the quality is high. www.logees.com
Or something that really looks tropical but you can grow anywhere are Cannas. Not expensive, readily available(Costco, Sam's Club, Home Despot and Lowe's), big tropical looking foliage and flowers in all the warm colors. (plus recently also in white) They also have some wild variegated foliage, or also nice plain leaves, and some are blue-green while others are dark red.
I'd plant yourself some big pots of Cannas if you're really wanting the lush tropical look. In winter you can just park them in a garage or basement (anywhere they won't freeze) and haul them out again next spring to give them another go.
I have cannas in pots on the shelf in the pond for the summer and several tropical hibiscus in the house for the winter, they are all in the south facing windows and have bloomed all winter, the Mandrin Wind has had about 20 blooms so far, now we have warm weather they are all going outside. I am trying to save enough to afford a four season room, I think that would take care of my longings.
That, or lots of lights - flourescent or those really expensive halogens. Years ago I had an interior office and I wanted a plant on the desk so I bought a tiny halogen lamp. The bulb was small but it put out plenty of light and I noticed the plant loved it so I bought more plants and a timer and kept it on 12 hours a day, 7 days. Soon I had a jungle in there. Of course, my employer was paying the electric bill (shhhh) in those days.