Royal Ponciana is consistently voted one of the top five most beautiful blooming trees in the world. Ours is making a comeback after suffering severe damage during a violent thunderstorm. In the daytime, the leaves open up and at night they close up.
What color does it bloom? We saw these beautiful trees in Cancun and I'm still trying to identify them. A friend from the Caribbean told me the name in Spanish but I didn't write it down and now I don't remember....but I think it was something that was vaguely like an English word. Wish I weren't quite so bird-brained somtimes!
This message was edited Jun 25, 2012 11:11 PM
Carrie, what color were they ?
if lavender/vio;et, then it was jacaranda, one
of my faves.
poinciana that Fauther is talking about has
hot orange-red blooms nd is INDEED very
flambouyant !
Carrie, you're right. The Spanish name for it is Franboyan, sometimes spelled Franbollan. That IS very similar to Flambouyant. Comadre Becky....I've been wanting a Jacaranda for the longest time. I'm going to try to find one by this fall.
I have a plant that i grew from seed that I received from a DG friend who lived in Santa Fe Texas, his name was Trois.
He has since passed away, but gave seeds to many friends and we all keep this plant in his memory. It is beautiful!!!
I keep mine potted and bring it in during freezes.
The one in Cancun was hot orange-red! It was blooming the first or second week of June when we were there a few years ago, i don't know how long it blooms. I happened to be wearing nail polish the exact color that week so I can never forget the color!
Royal Poinciana are red & all over FL & the Caribbean:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Coral_Gables_Royal_Poinciana.jpg
Royal Poinciana is also called Flamboyante in the Spanish speaking parts of FL. & the islands.
Jacaranda is a totally different tree:http://abudigan.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/jacaranda.jpg
Frostweed- What your photos show is a Pride of Barbados,Caesalpinia pulcherrima:http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_D_iEOTIGzv4/Shf0nzAecII/AAAAAAAAD2U/Hlr-HQ7OSd0/s400/200905PrideOfBarbadosEleventhStreet.
All three are gorgeous!! My Jacaranda & Royal Poinciana are all only about 2-3 years old. I just have to cross my fingers that they come back each spring, it's iffy. The Pride of Barbados does very well here, although it never becomes a large tree.
You are right Sweetmommy, it is Pride of Barbados, I don't know what I was thinking, they are all lovely.
That's IT, sweetmommy! I know a song that goes "Poinciana, your branches speak to me of love..." and I always thought it must be one of heck of a tree, but I never knew what they were talking about. Then on this Cancun trip (when I was wearing red-orange nail polish), we were surrounded by these trees with beautiful branches bearing flowers the exact color of my nail polish. My husband monopolized the camera on that trip taking pictures of me. On the way to the airport I said "wait, we have to get pictures of this tree!" and started snapping pictures out the window of the moving cab! So when she said the name in Spanish, it was a cognate word for flamboyant, just not a cognate tree!
Sorry about those links, not sure why they didn't hyperlink.
I've never seen a full grown Royal Poinciana or Jacaranda around here but I'm determined!!
My Pride of Barbados comes back every year with no care & is beautiful. New Territories, in Sugarland, has used them in their community landscaping and they are a sight to behold!
Aren't the large yellow & orange plants on the Riverwalk Pride of Barbados? Like Josephine, I have one from Trois' seeds, but mine hasn't gotten very big yet. Can't wait. I have always heard that it's not hardy in our Dallas winters, but Barb told me she saw them somewhere year after year, returning from the ground.
I have mine in a large pot, so it can't get very big, but I am afraid to plant it in ground.
There are several planted in gardens in my neighborhood. They have been coming back for many years.
Well then, I guess I better take that leap of faith and plant it in the ground this fall.
They don't get as tall as they do down in S. Texas, but they still produce flowers like crazy.
I think I will write an article about this beautiful tree, although I only saw it once in bloom myself. People seem to have such emotional reactions to it!
Carrie....If you do write an article, make sure to look at post by flyboy in Florida by doing a search on DG. He has a great hedge of them and got the seeds from Trois originally. I got some seeds from flyboy to share a while back. Not sure how many I have left, but will check.
I have my POB in the ground but not in an area where it gets enought sun right now, but it is blooming. I may protect it by digging and bringing it in one more winter and them set it out in a sunny spot again next year.
Thanks, Sheila! I hate writing about stuff I have only admired from afar, and never touched or dug or smelled....but I do it! It's too bad if I did write it, I would have completely missed the flowering period.
Mine always come back from the ground in the late Spring/early Summer, even after a couple of snowfalls here. Take the leap of faith & don't give up too early in the Spring!
