This one is well over the gutters of the house and is finally starting to bloom.
Caesalpinia gilliesii reaching for the sky again.
I'll post more pictures when all the buds open.
C. mexicana is blooming too, but it's not that impressive. It just has yellow flowers with short yellow stamens and fatter leaves. I'll get a picture of that one tomorrow. The one that I really wish would bloom is my C. pulcherrima, but there are no signs of buds on that one. Here's a picture of that one from two years ago when I bought it:
Hi Clare,
Can't wait until the buds open more,is it planted into the ground,or is it in a container?
Hi Don! I had it in a container, but it just got too large, and when it grew about eight feet tall, I put it in the ground. I think it is around 12 feet tall now. I'll get a wide shot of it tomorrow. Don, your epi 'Siagon' is about to bloom. I'll post pictures of it as soon as it does:-)
That is just beautiful!!! I have a couple of seedlings that I hope do well.
Yet again Clare, nice photos and beautiful plants!
Thanks, guys. Here is the C. mexicana below. It is nice but not as impressive as the other Caesalpinias in my opinion. I grew a bunch of the C. mexicanas from seed. They did well with little care, and some of the flowered in the second year. I tried to grow some C. pulcherrima seedlings once, but they needed a greenhouse in the winter and didn't survive outdoors even in my Zone 10. I think they need a lot of heat when they are young to survive.
hiya Clare_CA
Blooming in Temecula as well. These are much smaller than yours (5-6ft). My C. mexicanas didn't make it through the winter either.
C. pulcherimma getting started. Should be able to move them out soon.
Hi Dr. Don, yours sure are pretty. I almost like them better when they are smaller. I was tempted to prune mine, but it felt like I was about to top off a tree so I didn't. My one main stem only has one branch below the top. Yours look like nice bushes.
Your seedlings look great. It was the C. pulcherrima seedlings that I lost in the winter. The C. mexicana seedlings did just fine outside. You will have to bring your seedlings inside next winter as well, I think?
hiya Clare_CA,
I think I'll be putting C. pulcherimma into large pots and then move them back into the greenhous for the winter. C. mexicana loved the heat out here but when it snowed last winter with the hard freeze that followed they became toast. Hope to locate some C. mexicana seed to start over. Thanks for your compliments on C. gilliesii. I do prune them during the warm season to keep them under control. They provide some shade for some tropical Salvias so I try to keep them a little more dense with foliage. Keeping them shorter also allows for Dahlia imperialis to reach for the sky without interference. Aren't you growing Delonix regia? I have some seedlings that I sprouted and could use some advice on exposure out here in Temecula.
best to you,
Don
Hi Don, if I get seedpods following my C. mexicana blooms, the seeds are yours if you want them.
That sounds like a good plan with your C. pulcherrima seedlings. Someday, when I have more room, I'll have to try to grow the C. pulcherrima flowers which are pink. I love the different colors that they come in.
Actually, I did grow a Delonix regia from seed up until about a week ago. I had a bunch of trees that were outgrowing their containers and taking up a lot of room so I called the owner of a nearby nursery and offered them to him, and he came with a big truck and picked them up. He gave me some large containers in trade so it worked out well. I had my Delonix regia seedling for about three years, and it lived in a five-gallon container for most of that time. I brought it into my portable greenhouse for the winter, and it was happy there with the heat and the humidity. It did drop some leaves in the winter, and I guess you are supposed to keep it drier in winter, but I watered mine. I think you will have to keep your seedling in a container for its life and bring it in to the greenhouse for the winter each year. It is very easy to grow and loves heat and sun. I'm not familiar with the climate in your area, but if you get a strong scorching sun, you may want to keep your seedlings in filtered sun or part sun for their first summer. They are all over Hawaii so I imagine that the hot sun suits them just fine provided they get lots of water. The soil they are planted in should be well-draining.
Clare,
When I first planted my C. gilliesii a few years ago, it was awkward in its shape. That first winter, I cut it back serverely to give it more balance. Last year, as a consequence, it grew wonderfully and very shapely. New branches started in just the right areas and of course it bloomed at the tops of all those new branches. This past winter I changed my strategy. I figured that now since I had a nice shaped plant, I would prune it only lightly.
Well, I'm back to a lopsided plant this Spring. I'm going to be ruthless with it this coming Winter.
-Ron-
Hi Ron, I probably should trim mine too, but I kind of like its tree-like form so I may leave it. I'll get a new picture of it tomorrow, but here is a picture that I took today. In the picture is my Michelia x alba, and to the right, you can see my C. gilliesii flowers.
I just planted two different kinds (Pride of Barbados Red BoP and Yellow BoP). How long will it be before I can expect seedlings?? I think the Yellow one is coming up already but the Red has not yet. Just two tiny leaves on a very short stem so far for the yellow--at least I HOPE it is the plant I planted not some WEED!!! hehehe My first time with these--only got seeds, no planting instructions or info. Thanks!! Bonnie
It's gorgeous Clare and very exotic looking! Ü
Bonnie, they need lots of heat and should germinate fairly quickly. It's been so long since I planted seeds of my C. mexicana that I can't remember how long the seeds took to germinate. I think it was about two weeks. You will have to bring the seedlings inside a greenhouse for the winter because they need a lot of heat when they are young seedlings. They take two to three years to bloom from seed.
Thanks, Lilypon!
Here's a low flower that I took a picture of the other day:
Clare..I bought some seeds of the pink flowered form.I planted the seeds.(6 altogether)One sprouted quickly..the nothing on the others.I had them on a heat bench at work..I brought them home last week and put them on the front steps...and lo and behold two more are comming up!! Yea!! I really like these guys.I want seeds of the all yellow large flowered one..shaped like the red with yell edges but is all yellow.
Kyle, I'll let you know if I get seeds following my flowers. They are yours if you want them. I only have the yellow C. mexicana and C. gillesii. I grew some C. mexicana from seed, and they flowered in the second year. The C. mexicana flowers are small and fairly unremarkable, I think. I have two C. pulcherrima plants, but they didn't flower for me this year. One of them had flowers on it when I bought it. I sowed the red and pink C. pulcherrima seeds one year, but they didn't make it through the winter outdoors, even in my warm climate. The C. mexicana seedlings did fine through the winter outside, but the red and pink C. pulcherrima died rather quickly, which leads me to believe that they need heat and constant temps for about the first year. There are some really nice colors of the C. pulcherrima flowers. I've seen some nice ones on eBay.
Beautiful, Clare.
Larry, I got the C. pulcherrima seeds from someone on eBay. It was a couple years ago now, and I don't remember who it was that I got them from. If you can start with plants, you will be very glad that you did because these plants grow very slowly and take years to flower from seed. I think I've seen plants on eBay as well.
Larry..ours at work is always in bloom I may be able to find fresh seeds...I'll look Saturday. :-)
I have some Caesalpinia Pulcherrima Red BOP seeds
and Caesalpinia decapetala seeds,and also growing some Pink (Caesalpinia Rosea) the pink ones are about 1 ft tall this is the first year for them so do not have seeds for them.
Looking for some of the Caesalpinia Aurea , C. Cream colored one also, C. Mexicana and also C. Gilliesii if anyone has these and want to trade for some of the above.
Antoinette
I would like some of these seeds too--Caesalpinia gilliesii. My POB are doing well. Leaving them outside a bit longer. They are in 4" pots now I think but they probably need to be transplanted into larger containers before I move them inside for Winter. They will be fine on my back porch--it stays pretty hot back there all the time (the hot water heater is there!!)!! These are such cute little plants!! hehehe Thanks for the advice and tips Clare_CA!! If you get seeds for your lovely I would LOVE to have some!! (By the way, it did not take long for the seeds to germinate. I soaked them in boiling water overnight, pushed into soil and watered. Think it was a couple weeks? Don't remember!! Really should pay more attention and probably keep some sort of records?!!
Bonnie
hiya Gourd, hiya servantsheart,
I've got tons of ripe C. gilliesii seed will send for postage. gave all my C. mexicana seed was given away this year since it ripened a bit earlier. I'll gladly send, dmail your details.
best,
don
Hi guys, I had to cut my C. gilliesii way back before it formed seedpods, and I may actually pull it up and take it out. It was dropping way too much litter on the front sidewalk, and DH asked that it be removed because of the mess. If it will grow back to be more compact, it can probably stay because the litter won't quite reach the sidewalk again, but if it grows tall and lanky and over the sidewalk again, then it will have to be dug up. The other Caesalpinias don't seem to be quite as large as my C. gilliesii got to be -- at least not yet. C. gilliesii gets to be the size of a small tree.
Hi Don,
Thank you so very much, will send Postage right out. The Caesalpinia pulcherrima Red BOP seedlings have really had me going for the last three years. What I thought were the red, bloomed the second year and they were the C. decapetala (very small racemes of flowers), boy was I disappointed.. Then, the others all turned out to be yellow.
Clare, I remember about two or three years ago talking about the seedlings with you on another forum. They are tricky little devils..
The last year, very few seedlings have made it, even though I've sowed at least 50 seeds. I do have about 3 or 4 one foot tall seedlings. But, I had to use bottom heat, dome, and mist them alot, then keep them in a protected area all summer. I really beleive that they have a long tap root and if they are not transplanted soon into bigger pots, they just don't make it. (God only knows what color these will bloom), I finally just went out and bought myself a plant in bloom.
Now, as far as the Pink ones, I too sowed 6 seeds, and have 3 three seedlings (2 very healthy ones and 1 so so).
I've seen them all over this area, so I hope they like my yard.
Anyway, looking forward to getting different varieties..
Thank you very much..
hiya Clare_Ca,
Last year I cut mine and they remained compact. This year I let them grow to get some seed to share and they've gotten rather lanky. But from last year's experience they will indeed stay compact, or relatively compact since they do have a more open growth habit. Yours look great!
My C. mexicana didn't like our heat wave so much and the pulcherrimas loved it....go figure...lol.
best to you,
don
Antoinette, I agree with you that the Caesalpinia pulcherrima seedlings are indeed tricky little devils. The only ones that I had any success sowing and keeping alive were the C. mexicana seedlings. I now have five or six of those seedlings planted near my driveway, and they are doing very well and get very little water. The flowers of the C. mexicana are not remarkable in my opinion and are all yellow. Good luck with your seedling. I hope you get lots of flowers from them. The blue-green leaves and flowers of the C. pulcherrima plants are much prettier, I think. Although, my C. pulcherrima didn't flower again this summer. It's been in a five-gallon container for a long while now and would probably like a bigger container or a place in the ground. I wonder if it needs some winter chill to bloom. I had it in my portable greenhouse last winter. I think this winter it will have to stay outside and fend for itself.
Thanks, Don. I reread the thread above and read that you normally cut yours back in the winter. I think I will cut mine down even further this winter also. It's good to know that it will stay somewhat compact when it regrows. It sounds like this will be its saving grace! I'm glad too because I like the flowers very much and didn't want to have to dig it up. My C. mexicana plants loved the heat this summer, but my C. pulcherrima refused to bloom so you got me surrounded! Best to you also.
