Hi,
I'm a newly on this site. I'm living in Quintana Roo, Mexico [The Caribbean coastline, the most southern part on the Yucatan Peninsula].
I need the common English or Latin name of this tree. Is anybody there to help? Thank you Heidi.
Identification please!
I think it is 'cassia alata'.
I agree.
Thanks for your help!
Heidi
cool....a little off the subject, but a popular triathlon bike/equipment company is Quintana Roo. learn something every day! Beautiful tree!
ashley - You can grow them in your zone. They are quite striking. They will overwinter in a protected spot. I had one last year, it grew to about 8 feet in one summer. It ended up with many, many enormous seed pods on it, at which point I knew I was in deep trouble. I cut them all off, so that I wouldn't become a cassia alata nursery. But when it didn't freeze back over the winter, I knew I wouldn't be able to reach the seed pods this year. Decided to replace it with something I had a little more control over.
ceejaytown, thanks for the info. is it more tree-like or vine-like. i need to look it up in plant files because it's a little hard to tell by the picture. sounds like it might be easy to grow...which is what i need, i can have a high casulty rate! :o) where did you get yours? we probably have similar climates...what are some of your best performing tropicals? i'm just getting started (and keep buying on impulse).
Hi Ashley. It is definitely tree-like in our zone. It develops a very strong "trunk". And like I said, grows very quickly. Further north, it freezes down in the winter and starts all over again in the spring. Looks more shrubby then. I got mine as a pass-along. Little thing in a little pot. But woo hoo - it took me for a ride.
I just checked in the garage, and I haven't tossed the seed pods yet. If you would like some seeds, I would be very happy to send you some.
Best performing tropicals: Barleria cristata (Philippine Violet), Black Princess taro (Colocasia jensii), Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic', Agapanthus (blooming right now and absolutely stunning), Plumeria - in garage in winter, Cryptostegia grandiflora (Purple Allamanda or Rubber Vine) - needs to be brought inside in winter, Thryallis galphimia (Golden Showers), Stromanthes sanguinea, gosh! Bunches more. My problem is that I'm not sure what is considered tropical or just subtropical sometimes. I probably named some subtropical stuff there.
CJ
CJ,
I have been wanting barleria for longtime. What conditions will it tolerate? Do you have any pictures? Same questions with golden showers as well.
ashleykelly,
I have yellow bird of paradise(caesalpinia mexicana) which is very similar to cassia alata and may be less messy. Look it up and if you are interested, I can send you some seeds.
Lovetropics
I have both white and purple philippine violet. My daughter gave me the white one and said they prefer some shade, which I don't have. Planted it where it gets hot afternoon shade and the little plant that I expected to stay little grew to over 3 feet, I cut it back regularly. It will tolerate my overwatering, but prefers it a bit on the dry side.
I don't have very good photos, but here is a photo of my white- it's more a close up of the flower. I have my purple in pots as I am afraid it will grow to 3 ft like the white and I don't have room for it at the present.
April
aprilwillis--thanks for your help. I grew up with these in India(4 different colors) and they get very big--6ft tall by 3-4ft wide. I have been looking for a few years--but this year found them at Kartuz greenhouses. placed an order--can't wait to try them. I understand that it grows easy from cuttings. Have you tried to propagate the cut branches?
ceejaytown and lovetropics, thanks so much for your generosity. i would love to try some seeds!! once i started looking at examples of cassia alata i recognized its uniqueness. it's a really cool looking plant and i could use a fast grower. lovetropics, the bird of paradise is at the top of my wants list. (it wasn't easy, but i resisted buying some today!) i've never sent a SASE. is there a certain size envelope you would need to send the seeds in? please let me know so i can get that out to y'all.
ashley
ashley,
I don't know much about SASE but the seeds don't weigh that much. Usual amount I guess for stamps--you can find my addy on this web.
lovetropics - My Barleria cristata (purple) gets morning sun. I have it in an area where it is protected from the north, and it has come back reliably for me for many years. I cut it back to about 6" after danger of frost has passed and it grows to about 4-5' by summer's end. I started with one plant (variegated) and although the variegation has gone away, it has multiplied until I have a very nice stand of it now. I looked for photos of it, but guess I never took any close enough for anywone to tell what it is. I love this plant. It has nice foliage during the summer, so it is attractive even when it isn't blooming. But it is beautiful in bloom, which begins in late summer.
I just read about baleria cristata and it gets rave reviews. the funny thing is that just this morning i was thinking about what i could plant along the fence that divides the yard and pasture....this would be perfect!
ceejay, do you think it would survive in full sun? does yours grow into a full bush? (a picture in the plant files shows a 7 year old plant that was pretty big.)
love tropics, have you gotten your plants in yet? please keep me updated on how they look. i'm going to look up the vendors. you have an envelope on the way now. how much sun does your bird of paradise get?
thanks! :o))
ashleykelly,
MexicanBOP get full AZ sun allday long and they love it.
Ashley,
I think Barleria cristata would burn up in full sun....only my opinion. Maybe someone else has some different experience? If you have animals in that pasture, you have to be careful. Many plants are poisonous to livestock.
CJ
cj,
i got my seeds in yesterday! thanks so much. as soon as i can get off this computer, the rest of the day will be spent outside...i can't wait!
i never would have thought that so many plants (some that i've had for years) would be so poisonous. thanks for reminding me; i wasn't considering that into my "master plan". there is a fence that separates the two (with a horse and sled dog team--yes, you read that right, 11 malamutes and canadian inuits in south louisiana--i demanded a small space to be off limits to 4 legged critters without adult supervision LOL), but i want to soften the look. i might try a vine because there are so many that i've already bought and really haven't found a place for yet.
i went back and read about the baleria cristata and i will just have to try to use it somewhere else if i can ever find some. (i'm about to build a pergola, so hopefully i will have more shade to work with.) all the plant file pictures are close-ups of the flowers, so it's hard to tell exactly what the shrub would look like and everyone comments on how pretty the foliage is. so if you ever feel like sharing a pic, i'll be watching :o)) thanks again for all the help and i'll keep you posted on the seeds!
lovestropics
sorry to get back to you so long after you posted, yes I have propagated and they are one of the easiest of anything I have ever rooted. I am sure that you will enjoy. What other colors?
April
April,
they come in white, yellow, lavendar and pink. I ordered 3 colors from Kartuz. I have not seen the 4th color in US though lavendar and pink look similar in pictures depending on lighting.
Yellow! Wow I haven't seen that one. I thought I saw a stripped one? may not. I have also seen them w/ variegated foliage. They are pretty but I tell you, my daughter should have given me better information on the size! Oh well if I have to move that one and it doesn't survive, I do have many cuttings!
Good luck w/ your.
I have had the variegated one, with the purple flower. Unfortunately the variegation reverted to green. Still a beautiful plant though. I have never heard of a yellow one before. Is it new? Hmmmmm..... Was it the Barleria cristata or another Barleria species?
CJ
I have one that has blue w/ lighter stripes in the flower, but, doesn't get as dense as the blue or white (which I also have). I got my white when one of the blue reseeded itself and came up white. I would love to find the yellow one, any tips?
Isn't it also called the chandelier or popcorn plant?
Buttoneer,
Two different species C. Alata - Candlelabra or chandelier, gets real tall (Up to 12' x 12' for me) and has larger leaves than C. Didymobotrya - Popcorn cassia, smaller thicker (slightly) leaves and only up to about 7' x 7' Alata blooms near the equinox spring and fall, didymobotrya near the summer soltice (long day blooming). Here they are side by side....
Dale, that's a nice comparison! How would you descibe c. fistula in comparison and which of the 3 would you grow if you could only have 2?
Lynn
reno,
C. fistula is a tree here. It is nice enough, but, bloom season is short for us. Very tender and does better south of here. I am on the bay so my winters are milder than those folks just 3 miles east of me, by 8-10 degrees. But if you go another 80 miles south there winters are 5-10 degrees warmer than here. Lots of things that do well in Ft. Myers just get by here. Royal Poinciana blooms great there, here the flowers are pale and the tree thin, almost weak. Poinciana and C. fistula have the same range.
I would grow alata and didymobotrya. They are shrubs here and both will recover from a short hard freeze, should we ever have one again. I think they are both more tolerant of dry air, like AZ has, I know alata is because it is grown widely in TX, not sure how they would like the low desert.
Thanks Dale for all the great info! I have poinciana (planning a very protected spot for it) and a small plant of didymobotrya that I have tons of places where it will do well and I do love that plant! I also have seedlings for c. fistula, I hope I won't be too disappointed in this one but I can't stop myself. I've been wanting alata and after your comparison I really want it LOL. So on that note.......
Ceejaytown.....I would love some seeds from your c. alata, do you have any left? I could SASBE or hopefully I have something you're looking for as well- LMK
Lynn
Sure do. I was just checking in...have company until Monday. Will get back to you. Will need your address - via d-mail?
if these are the same seeds i have, you will have lots of fun! this was the first time i ever grew anything from seed, and it was so exciting watching them pop up. it was so easy too! i have at least 6 little ones developing now. thanks again ceejay!