Bird of Paradise Shrub - Caesalpinia

-
Do you grow this?

This beautiful Caesalpinia is the tropical variety, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, growing at the home of one of Russell Studebaker's friends in Tulsa.
In fact, Studebaker wrote about Caesalpinia in an August Tulsa World column.


Also called the Pride of Barbados, it is cold hardy to zone 8.

(Tulsa is zone 7, and northwest Arkansas is zone 6, so if we want to grow it, we have to protect it in the winter.)


Another variety, Caesalpinia gilliesii is native to Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, etc. It's flowers are not as red but are equally beautiful and dramatic.

Even though it is said to be cold hardy only to zone 8, the USDA site shows its native territory including OK.

Sharon Owen's parents grew it beside their house in a protected spot in Muskogee so I remain hopeful that when my seed-started plant is two years old (next year) it can safely be planted in the ground. Sharon (Moonshadow Herb Farm) bought a few seeds and shared them with me.


UCB featured it last year.


The Univ of Arizona Master Gardeners featured the plant on their site.
Photo of Caesalpinia gilliesii

Arizona Master Gardener's website



One Arizona nursery, Horticulture Unlimited, features Yellow Bird of Paradise, C. gilliesii.

You can see by the leaf form that it's in the pea or legume family. Mary Ann King,owner of Pine Ridge Gardens said that cold, wet planting soil will rot the seeds.

So if you decide to go with seeds, plant them in a loose mix, keep them well drained and warm.

Start the seeds now while the weather is still warm.

Seeds for the tropical C. pulcherrima Thompson Morgan

Seeds for the locally hardy C. gilliesii Chiltern and Tradewinds Fruit

C. gilliesii plants will be available from Bustani Plant Farm next spring.

My seed-grown plant is only 1.5 years old. It's still in a one gallon pot and I'll bring it inside one more winter before having the courage to put it out into the harsh conditions we have here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

-
Image
Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicide.  They are all planted in the
Read more

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

-
Image
Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodically to make sure it is still f
Read more

Create Nesting Areas for Birds and Wildlife

-
Image
From the website, Choose Natives , this lovely and instructive article helped remind me to continue to increase the amount of habitat and nesting that we provide in our garden. Many, though not all, are native or considered to be native in Oklahoma. So, I did a little research on each recommended plant and provided a link to more information. You'll see the plant name in italics - those are my links for your edification. Here's the post Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs.  His lecture, ‘ Native Plants for Nesting Birds: Connecting Flora and Fauna’,  given to a group of enthusiasts at the Millersville Native Plant Conference   in Pennsylvania, focused on his observations. Here are Derek’s landscaping recommendations for attracting birds: Plant shrubs in clusters (“habitat circles”) that will create the dense
Read more