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I visited Cozumel last year and fell in love with the Pride of Barbados, came home and wanted to purchase one immediately. I recently returned to Cozumel and fell in love with what I'm told is the Red Bird of Paradise, and yet when I compare the pictures I took in Cozumel with what I'm seeing on the internet it two different blooms...the red bird of paradise looks like the pride of barbados, red and yellow blooms, the full mature trees I saw on this trip blooms are a deep orange?? Does this sound like a family member the rest of the tree's foliage looked just like the pride of barbados?? Also how do you train the shrub to grow into the mature trees I saw in Cozumel?
Caesalpinia pulcherrima (common names : Red Bird of Paradise, Pride of Barados) can ge either red or orange and there are also yellow varieties and some salmon colored ones as well.
We used to have one that had blooms which were a combination of red and yellow. The intensity of the color can vary depending on the heat.
If you want a specific colored plant, it would be best to buy one when it's in bloom to guarantee you're getting the color you want.
Typically they grow as a tall mounding type of shrub, but you can prune up the lower branches to give it a more tree-like shape.
Your trees that you saw in Cozumel could be Delonix regia, it has similar looking flowers to the Caesalpinia but it is a tree. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2755/ I think it's a bit less hardy than Caesalpinia pulcherrima, so if you're trying to recreate that look you may have better luck with the Caesalpinia.
Do you know what zone you're in? It's typically listed for zone 10 so it's probably going to be a bit borderline for you, I would definitely plan to have something ready to throw over it if you get cold weather (particularly when it's young). I don't think they can handle much frost but you never know, some plants are tougher than they get credit for!
I live in zone 9, which is a little scary but I will happily go out and wrap my baby in a blanket!!! When I looked on the web for Delonix Regia I found a sight that sell's seeds for a bonsai...Do you know is it the same seed for both the bonsai and the outdoor tree?
I purchased seed for Delonix regia (flambouyant tree) on ebay. Out of the 5 seeds I now have 2 plants growning here in zone 8 (b). They came up fairly fast after the seeds were scarified. So far the leaves are a little fuller and brighter than pride of barbados. I have them still in a 2" pot inside a larger pot untl they get bigger. They are getting mostly morning sun.
I do have a pride of barbados growing in a clay pot that I purchased in 08. It has flowered and I will have seeds soon. I hope my flambouyant trees will do the same.
I think it will do well in zone 10. I hope you find seeds here on DG.
