PlantFiles: Yellow Bauhinia, Yellow Bell Orchid Tree
Bauhinia tomentosa

I planted the Bell Orchid appx. 3 years ago and it is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. I am concerned however about the root system. In the last six months the tree has really taken hold and is filling out becoming much larger than I had expected. The tree is appx. twenty feet from our pool and I would like to know if the roots can reach, and possibly damage the concrete pool. If so if you could someone please advise me on the safest way to go about moving the tree?

Beautiful, tolerant and vigorous grower!

I planted this lovely blooming tree in December '04 in a spot receiving 3/4 day sun but exposed to the north here in zone 9B. We had a cold rainy spell with windchills in the 20's which really set this plant back. Almost all the leaves turned brown around the edges. I dug it up, planted it in a big pot, trimmed the branches back and brought it into the lanai where it will get full sun and be protected from the north. I have high hopes for a recovery.

This tree has provided blooms almost daily since I planted mine on 8/2/03. It now has seed pods which I'm looking forwarding to taking advantange of. It's said to be a small tree, which is exactly what i was looking for, probably no more than 15 feet tall.

Alas, I had to move last fall and couldn't bring the tree with me, but brought the seeds. In March I planted 21 seeds and had 100% germination. Still in zone 10b