PlantFiles: Pride of Barbados, Red Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, Peacock Flower, flamboyan-de-jardin
Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Dwarf Poinciana is an evergreen shrub or small tree in frost free climates, a deciduous shrub in zone 9, and a returning perennial in zone 8. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters 8-10" tall throughout most of the year in tropical climates and in late summer and fall where frosts occur. There are plants with yellow flowers and also with dark red flowers. The fruits, typical legumes, are flat, 3-4" long, and when ripe they split open noisily to expose the little brown beans.

This plant has an open, spreading habit and the branches sometimes get too long and break off. A line of plants makes a showy fine-textured screen or informal hedge. You can cut it to the ground in late winter or early spring to get a bushier, more compact shrub.

This is a leguminous plant that looks like a shrub version of the Royal Poinciana. It has ferny leaves of pale green and incredibly colorful red-orange flowers for most of the summer. It is pretty marginal in Southern California, and tends to be deciduous over the winter, but I have had no problem keeping it alive. From what I understand, it gets completely 'killed' back in zones 8a-9a, but it can grow back from its roots if well established. Though drought tolerant, mine seems to prefer a lot of water during hot, dry summers (which is all summers here southern California)

I have grown this gorgeous plant in the poorest soil Florida can offer (nearly pure sand) and in potting soil in a pot for years. It tolerates many abuses, including pot culture. Winter flooding will kill the roots, particularly in poor soil, that's the only cultural note I can add.

It is very easy to grow from seed, I've never bought the outrageously priced plants. They get those prices because the flowers are so very showy. I was given seeds from a friend -- it is a great producer. You have to deadhead with great determination to get all the pods before they pop open. But the seedlings are easy to pull where not wanted, so it is not a terrible trial to own.

I have grown this tree for several years in central Texas (Zone 8). It has grown to at least 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide. I do trim it back in the fall and it consistently comes back in the spring. It is beautiful when blooming - literally covered in bright red blooms. It is one of my favorite trees.

I planted my Pride of Barbados last year. It is beautiful. I am interested in growing it from seed...I have had luck rooting it from cuttings but they are just starting out.

I never plant anything bigger than a 1 gallon size plant because it grows very rapidly here in Southern Arizona. They are drought tolerant and actually grow more compactly if not overwatered. It has a tropical foliage that contrasts nicely with desert landscaping. I cut mine back to the ground in January and it is about 5 ft. tall and 4 ft. across today. The only bad thing I can say about them is if not deadheaded lots of seedlings will come up during the rainy season. Leave the seedlings you want to keep and easily pull up the rest.

Has anybody grown it as a small shade tree?

"Red birds can be trained into small trees but do not have the visual impact of the pruned shrub form. Typically stems are pruned to within 6 to 12 inches above the ground, when the plant is dormant, to promote flowering and denser branching next season." You'd get to retrain it every year from scratch. Blah!

"Of the Caesalpinia species, C. cacalaco and C. mexicana are most adaptable to being trained into patio tree form."

Anything that blooms so enthusiastically in the heat of summer gets my vote.

Growing this plant from seed is extremely easy. Simply, lightly sand the seed before soaking in water for up to 24 hours. If external coating very hard then cut/nick shell to enable water to penetrate the internal kernel. Pot into a good medium of loamy/good draining compost and water lightly. Do not overwater as rotting may occur. Then simply place into a polythene bag on a warm sunny window sill and wait for approx 10 days. Once leaves appear remove from bag and keep warm preferrably in direct sunlight with good air circulation, but again do not overwater these plants as they are drought tolerant. They grow happily in the United Kingdom but may need some extra mulch to protect over winter.

I have found these beautiful plants a joy to grow, seeds are readily available from the pods that form. Just leave them on the plant until they are just about to pop.

I got some seeds from a friend. They are growing well. Very easy to grow. I just planted them this spring, they are about 4 to 6 inches tall already. I would like to know how long it will take for them to start blooming.

Just sharing a few thoughts and a couple of photos. The Red Bird of Pardise thrive here in our south/central Texas dry and hot summers. They seem to do very well in the sandy soil and don't mind the extremities of the mid-day sun. They start to bloom around the middle of may and continue throughout the summer.

They have wonderful color blooms and a very unusual flower structure and obviously attract lots of bees and butterflies. As you can see in the last photo I added, they produce seed pods that when left on the plant to dry can be collected for seeds.

However, they do require protection from extremely cold conditions. Of the two I had here last season, the one that was not covered suffered some damage from freezing rain and had to be cut back. It survived and is doing fine this summer, but it lost most of last year's growth.

I recommend this plant to anyone in the south that wants to add something to their landscape that's both drought tolerant and colorful.

Having not pruned it at all for all the 7 years, it has grown to the height of my first floor window. More than 15 feet tall. It is a lovely sight in bloom esp. from a little distance. I maintained it only in its firs year from seed. Later it is on its own. Now it has become a good canopy as well as a screen to the adjacent street. Good plant to have in a garden.

Intricate orange-yellow bloom. Color-wise, they are a bright orange and yellow, clashing with most other flowers. I grow them under a royal poinciana tree and they look wonderful. Oddly, there is a dwarf poinciana growing in a cemetery in Baltimore, MD. Global warming? Anyone know of the dwarf poinciana growing in Baltimore historically?

A great landscape plant for the Phoenix area. A short article and nice photos of it are located at the following link.

[HYPERLINK@www.phoenixtropicals.com]

I can't say enough good things about this plant. Out here in hot dry W. Texas it has been just beautiful. We put it on a drip system for deep watering. The 2nd year it was about 5 ft. tall and 5' across and covered with long-lasting blooms. Our winters are cold enough that it freezes back to ground level but pops right out and grows rapidly as soon as the nights are 65' or higher. The only difficulty we've found is growing from seed. We've tried soaking in warm water after scoring the hard seed with no luck.

Red Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, Pride of Barbados, Peacock Flower, flamboyan-de-jardin Caesalpinia pulcherrima is Naturalized in Texas and other States.

I personally don't grow it but it is grown throughout Hawaii and used in lei making. The plant is call Ohai Alii in Hawaii.

I love the plant as it is constantly in bloom. However, one night the temperature dropped to 28 degrees for a couple of hours and killed it. I have just purchased another and will try again.

Jim