PlantFiles: Pink Powderpuff
Calliandra emarginata

I have planted it in my pool planter, where it has survived two cold snaps, no problem. It gets morning sun and dappled afternoon sun. Very pretty and unique. I hope to start some from seed. Perfect specimen for poolside planters.

i had these in the Keys and really loved them...so much that i brought one to central florida with me. i didn't realize how cold it could get here and the second year in ground, it froze to the soil line. the next spring it popped up like nothing had happened. this has happened several times now and it comes back better each spring.
i actually decided to dig it out altogether and i thought i got it all but apparently not because it is still thriving and blooming. these bloom in flushes from spring to frost many times over. if you have more than one, they will put themselves on a same time bloom schedule within several months time of being planted which i think is really cool.
they are prone to bugs but i don't even worry about it. it's a tough plant.

I purchased a home in Hernando County Florida in late winter. Some of the plants in the yard were without leaves and frankly, looked dead; but I let them go until spring when the 3 old, unrecognizable, chopped off bushes in the front turned out to be crape myrtles, glad I waited. In the back were thin leafless brown stalks of something, could have been a weed for all I knew. I finally removed the stalks, cut them to the ground. Something started growing from the center of those stalks and I see from this website that it is a Pink Powder Puff. It's quite lovely. I've done nothing to it but cut it down, it's growing in sand on the east side of the house getting some sun and some shade and only getting watered by the rain, no drought this summer. So, from my experience, they don't need much care.

To peterKR; Fertilizing your Calliandra's was likely the problem. I believe they fix there own nitrogen. It's in Mimosacea. When I fertilizied my Summer Chocolate mimosa, it quickly died. Your Calliandra probably improved because the watering diluted the fertilizer.

My landscaper planted a row of these next to our house; despite much fertilizing they have withered, put out almost no new leaves and few flowers. Finally I got a soaker hose and have been watering them almost daily. There is already a major difference with new growth emerging after about six months of dormancy. I think the Florida drought was a problem despite irrigation. They clearly need lots of water!

I started this plant from seed in late winter 2005. As of today , April 17, 2007 it is all of 8 inches tall and has flowered for the first time. Since I am in zone 6 I have to grow it in a container and overwinter it inside but it is so cute that it is worth it. I also have to C. californicas that I started from seed last year but have not yet started to bloom.

I purchased this as a "Dwarf Powderpuff" for a small terrarium. No sooner did I get it home and place it in a terrarium, located in a sunroom, than the leaves started growing from a length of a half inch to over 2 inches in length. Since the plant is crowding the terrarium, I will have to repot it and try it without the terrarium.

Large calliandra with relatively large leaves and flowers, from southern Mexico and central America. Looks a lot like Calliandra haematocephala. The one I saw had pink flowers, though.