Touchy
Tropical Plants
There are a number of tender
tropical plants that are so desirable that
even though chances of success are low we offer them anyway. These are requests from our
customers whom have either lived in, or recently visited, the
tropics. If there were
no record of success at all, we would not even bother to sell these
plants. Someone has
been successful with each one of these. Try your luck! No Guarantees!
African Tulip Tree (Spathodea campanulata)
This distant relative of
Jacaranda has large, hand size, blooms in huge candelabra-like
clusters at the tip of each branch.
They are usually either orange-red or golden yellow. Because of our occasional
frosts, these trees struggle to reach 20 feet in Orange County.
Golden Trumpet Vine (Allamanda cathartica) Spectacular
vine with 5” wide golden yellow trumpets bloom from summer to
winter. Winter rains
tends to rot the roots. We’ve
seen a beautiful specimen that lives in a crack between asphalt and
the façade of a building.
Papaya Many
of our friends and customers grow Papayas. So far I’ve only eaten one
locally grown papaya that was close to the quality you get in the
tropics (most have a bland flavor).
We have a number of seedlings from that fruit. Growing Papayas is a sport
not unlike surfing. Always
anticipating perfection, but rarely attained.
Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia) We’ve heard of 2 blooming
specimens in Southern California.
These spreading trees have lacy mimosa-like foliage with
glowing red-orange flowers in warm weather. They are considered by many
the most beautiful blooming tropical tree in the world. I vow to get one to bloom
for me before I die.