Re: tree-line!!
On Wed, 28 Jun 2000 13:03:43 +0200, you wrote:
>> I'm a great fan of flowering trees and we have a mild climate so I
>>have been trying to determine which will grow here readily. But I have
>>noticed that some of them vary greatly in flower production.
>> Particularly pertinent right now is the Jacaranda tree. When
>>treated "right" it puts out a wonderful display of blue tubular flowers.
>>It's a thirty to forty foot tree so a heavily blooming specimen is a sight
>>to see.
>> We just returned from a short trip to Los Angeles and they are
>>blooming right now. They always look great down there. And they usually
>>look great in Santa Barbara.
>> They are also blooming here and this year they look great. Some
>>years they look very skimpy and look like they are struggling. I don't know
>>what happened in the last six months to give the great bloom we're getting
>>this year. It is probably the frequency, timing and amount of rain! But it
>>certainly appears that we are on the "tree-line" for them and unless things
>>are just right, they will have a poor bloom! ---Chas---
>
>
>Hi All
>
>Chas, I think you'll find the dry winter you had is the main determinant of
>Jacaranda blooming. Its one of those ones from a summer rainfall area &
>needs a dry winter to set the flowers properly. You'll probably find the
>drier conditions further south of you in LA aid this compared to what you
>get.
>They flower here in Capetown as well & we had a great show this last summer
>due to the previous abnormally dry winter we had. Not going to be a great
>show this coming summer though as we're lovely & wet now. Pretoria is known
>in SA as jacaranda city & in October is a real picture.- Dry, mild winters &
>summer rains. I find bougainvillea follows the same principal & while we can
>grow & flower it here OK it never achieves the mass of flower you'll find in
>dry winter areas. We can grow mangoes as well but never get anything useable
>off them.
>
>Has anyone had any experience with the Flamboyant - Delonix Regia - along
>the same lines. I've only ever known & loved it from the tropics. Saw it
>used & abused as a street tree in Graff Reinet in the heart of the Karoo.
>Summer rain but a very hard spot, so I thought I'd try one here as a totally
>inappropriate extravagance. I planted it in my most wind sheltered spot I
>have as part of a line which includes 4 Castanea sativa. Sods law applies
>now, the Castaneas have stood still & looked sick with the Delonix thriving.
>This is its 3rd winter. does anyone know if I'm likely to get any flowers
>out of it ?
>
>Regards
>
>Glenn Breayley. Ragnarok & Valhalla Research.
>POBox 26158, Hout Bay, 7872, Capetown, South Africa
>Ph/Fax SA 021 7904253 E-mail valhalla@iafrica.com
>Wholesale nurseryman & Tillandsia specialist wholesale & retail grower.
Chas, Glenn and everyone in the group,
Just to add to the confusion over Jacaranda blooming, here in the Algarve in
southern Portugal we have long, hot, dry summers and wet winters with little
or no frost. Jacarandas are used extensively as street trees and they flower
magnificently. The last of the flowers have just finished. Streets lined
with them in full flower is a wonderful sight. So they do not appear to mind
dry summers and wet winters.
Bougainvillea is over-planted here. While it is a spectacular sight for most
of the year it can become a bit monotonous when almost everyone has it in
their garden. If the Portuguese people put one flowering plant in their
garden it will be a bougainvillea. So again it appears to like the dry
summers and wet winters. I have seen old abandoned houses covered in
bougainvillea where it gets no summer water at all.
On the other hand I have never seen Delonix Regia growing in this area. I
have just come back from Malaysia where they were in full flower and what a
sight they made! Fantastic! I would love to grow them here but surely they
need high humidity to grow well? Heidi Gildemeister in her book
'Mediterranean Gardening A Waterwise Approach' lists Delonix Regia, and says
that it is "fairly tolerant of drought and wind, it needs well-drained and
mulched soil". If anyone has any experience of growing this tree in a
Mediterranean climate I would like to know as I am very tempted to try one!
Regards,
Graham
---- Graham Payne ---- dpsgkp@mail.telepac.pt ----
