Re: Delonix and Jacaranda outside the tropics

Hello all:
In answer to Glenn's question regarding Delonix regia
and likelyhood of getting it to bloom outside of the
tropics:
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia the Delonix has become quite a
common and popular tree to see, and almost all of them
will bloom regularly there once a year, but vary
substantially in how floriferous they are, and when
they start blooming.  They do seem to bloom  more
profusely in the much more humid subtropical
conditions of either coast in Saudi Arabia, as in
Jeddah. They will also do quite well in the very dry
conditions of Riyadh, which is never humid, and can
get sporadic severe winds as well.  This tree is also
very easy to transplant as a full grown specimen, and
we moved several trees which were already 40 feet tall
and across without any problems at the palace I was
working on in Riyadh. I can vouch that they are quite
tolerant of
minimum temperatures down to and including freezing
for short periods of time, as they experience fairly
often in Riyadh, but then the temps are only this cool
for a matter of hours per day, rather than for days at
a time as they would be in northern California.  The
key thing for great blooming seems to be accumulated
heat load, and they have been planted and bloom in the
area around Palm Springs, California by some
adventurous gardeners.  I also think that the best
blooming trees should be propagated from cuttings to
get reliable bloom.  Even in the tropics they may
bloom all at once or only over part of the tree, and
in Bali, Indonesia, where I just was vacationing, they
will bloom twice a year if planted in more sandy soil
conditions.  Here in Malaysia, they definitely bloom
the best in the north of the country where there is a
distinct wet/dry season, and tend to bloom in less
brilliant abundance where it rains all year round.  In
Riyadh, they tended to bloom in June, but I saw one
tree in a very sheltered courtyard surrounded by
pavement which was in full magnificent bloom in April.
 There are also other color forms such as orange and
yellow, beyond the normal scarlet flowers.  I wish we
had the heat load to be able to get it to bloom in the
San Francisco Bay Area, but will have to be content
with Jacaranda...
Speaking of Jacaranda, this tree is also grown here in
 the tropical and humid lowlands of Malaysia and Bali,
but has an altogether different
character in the wet tropics, looking rather straggly
and building up lots of dead branches, and sporadic
bloom over a longer period of time.  I think it looks
much better as a tree in California, where it has more
of the character of a twisting old Coast Live Oak
tree,(Quercus agrifolia), in it's branching character,
rather than a jumble of branches!!  It also doesn't
tend to set seed here in the tropics. 

 I've been enjoying all the true tropicals over here
such as
Heliconias, Costas and a beautiful Tecomanthe
dendrophylla in full bloom, as well as so many other
vines and trees with which I am unfamiliar.  
For absolute brilliance of bloom at the moment, the
Bauhinia kochiana vines in full bloom here in Malaysia
are enough to knock your socks off, and remind me of a
Streptosolen jamesonii shrub on steroids for the
brilliant orange/yellow blooms.  I was wondering if
anyone has had success getting this vine to grow in a
mediterranean climate, or is it only possible in the tropics?

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