Re: Brachychiton? Re: Another mystery tree

David,

I disagree with you about summer heat load being the determining factor in
the blossoming of Brachychiton acerifolius.  I have lived in southern
California for thirty years now, and have watched their performance.  These
trees are not uncommon in the Los Angeles Basin--both inland and in the
coastal areas where they don't get a great deal of heat.  The one on the
east side of the Art Gallery in the Huntington Botanical Gardens is typical.
It is in the lawn and receives water year-round.  In most years, it drops
its leaves on a branch or two here and there, and the bare branches bloom,
but the rest of the tree keeps its leaves.  Some years are better than
others, and occasionally it will lose the leaves on half the tree, while the
other half remains green.

The only year this and every other B. a. in the vicinity lost all its leaves
and burst into full bloom was in 1994 after the warmest and driest winter we
had had in more than a decade.  This included trees in Brentwood and West
Los Angeles and Long Beach as well as ones in the Pasadena area where I
live.  I discovered trees all over town that I had never noticed before.
Even boxed specimens in tree nurseries were resplendent, and I am sure that
more were sold that year than in the previous ten years combined.  The one
planted that year in Cynthia Hall's garden never did bloom again, and we
took it out last year when the wind blew it over.

Margaret Moir's comment about its unpredictability is apropos.  From my
observations, I think the warmer winter temperatures--probably combined with
some winter dryness-- is the most likely key to making it bloom profusely.
The rest of the time we should just be happy with its handsome, shiny,
sycamore-like leaves.

John MacGregor
jonivy@earthlink.net


----------
>From: david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com>
>To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
>Subject: Re: Brachychiton? Re: Another mystery tree
>Date: Sun, Oct 1, 2000, 8:34 AM
>

> Diane,
> I think that the overall heat load may also be a
> trigger for the amount of bloom for Brachychiton
> acerifolius, as well as the other irregular blooming
> Brachychitons.  Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, B.
> acerifolia is rather rare, but I have seen it bloom in
> the more inland, (and therefore hotter), locations,
> such as in Hayward, Ca., near to the city hall.
> Another tree of approximately the same age in Oakland,
> at the Dry Garden Nursery has never bloomed, and it is
> cooler in general in Oakland/Berkeley than in Hayward,
> especially in the summer.
> I saw many trees of this same size,(about 25 to 30
> feet tall), in bloom in Marbella, Spain, while
> traveling this summer, and the climate there is much
> warmer than the Bay Area.  The minimum night time
> temps in summer are much more similar to southern
> California's inland valleys, than coastal Bay Area
> locations.  I suspect that the 10F difference in
> summer night time lows may account for the shy
> blooming here, as it is generally never above 56F at
> night here, even in the height of summer.
> I would suspect that you too have cool night time
> temps, even in your greenhouse, which may be
> inhibiting bloom.  Another factor could be the lower
> light intensities during winter at your latitude, when
> the flower buds would start forming.  They also bloom
> well in subtropical desert climates, ( I saw this tree
> growing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but wasn't there in
> blooming season).
> David Feix, Berkeley, California
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> - Julius & Beverly Elischer <elischer@iinet.net.au>
> wrote:
>> Peter and Margaret Moir wrote:
>>
>> > Diane,
>> >
>> > This is my first foray into the medit plants
>> forum, but since we're still on
>> > the subject of the Brachychiton [I was about to
>> email you with the
>> > brachychiton suggestion when I saw you had already
>> got there!] I thought I
>> > would throw in my two bob's worth. The
>> Brachychiton will flower even in
>> > climates which receive  heavy winter and spring
>> rainfall such as here in the
>> > South West of Western Australia. The flowering is
>> unpredictable every where,
>> > even in it's native habitat. Sometimes half the
>> tree is lit up with blossom
>> > while the other half is bare!
>> >
>> > I think the non-flowering must be due to something
>> other than the winter
>> > wet. But I wouldn't give up hope!
>> >
>> > Cheers, Margaret
>>
>> I was just about to write the same thing. Here in
>> Perth, W.A., they are splendid
>> after our wet winters - but not always.
>>
>> Beverly
>>
>>
>> --
>> Beverly Elischer
>> Perth, Western Australia
>> Ph. +61 8 9386 5244
>>
>
>
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