Re: Brachychiton? Re: Another mystery tree
David und Co.,
As I mentioned I have been growing an "unknown" Brachychiton which I
bought at San Marcos for 18 years. It came labelled B. diversifolia.
Is that a valid name? The leaves are softly rounded into three vague
lobes, new growth is quite dark red eventually turning a light green.
It bifurcated after a freeze when very young at about 12" from the
ground and it definitely wishes it got more water. New growth is very
susceptible to cold damage but always comes back. It'survived 19F in
1990. No sign of bloom. Autralian posters and others---any ideas?
david feix wrote:
>
> 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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