Gorgeous Cassia Fistula in NE Los Angeles

[SprGarden]

I noticed this incredible cassia fistula "golden shower tree" outside a thai restaurant in northeast los angeles today.  It has set tons of seed pods, some of which I collected and plan to germinate.  Anyone else have success growing this plant in southern california?  This tree is in a very hot summer microclimate at this location, with some frost every winter.   The tree seems to be thriving.  Any advice on germinating and growing them in SoCal?

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

10 minutes ago, SprGarden said:

I noticed this incredible cassia fistula "golden shower tree" outside a thai restaurant in northeast los angeles today.  It has set tons of seed pods, some of which I collected and plan to germinate.  Anyone else have success growing this plant in southern california?  This tree is in a very hot summer microclimate at this location, with some frost every winter.   The tree seems to be thriving.  Any advice on germinating and growing them in SoCal?

 

 

Great find.. not a Cassia sp. you see much out there.  In the past, pictures of other S. Cal. specimens ( primarily around San Diego, if i remember correctly ) have been shared on the forum.  Would be nice to see more updated photos of those.

Aside from 4 decent looking  ( by desert standards ) specimens in a neighbor's yard in my neighborhood here in Chandler ( none of which have set seed in the 3 years i have been here. Always look a bit rough due to the heat / dry air / no consistant rainfall here ) and a couple others i spied around Scotsdale awhile back, practically unknown around Phoenix.. 

If the seed you collected is good, should be easy to start. Might nick the seed to break the seed coat and get 'em off to a faster start. Pretty fast growing from all the times i have germinated them. Keep warm thru the first winter.  Younger seedlings a bit more sensitive to the cold first couple years post-germination.. or has been my experience w / them in CA.  

Good luck,  and share some  updates as they progress. 

[Silas_Sancona]

Forgot to mention, if you come across seed of it, ( have only seen them listed acouple times, not sure why ) Cassia afrofistula would be great to try out there also. Is supposedly a touch hardier than C. fistula. Working on getting a seedling i have bigger atm. Will be interesting to see how it performs in CA. once back there. Got lucky and was able to collect a few seeds off a specimen at Selby Gardens ( near the entry of the parking lot ) when i lived in Bradenton a few years ago. Not fond of the heat here but steady grower so far.  Wish i had more seed. 

[greysrigging]

We regard them as a bit of a weed in the Top End. I don't personally, ( I have one in my front yard ) but the trees themselves are rather nondescript and grow with a poor form......until they come out in magnificent bloom. They are an 'old school' flowering tree in the Darwin region, renowned for thriving on neglect, irregular or non existant watering during the dry season and seemingly resistant to termites. They were widely grown pre Cyclone Tracey and you still see some survivors of that terrible day in the older suburbs of Darwin. The old name for them here was Cascara Tree. Also widely planted as street trees in old mining towns, around cattle station homesteads and Aboriginal communities. Often see the yellow display of a lone tree out bush.... a fair indication there was once a settlement nearby. The seeds were used by old timers back in the day as a treatment for constipation.
My tree flowers sporadically twice a year, at the beginning and end of the Wet, and does set seed. My specimen gets watered during the Dry, therefor doesn't lose all its leaves, but probably affects the flower set as they do better after prolonged drought.


These ones in the mining town of Alyangula on Groote Eylandt.

A nicer tree, ( both in form and flower ) is Cassia Javanica. Trees in my suburb are seedless therefor are not weedy, unlike the large capsule pods of Fistula which float, get carried away in floods and create weedy colonies along river banks.

[SprGarden]

Here’s an update on my neighborhood cassia fistula.  This tree is really going off.  I have not seen one looking this good outside of Hawaii.  These may be weeds to our friends in Australia, but quite a rare sight in California.

[greysrigging]

^^ Weedy in my climate ? perhaps, but hell, can't fault that flower display....its a beauty !
Sept is the month of flowering for Tabebuia argentea, also a nondescript sorta tree that is fairly ratty for 10 months of the year, then stuns us all with a magnificent yellow flower display.
Our local Weed Police want us to grow this instead of Fistula....
https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/sun-newspapers/our-crowning-glory/news-story/9cb6e348e237f613d7789a4725f42c88

[Silas_Sancona]

20 hours ago, greysrigging said:

^^ Weedy in my climate ? perhaps, but hell, can't fault that flower display....its a beauty !
Sept is the month of flowering for Tabebuia argentea, also a nondescript sorta tree that is fairly ratty for 10 months of the year, then stuns us all with a magnificent yellow flower display.
Our local Weed Police want us to grow this instead of Fistula....
https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/sun-newspapers/our-crowning-glory/news-story/9cb6e348e237f613d7789a4725f42c88

Tabebuia ( many sp.  now relisted as Handroanthus ) are great trees. Unfortunately, most of the really showy sp. inc. the species in the article  flower mostly in the late winter- mid spring timeframe compared with Cassia fistula which tends to present it's biggset flower show later on, at least specimens here ( my neighbors' still have some color. Display this year has been far less impressive compared to last year overall though ) and on specimens i recall from Florida, and have seen pics posted of from S. Cal.  There is supposedly a late spring / early summer? flowering Tabebuia sp. but is rarely seen. 

Me personally, i'd  ideally like to have enough space where i can plant several specimens of both Cassia and Tabebuia / Handroanthus sp, ( amoung numerous other flowering trees), so that there is always at least half a dozen or so trees / sp. in flower all year with the biggest displays being in late winter / early spring ( Tababuias, Brachychitons, some Erythrinas, etc. ) and summer/ early fall when things like Cassia fistula, Jacaranda, Bulnesia arborea, various Delonix, and other heat loving trees are showing off. 

[greysrigging]

I wonder if the Illawarra Flame Tree would thrive on SoCal ? One of the prettiest spectacular native Aussie flowering trees ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachychiton_acerifolius )
There are a couple in our local botanical gardens, but really our climate is too tropical for it to thrive here. Native to the Sydney region.

 

[Silas_Sancona]

6 hours ago, greysrigging said:

I wonder if the Illawarra Flame Tree would thrive on SoCal ? One of the prettiest spectacular native Aussie flowering trees ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachychiton_acerifolius )
There are a couple in our local botanical gardens, but really our climate is too tropical for it to thrive here. Native to the Sydney region.

 

Yes, these do fine there, and up in / around the San Fancisco Bay Area, though you see them mostly in warmer areas  ( South / East sides of the bay, Santa Cruz, possibly Monterey ). Have seen them planted in the Palm Springs area as well.  Botanical Garden at the Huntington, and the Los Angeles Arboretum have a good selection of Brachychiton sp. in each of their collections.  Believe there are some really nice, old Flame Trees in the Santa Barbra area also.

[Hillizard]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Yes, these do fine there, and up in / around the San Fancisco Bay Area, though you see them mostly in warmer areas  ( South / East sides of the bay, Santa Cruz, possibly Monterey ). Have seen them planted in the Palm Springs area as well.  Botanical Garden at the Huntington, and the Los Angeles Arboretum have a good selection of Brachychiton sp. in each of their collections.  Believe there are some really nice, old Flame Trees in the Santa Barbra area also.

Yes, and in interior NorCal too. I have B. acerifolius and B. discolor here as overstory/canopy shade trees. Both are over 20 ft. in height. Neither has bloomed yet and some of the leaves scorch in our hottest weather, but otherwise they're growing very well. I've posted pictures of them previously on this forum.

[greysrigging]

5 hours ago, Hillizard said:

Yes, and in interior NorCal too. I have B. acerifolius and B. discolor here as overstory/canopy shade trees. Both are over 20 ft. in height. Neither has bloomed yet and some of the leaves scorch in our hottest weather, but otherwise they're growing very well. I've posted pictures of them previously on this forum.

They grow quite well near my mother's place at Camden in the Sydney basin. Camden probably endures the greatest climatic range in the region. +45c (  113f ) and as low as -5c ( 23f ). Their natural habitat is closer to the coast and in the coastal ranges of the eastern seaboard, so cooler and much wetter.

[Hillizard]

3 hours ago, greysrigging said:

They grow quite well near my mother's place at Camden in the Sydney basin. Camden probably endures the greatest climatic range in the region. +45c (  113f ) and as low as -5c ( 23f ). Their natural habitat is closer to the coast and in the coastal ranges of the eastern seaboard, so cooler and much wetter.

I can only hope mine will surprise me one year and look that spectacular!  It's almost that size but with a thinner trunk.

[JasonD]

Brachychiton acerifolius do pretty well away from the ocean influence here in San Francisco, although bloom is somewhat sporadic both year to year and limb to limb. Doesn't matter much since foliage and form are so nice.

[greysrigging]

The Cassia fistula's are in full bloom across Northern Australia at the moment...

[mnorell]

I happened to glance over while on the freeway today driving through San Bernardino and saw a fabulous burst of yellow a block or so away, and immediately recognized it as a going-gangbusters Cassia fistula. I found it on Google Maps, it is located on Highland Avenue just east of State St., in front of a house in the 1900 block of Highland. The one Google Street View showing it in bloom is from way back in August of 2011. It is much bigger now! But here it is in 2011.  And below is its appearance from earlier today. Sorry for the poor quality, taken from the passenger window at 60mph! 

Still amazes me that this tree is not regularly sold in nurseries in SoCal. Yes, it needs heat, and is probably not a good bet in Santa Monica or Dana Point (i.e., Sunset zone 24)...but a tree I grew from seed and put into a landscape job in the late '80s has bloomed beautifully in Hollywood for decades, and the above-posted tree in L.A. and specimens further inland and in the Sonoran desert (including chilly-winter Tucson, planted at University of Arizona) show that it can take some cold and still perform beautifully.

[Silas_Sancona]

3 minutes ago, mnorell said:

I happened to glance over while on the freeway today driving through San Bernardino and saw a fabulous burst of yellow a block or so away, and immediately recognized it as a going-gangbusters Cassia fistula. I found it on Google Maps, it is located on Highland Avenue just east of State St., in front of a house in the 1900 block of Highland. The one Google Street View showing it in bloom is from way back in August of 2011. It is much bigger now! But here it is in 2011.  And below is its appearance from earlier today. Sorry for the poor quality, taken from the passenger window at 60mph! 

Still amazes me that this tree is not regularly sold in nurseries in SoCal. Yes, it needs heat, and is probably not a good bet in Santa Monica or Dana Point (i.e., Sunset zone 24)...but a tree I grew from seed and put into a landscape job in the late '80s has bloomed beautifully in Hollywood for decades, and the above-posted tree in L.A. and specimens further inland and in the Sonoran desert (including chilly-winter Tucson, planted at University of Arizona) show that it can take some cold and still perform beautifully.

 Neighbor's 3 trees Just finished flowering and are looking a little bare atm..  but have done well otherwise. No issues w/ the cold in winter.  She also has had a Tamarind  growing/ flowering for about 15 years.  There are a few others scattered around this side of town/ Scottsdale. Maybe some others in South Phoenix/ Tempe.

Agree w/ you, these should be more commonly planted, especially in commercial situations which would be irrigated more.  Have a straggly C. afrofistula holding it's own through the summers here the last 3 years.  Hoping it will finally start moving more once out of the desert. Quite challenging to find anyone who sells seed of it.

[mnorell]

I think this species wants a dry spring, typical "waiting for the monsoon" period (as in its native India) in which it can drop some (or many) of its leaves, then burst into bloom just at the beginning of the rainy season. The best ones in Key West are unirrigated street trees; and the Keys have a very monsoon-ish climate. I'm noticing in the Coachella Valley that many of the Delonix regia planted are in lawns and irrigated throughout the year...the result being a smattering of flowers over a longer period of summer rather than the drop-dead-gorgeous scarlet umbrella that you see in unirrigated tropical areas (such as the median strip of US1 through Key Largo). That dry, hot period in April-May-June is vital in ensuring a really stunning bloom. And much (if any) irrigation in the January-June period could really screw it up.

[greysrigging]

42 minutes ago, mnorell said:

I think this species wants a dry spring, typical "waiting for the monsoon" period (as in its native India) in which it can drop some (or many) of its leaves, then burst into bloom just at the beginning of the rainy season. The best ones in Key West are unirrigated street trees; and the Keys have a very monsoon-ish climate. I'm noticing in the Coachella Valley that many of the Delonix regia planted are in lawns and irrigated throughout the year...the result being a smattering of flowers over a longer period of summer rather than the drop-dead-gorgeous scarlet umbrella that you see in unirrigated tropical areas (such as the median strip of US1 through Key Largo). That dry, hot period in April-May-June is vital in ensuring a really stunning bloom. And much (if any) irrigation in the January-June period could really screw it up.

Sure does....the Top End ones flower spectacularly after being 'droughted'  during our dry season. My front yard tree gets year round water and only flowers sporadically.

[mnorell]

11 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

...Have a straggly C. afrofistula holding it's own through the summers here the last 3 years.  Hoping it will finally start moving more once out of the desert. Quite challenging to find anyone who sells seed of it.

 I have also been looking for seed of C. afrofistula. This one piqued my interest a decade ago and at that time Top Tropicals in Ft. Myers was shipping plants of this species. Unfortunately I was in Natchez, Mississippi at the time (zone 9a), and the small plant I bought from them croaked its first winter, that being the infamous 2010 season. I think C. afrofistula might bloom on new growth and my hope was that it could be treated like a half-hardy plant if it could grow fast enough and flower in a season. Now that I want it again in a much more amenable climate, it's nowhere to be found. The other frustrating one for which I've searched fruitlessly is Caesalpinia peltophoroides (now reclassified--unfortunately--as Cenostigma pluviosa v. peltophoroides). That is a beautiful smallish tree with lovely fine-cut foliage and Peltophorum-like inflorescences. It also was available a decade ago and now I can't turn up a plant- or seed-source anywhere. That one was surprisingly strong in the cold Gulf-state winters, I had planted it in mid-2010 and that little tree would burn back to the ground in winter once it dropped to about 20F but return every spring from the mulch-line, for years (never getting large enough to flower), until it finally bit the dust in a 13F cold-snap in early 2018. But it made it through a lot (including the also-very-bad 2011 winter) until that point. Dang.

[Peter]

Michael, did you try Biospheric Engineering in Homestead area for Caes. peltophoroides?  They used to sell it.

[Silas_Sancona]

Some Golden stuff on the last Sunday in September:

These 3 trees.. ( Might be hard to separate the back two in the  1st pic ) went through a rough patch over the summer.. Started flowering right around the start of summer -as they always do each year but that display was cut short by the heat.. Trees were looking a touch ragged as well, especially with very little rainfall /extra humidity during the peak of the season..

After the worst of the heat started backing off, just after the start of the month, i'd noticed flowers starting to form again on the middle specimen.. then the specimen closest to the street.. Expected a few flowers but surprised to see 2 out of the 3 in full bloom.. and all 3 not looking too bad  -by low desert standards/ after the summer from hell- Large, solid green tree half-visible to the far right in pic. #1 is the neighborhood Tamarind.. Flowers but still no fruit that i have ever noticed. Gray-ish " bundles of sticks " in front of the house are Moringa..  Those do great here.

Pretty sure if the home owner killed all the Bermuda Grass around them and started them on a regular water schedule of a deep soak once a month from say mid - May  thru ..about now, ...maybe until the middle of October,  these trees would be a bit larger.. Regardless, no serious issues w/ any winter cold in the time i have observed them.. Wish they'd become more commonly seen here, esp. in local parks where they'd have the best opportunity to gain some size.