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Pink Desert Bird of Paradise


SailorBold

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Is anyone growing Pink Desert Bird of Paradise?? I just got done soaking the seeds and will plant them tomorrow morning..  I purchased them online.. they all sunk and plumped up considerably.. I hope I can get these going.

I'd love to hear any experiences and of course see some pictures..

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Caesalpinia? I don't have much experience with them but I did get some seed pods off of the common red/orange variety a few months ago. Gave them an overnight soak and got 100% germination within a couple of days. Seedlings are growing fast and seem like tough easy plants so far. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There's a pink one now? Hmm...

I figure it's a new Strelitzia or something else? The common name Bird-of-Paradise has almost become ubiquitous among plants. If it is a Strelitzia, I figure it's a hybrid or a variety? Would be very popular I'd imagine, as long as it is not a dyed cut flower.

Ryan

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South Florida

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14 minutes ago, Palmarum said:

There's a pink one now? Hmm...

I figure it's a new Strelitzia or something else? The common name Bird-of-Paradise has almost become ubiquitous among plants. If it is a Strelitzia, I figure it's a hybrid or a variety? Would be very popular I'd imagine, as long as it is not a dyed cut flower.

Ryan

I think he's talking about Caesalpinia like @aabell said. Would be nice to have a pink Strelitzia though.

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3 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I think he's talking about Caesalpinia like @aabell said. Would be nice to have a pink Strelitzia though.

Agree, @SailorBold is referring to  Casealpinia pulcherrima, the pink flowering form anyway..  A pink flowered Strelitzia would be pretty sweet though.

Haven't yet tried it myself, but have heard both it ..and the yellow ( might be a whitish - flowered form of it out there too ) can be weaker, perhaps more tender  than the species..  Tried some yellow flowered seed but they weren't too fond of the heat here as seedlings.. Have left over seed to try again later once out of the " oven " lol.   Regular variety are flowering heavily around town atm.. No pods on them again this year though..

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I used to have the red variety. The seeds would fall on the ground and sprout.  But if I would collect the seeds and try to germinate them nope, no luck.  I have worst luck with seeds.  Whether they are palms or any other seeds.  Seeds don't like me for some reason. Those shrubs were eventually killed when we got hit by either a tropical storm or hurricane don't remember which it was.  I think it was a combination of to much rain and being jostled by the wind.  Same thing happened to my tecoma stans when we got hit by hurricane Hannah last year.  

19 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Agree, @SailorBold is referring to  Casealpinia pulcherrima, the pink flowering form anyway..  A pink flowered Strelitzia would be pretty sweet though.

Haven't yet tried it myself, but have heard both it ..and the yellow ( might be a whitish - flowered form of it out there too ) can be weaker, perhaps more tender  than the species..  Tried some yellow flowered seed but they weren't too fond of the heat here as seedlings.. Have left over seed to try again later once out of the " oven " lol.   Regular variety are flowering heavily around town atm.. No pods on them again this year though..

 

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1 hour ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I used to have the red variety. The seeds would fall on the ground and sprout.  But if I would collect the seeds and try to germinate them nope, no luck.  I have worst luck with seeds.  Whether they are palms or any other seeds.  Seeds don't like me for some reason. Those shrubs were eventually killed when we got hit by either a tropical storm or hurricane don't remember which it was.  I think it was a combination of to much rain and being jostled by the wind.  Same thing happened to my tecoma stans when we got hit by hurricane Hannah last year.  

 

Huh, i wonder if being flooded - if something like that occurred, is what took them out for you.. Bummer regardless.  Ones grown here tolerate almost anything it seems.. the heat, not getting enough water ( some ),  being whacked ..pretty much to the ground  ..almost every year / being used along highways..  Weird for sure..  Same w/ Tecoma. Those things seem almost impossible to kill.

These might be another thing that starting in a grittier soil mix might help.  Know too much water rots the seedlings pretty easily.  Here, it's the heat/ super dry air that has kept me from getting a whole lotta stuff past the seedling stage. You know it's bad when you pick up some native stuff,  ..from just down the road in Tucson one day,  and most of it doesn't even last a year here, even under a covered patio, or in a shadehouse.  :rage::rolleyes:

 Plant killing heat,  i'm not gonna miss you,  ..at all, lol

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The seeds should be easy to germinate, but the pink(compton) variety is supposedly less hardy. I have a few seedlings, but it has been too cool and wet for them to flourish.

The common red form was planted throughout south Texas, but February killed everything and I have yet to see any volunteer seedlings.

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11 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I used to have the red variety. The seeds would fall on the ground and sprout.  But if I would collect the seeds and try to germinate them nope, no luck.  I have worst luck with seeds.  Whether they are palms or any other seeds.  Seeds don't like me for some reason. Those shrubs were eventually killed when we got hit by either a tropical storm or hurricane don't remember which it was.  I think it was a combination of to much rain and being jostled by the wind.  Same thing happened to my tecoma stans when we got hit by hurricane Hannah last year.  

 

Caesalpinia gilliesii has yellow flowers and will tolerate far more cold and water than Caesalpinia pulcherrima.

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I've been looking at buying some Caesalpinia gilliesii but can't find any.  Do you know if a place that sells them?

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9 hours ago, amh said:

Caesalpinia gilliesii has yellow flowers and will tolerate far more cold and water than Caesalpinia pulcherrima.

Seeds I mean.  Do you have a source for seeds of Caesalpinia gilliesii.  I've looking but can't find any.

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Planted these a couple days ago.. added a dripline this morning.. fingers crossed!

20210607_085409.jpg

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3 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I've been looking at buying some Caesalpinia gilliesii but can't find any.  Do you know if a place that sells them?

These.. along with desert willows grow everywhere here.. by the millions...  let me see if I can find some seeds.. it might be difficult because the seeds from last year are prolly ejected all over. I'll look for some pods this year before they explode.

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2 hours ago, SailorBold said:

These.. along with desert willows grow everywhere here.. by the millions...  let me see if I can find some seeds.. it might be difficult because the seeds from last year are prolly ejected all over. I'll look for some pods this year before they explode.

I appreciate it but don't feel like you have to go out of your way to find some seeds for me.  If you just happen upon some, perfect.

 

2 hours ago, SailorBold said:

Planted these a couple days ago.. added a dripline this morning.. fingers crossed!

20210607_085409.jpg

Good luck hope they grow for you.

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Don't expect the pink form of Caesalpinia pulcherrima to survive other than as an annual in New Mexico. I've found it to be the most tender of the various morphs/variants of this species I've grown. I had a good-sized plant one year in Natchez, Mississippi, and it was the first to go down in cold--if I remember correctly it was damaged a little above freezing--and never returned from the roots. I have some seed of the pink form that I bought from a company in Mauritius a few years ago but I have not sprouted it yet to test it further either in my Florida or California gardens.

Note that there are two forms of this species in general cultivation--one with light chalky-green leaves and fairly wicked rose-style prickles placed intermittently along the branches...this is the form that is commonly found in the tropics and in warm, humid subtropics such as Hawai'i and Florida, and includes the common red/yellow and pink forms, and if memory serves also the yellow form ("flava"). It is not very cold-hardy and rarely returns from the roots in the Deep South after long, hard freezes. The other form, which is commonly grown in the southwestern states and eastward through Texas to the Gulf States, has glaucous (blue-green) foliage, a less distinct color-break between red and yellow in the flowers, and as far as I know has no color-morphs, at least none I've ever seen in general cultivation. Notably the stems lack the rose-style prickles, which have been replaced along their length by many stiff, appressed hairs that with age become bristle-like (and can also cut you up a bit). And it is notably drought-tolerant, evidenced by its usage by the millions throughout the southwestern deserts. It also returns easily from hard freezes in marginal areas, and I have always assumed this is the form native to the state of Sonora in Mexico...the species having a somewhat blurry natural distribution but confirmed from Sonora and also Central America.

I have never seen these two variants/morphs described in any monograph or key, though the physical characteristics are quite distinct and reproduce predictably from seed, so I would assume are candidates for some sort of varietal or other distinguishing status. But unfortunately the pink one is far less cold-hardy than the "Red Bird of Paradise" form commonly cultivated in the southwest.

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Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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12 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

I've been looking at buying some Caesalpinia gilliesii but can't find any.  Do you know if a place that sells them?

 

8 hours ago, Reyes Vargas said:

Seeds I mean.  Do you have a source for seeds of Caesalpinia gilliesii.  I've looking but can't find any.

I purchased both the pink Caesalpinia pulcherrima and Caesalpinia gilliesii seeds from tradewindsfruit.com.

I believe treeseeds.com has Caesalpinia gilliesii seeds.

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Here's the neighborhood Erythrostemon ( *** This species, along w/ C. mexicana, and a few other former Caesalpinia were recently assigned a new Genus*** ) gilliesii,  i shared pictures of a few weeks ago. Loaded w/ ripening pods.
DSC03916.JPG.d8c4cf77b25a7171abd724e9239f9312.JPG


 Another example of what C. pulcherrima can look like when not slashed to the ground yearly, and sited where happy.. This one is on a slope, in 1-3" sized gravel.  Has some pods developing on it too.  Hat for scale.
DSC03937.JPG.de53be02bdf3991ddfc3f490a39a22b6.JPG

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On 6/7/2021 at 12:10 PM, mnorell said:

Don't expect the pink form of Caesalpinia pulcherrima to survive other than as an annual in New Mexico. I've found it to be the most tender of the various morphs/variants of this species I've grown. I had a good-sized plant one year in Natchez, Mississippi, and it was the first to go down in cold--if I remember correctly it was damaged a little above freezing--and never returned from the roots. I have some seed of the pink form that I bought from a company in Mauritius a few years ago but I have not sprouted it yet to test it further either in my Florida or California gardens.

Note that there are two forms of this species in general cultivation--one with light chalky-green leaves and fairly wicked rose-style prickles placed intermittently along the branches...this is the form that is commonly found in the tropics and in warm, humid subtropics such as Hawai'i and Florida, and includes the common red/yellow and pink forms, and if memory serves also the yellow form ("flava"). It is not very cold-hardy and rarely returns from the roots in the Deep South after long, hard freezes. The other form, which is commonly grown in the southwestern states and eastward through Texas to the Gulf States, has glaucous (blue-green) foliage, a less distinct color-break between red and yellow in the flowers, and as far as I know has no color-morphs, at least none I've ever seen in general cultivation. Notably the stems lack the rose-style prickles, which have been replaced along their length by many stiff, appressed hairs that with age become bristle-like (and can also cut you up a bit). And it is notably drought-tolerant, evidenced by its usage by the millions throughout the southwestern deserts. It also returns easily from hard freezes in marginal areas, and I have always assumed this is the form native to the state of Sonora in Mexico...the species having a somewhat blurry natural distribution but confirmed from Sonora and also Central America.

I have never seen these two variants/morphs described in any monograph or key, though the physical characteristics are quite distinct and reproduce predictably from seed, so I would assume are candidates for some sort of varietal or other distinguishing status. But unfortunately the pink one is far less cold-hardy than the "Red Bird of Paradise" form commonly cultivated in the southwest.

We're you able to get them to bloom??   I'm not sure if there is enough time to get a bloom from seed... hmm...at any rate I'm going to try and protect it..

 

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The shrub I had in Natchez was planted as a decent-sized shrub, mail-ordered from Florida as I remember. It did bloom that summer/fall but if you're starting from seed I would suggest at the very least you start the seed in fall, maybe around Thanksgiving, in a greenhouse or inside in a nice warm Ziploc-bag "greenhouse" (maybe in a peat-pot for shock-free planting), then after your frost chances are over, put it outside. You might want to grow it in a large pot and plunge it so that you can easily dig it up and move it into a warmer spot or greenhouse for the cold season.  If you see flowering the first season from seed you could just repeat year after year if the whole plunging/lifting thing is a pain for you. This species in general tends to be somewhat slow the first season from seed...hence why I suggest such a plan.

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Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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On 6/7/2021 at 12:02 AM, amh said:

The seeds should be easy to germinate, but the pink(compton) variety is supposedly less hardy. I have a few seedlings, but it has been too cool and wet for them to flourish.

The common red form was planted throughout south Texas, but February killed everything and I have yet to see any volunteer seedlings.

Aaron, I planted 2 Caesalpinia pulcherrima in 2017 (one grown from seed) and both came back and are currently flowering.  I've seen at least 3 volunteer seedlings for the first time and I think it's because of the loss of canopy.  I had several blue plumbago that got cut way back for the first time in three years so there was a lot of area exposed to sun that was typically completely shaded.  I saw the pink variety for sale at Rainbow Gardens Thousand Oaks for the first time.  They had a sign for Dioon edule but only had revoluta.  They took my number and will call me if they get any of the Dioon in stock.

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Jon Sunder

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2 hours ago, Fusca said:

Aaron, I planted 2 Caesalpinia pulcherrima in 2017 (one grown from seed) and both came back and are currently flowering.  I've seen at least 3 volunteer seedlings for the first time and I think it's because of the loss of canopy.  I had several blue plumbago that got cut way back for the first time in three years so there was a lot of area exposed to sun that was typically completely shaded.  I saw the pink variety for sale at Rainbow Gardens Thousand Oaks for the first time.  They had a sign for Dioon edule but only had revoluta.  They took my number and will call me if they get any of the Dioon in stock.

I am finally seeing the red variety of Caesalpinia pulcherrima return, and they are growing fast. I've never seen pink variety bloom in person, but yes, I've seen it for sale at rainbow gardens. The blue plumbago will not survive in my area, I've tried it a few times with no luck and so have the local stores. Dioon edule is a great cycad, but they are slow, I have a few 3 year olds that I started from seed, whose caudex are no bigger than a quarter. The Dioons that rainbow gardens sell must be over 5 years old or are from pups

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  • 3 months later...

Update.. all the seeds sprouted... still pretty small.  

Not sure how I'm going to protect them going into winter..

Should I remove the Drip line?

20210927_074650.jpg

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2 minutes ago, SailorBold said:

Update.. all the seeds sprouted... still pretty small.  

Not sure how I'm going to protect them going into winter..

Should I remove the Drip line?

20210927_074650.jpg

If it runs / can't be shut off thru the winter, yes move it. ..Keep them as dry as possible.   You could build something cube -shaped  to sit over them, that is wrapped in a layer or two of heavy gauge plastic, that can be easily removed when it isn't under 40F out... w/ some light mulch (  leaves, hay, etc ) added around the seedlings for a little more protection.  Too young, imo, to let them take on the elements w/ out some degree of protection.

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I was planning on watering once a week in winter.. but I can move the emitter just a bit away from the seedlings just to keep a little moisture available..    do you think a wall o water would work??  Maybe if I bury them under the rocks?  

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1 minute ago, SailorBold said:

I was planning on watering once a week in winter.. but I can move the emitter just a bit away from the seedlings just to keep a little moisture available..    do you think a wall o water would work??  Maybe if I bury them under the rocks?  

  Since they'll likely drop most, if not all their leaves / go dormant once it gets cold, wouldn't water much thru the winter..  Remember that moisture will stick around ( in the soil ) much longer this time of year vs. during the summer.  Any more water while dormant ( and chilly ) is the easiest way to rot them at that size.  Had this happen w/ the standard red ones when small numerous times.

 

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On 6/6/2021 at 11:17 PM, Mangosteen said:

_Caesalpinia_pulcherrima compton.jpg

Holy smokes that’s awesome! I’ve never seen any like that but I wish they were available around here. Though from comments in this thread it looks like it’s more tender to cold and worst of all, it doesn’t come back from damage. Still, would be interested to hear more about it, what temps has it survived etc. I quite like the common red version, but this one is excellent and unique. 

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Corpus Christi, TX, near salt water, zone 9b/10a! Except when it isn't and everything gets nuked.

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