Delonix regia & Ravenala madagascariensis

[Shon]

I have a friend who just got back from a trip and she took pictures of some plants that she liked. These are the two that can actually grow here in so cal. I have heard they can both be tricky. She lives in a 10a/9b area that gets some wind in the backyard and has some decent soil. Does she have a chance? Any growing tips?

[MattyB]

Delonix is drought tolerant and is easily rotted in winter. Don't be afraid to completely stop watering it once it gets cold and looses it's leaves. Gary taught me that and he's had great luck with his.

[bubba]

Shon, Locate any of Walt's Posts on both these items in Florida. Walt is 9B allegedly but seems to have a knack for stretching zones. He has both with no problem in 9B in Central Florida(interior).

[Walt]

Shon, Locate any of Walt's Posts on both these items in Florida. Walt is 9B allegedly but seems to have a knack for stretching zones. He has both with no problem in 9B in Central Florida(interior).

Bubba: Yes, but my zone 9b isn't comparable to southern Cal 9b. I have good wintertime heat, along with dry winters. Whereas they are cool and wet.

That being said, both my Delonix regia and traveler's palm were both totally defoliated this past January. My Delonix even had all it's limbs frozen back to the main leader trunk. However, to see it today you wouldn't even have known it! It grew back with a vengeance.

I agree with MattyB about laying off the water during the winter months out there.

Yes, I stretch the zones, but this winter it bit me in the back side! Everything is recovering, though. My traveler's palm is now pushing out its 7th frond since the freeze.

[DoomsDave]

Delonix and Ravenala will both grow in La Habra, which is Zone 10b (I think), Sunset Garden Zone 23.

I have a large Rav in my yard, it took a nasty four-day freeze down to about 25 F in 2007. It was badly damaged, but has fully recovered.

There's a Delonix on one of the little side streets south of me, down in the flatlands. It looks enough like a Jacaranda -- a much, much more common tree here -- that it's easy to miss until it blooms. Unfortunately, it never achieves the grand splendor of specimens in Florida, but at least they survive.

[MattyB]

I often see Mimosa Trees (Albissia julibrissin) and think that they look very similar to a Delonix regia. One might miss the occasional Delonix thinking that they're only a Mimosa unless you can tell the subtle differences. The Delonix has a bark that has a slight yellowish tinge and it can sort of rub off a bit. The leaflets are the dead give away. Delonix leaflets are perfectly symetrical in an oval or cylindrical shape. See below

The Mimosa leaflets are not symetrical and have a slight horn shape with a point at the end. See below.

[Jeff in Costa Rica]

I often see Mimosa Trees (Albissia julibrissin) and think that they look very similar to a Delonix regia. One might miss the occasional Delonix thinking that they're only a Mimosa unless you can tell the subtle differences. The Delonix has a bark that has a slight yellowish tinge and it can sort of rub off a bit. The leaflets are the dead give away. Delonix leaflets are perfectly symetrical in an oval or cylindrical shape. See below

The Mimosa leaflets are not symetrical and have a slight horn shape with a point at the end. See below.

Matt, thanks for the photos and explanation! I always wondered how to tell them apart when not in bloom.

[bubba]

I seem to recall a a Delonix regia that Matt located on a street side in SD. I am not certain what Zone(hate that term) it was. I also recall an Arizona Poster that had numerous Delonix regia all the way to Tuscon.

Cagary just posted a Southern Ca. Ravenala madagascariensis that was much more robust than I had previously seen in So. Ca. I would love to see more from So.Ca.

[Fouquieria]

Delonix is drought tolerant and is easily rotted in winter.

Matty gave you the most important piece of information. I've lost a number of these and the closely related Colvillea racemosa and Delonix elata because of wet winters. Where they rot at is right where the trunk of the plant meets the soil line. After I've dug them up, the roots looked just fine but there was a rotted ring around the trunk just above and below the soil line. To try and avoid this I would have the plant mounded slightly and placed in a spot where the base of the plant gets plenty of winter sun to dry the soil that surrounds the trunk out. Also if possible, I would have a wee bit of the most mature, spreading roots slightly exposed...just to make sure. Like Matt said, these are plenty drought-tolerant plants and pretty tough otherwise.

[BS Man about Palms]

No wonder my Delonix decaryi in a 5 gal pot looks fine with all my neglect....

[PalmsZA]

I love the Colvillea, if you only had one spot left for a tree and you had a choice between Colvillea and D.regia...go with the Colvillea!