Kigelia pinnata - sausage tree

[BigFrond]

Have any of you guys planted this tree yet?  What are the requirements for this tree.  I managed to grow one from seeds and it is very good looking.  It is about 5 feet now.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/sausage.htm

BTW - Dr Armstrong is a plant addict too.

[SubTropicRay]

It grows in central Florida 9b very well.  There are big specimens at both Busch Gardens (Tampa) and Disney's Animal Kingdom.  In contrast, the nearby African Tulip tree at Busch suffers yearly cold damage.

Ray

[Gtlevine]

I absolutely love this tree. I drove two hours to pick up mine a few years ago and it was well worth it, it is now about 15 feet tall and is evergreen and beautiful all year in So Cal where I live. Very good choice of tree, you will be please.

Gary

[Guest]

Older trees are good to about 27-28F before they show damage. They are also fairly drought tolerant once established. Young trees want to grow funky so you might have to train it for awhile. They also can get large so give it some room. We have a big one flowering right now at Leu Gardens. The seed pods form and get several inches long before rats or squirrels chew them. As mentioned there are some nice specimens at Disney's Animal Kingdom that are always loaded with "sausages";

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph.....src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph.....src=ph

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

It is a great tree that needs training when young to form a good shape with a central leader and strong scaffolding branches.  It gets to be a fair sized tree, as Eric says.

In my experience, it has rather inefficient pollinators in Florida so that to get a lot of sausages you must diddle the flowers yourself with an artist's paintbrush.  They first bloom when about 10 years from seed and 12' to 20' tall.  It is completely drought tolerant here when established.

Jerry

[spockvr6]

(Eric-Orlando @ Jul. 13 2006,18:14)

QUOTE

Older trees are good to about 27-28F before they show damage. They are also fairly drought tolerant once established. Young trees want to grow funky so you might have to train it for awhile. They also can get large so give it some room. We have a big one flowering right now at Leu Gardens. The seed pods form and get several inches long before rats or squirrels chew them. As mentioned there are some nice specimens at Disney's Animal Kingdom that are always loaded with "sausages";

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph.....src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph.....src=ph

I dont get it!  Why do they call it a Sausage Tree??!?!??!

[BigFrond]

Thanks a lot guys.  I will plant this tree very soon in my backyard.  Not only the sausages look pretty neat but the flowers are very nice.

[ThunderSRQ]

Refreshing an old post here since I was about to ask about this tree.

I have a young sausage tree (planted height between 4 & 5 feet tall) that hasn't "done anything" since I got it about 4 or 5 months ago -- it literally looks like a plastic plant in that there has been no new growth nor any deterioration of the existing leaves.  I had it in a pot for most of the summer but it has been in the ground for at least 2 months now (with Florikan slow-release fertilizer) and it's been regularly watered throughout.

Maybe this is just an "odd plant" but I've never seen one go this long without some kind of visual response (either positive or negative).

Is this a plant that likes lots of water or one that prefers dry conditions? (I've been watering it regularly along with all my other stuff and thought maybe it requires either more or less than it's been getting).  It is planted out in full sun and was also in full sun while it was still in the pot.

Any thoughts???...

Thanks

[Really full garden]

The trees in Disney Animal Kingdom are hand pollinated.

                                                                   Scott

[BigFrond]

(ThunderSRQ @ Nov. 08 2007,18:59)

QUOTE

Refreshing an old post here since I was about to ask about this tree.

I have a young sausage tree (planted height between 4 & 5 feet tall) that hasn't "done anything" since I got it about 4 or 5 months ago -- it literally looks like a plastic plant in that there has been no new growth nor any deterioration of the existing leaves.  I had it in a pot for most of the summer but it has been in the ground for at least 2 months now (with Florikan slow-release fertilizer) and it's been regularly watered throughout.

Maybe this is just an "odd plant" but I've never seen one go this long without some kind of visual response (either positive or negative).

Is this a plant that likes lots of water or one that prefers dry conditions? (I've been watering it regularly along with all my other stuff and thought maybe it requires either more or less than it's been getting).  It is planted out in full sun and was also in full sun while it was still in the pot.

Any thoughts???...

Thanks

It sure looks like a plastic plant.  With mine, the roots grew through the pot and into the ground.  This was not good.  I yanked it up minus a good portion of the root and plant it with three bags of HD potting soil amended with 1/3 of my ground soil(big hole).  The tree was about 8 feet tall.  I didn't like how the trunk was forming so I hacked it all the way to the ground level.  I wanted a multi trunk tree.  Well, it has been about 5 months now and the trunks are about 6 feet tall and still growing pretty fast.  It is so much better with multi trunks.  Water this tree moderately, about 3 times a week in the summer months, twice a week in the spring, and once a week in the winter.  All of this depends on your soil condition.  Luckily mine is not in a clay section of my yard.  If your soil is mostly clay, you may want to water it less.

[OldNed]

I dont get it!  Why do they call it a Sausage Tree??!?!??!

Sausage Tree

[fastfeat]

(ThunderSRQ @ Nov. 08 2007,18:59)

QUOTE

Refreshing an old post here since I was about to ask about this tree.

I have a young sausage tree (planted height between 4 & 5 feet tall) that hasn't "done anything" since I got it about 4 or 5 months ago -- it literally looks like a plastic plant in that there has been no new growth nor any deterioration of the existing leaves.  I had it in a pot for most of the summer but it has been in the ground for at least 2 months now (with Florikan slow-release fertilizer) and it's been regularly watered throughout.

Maybe this is just an "odd plant" but I've never seen one go this long without some kind of visual response (either positive or negative).

Is this a plant that likes lots of water or one that prefers dry conditions? (I've been watering it regularly along with all my other stuff and thought maybe it requires either more or less than it's been getting).  It is planted out in full sun and was also in full sun while it was still in the pot.

Any thoughts???...

Thanks

Tim--

It doesn't need any special care or watering. It may sit there 'till days start to lengthen and warm again in the Spring, after which it should take off. Patience...

[Eric in Orlando]

They will definitely produce "sausages" without hand pollinating them. Ours has bloomed heavily for several years but set no fruit. Last year it had a couple. This year it flowered very heavily and has several dozen hanging down. Must be a moth doing the work, maybe one of those sphinx/hawk moths. In African habitat they are pollinated by bats.

[Alan_Tampa]

I have had some sit and do nothing for a good while, and then go nuts after a year or so.  The ones in my yard are 'pot escapees' and seem to do well this way.  So I would say as long as the plant does not decline time will reveal its fast growing nature.  Also, it may be planted too deeply, so you might check this.

I have also found that a big handful of citrus fertilizer seems appreciated. Any fertilizer really, the citrus blend sold at most garden places seems a good safe choice.

Alan

[ThunderSRQ]

Sorry for the delay in responding (I wasn't on the forum this weekend) and thanks for all the advice.

I am hoping/assuming it will "kick in" at some point soon (although I know that growth spurt will almost for sure be next Spring at this point) and, as an FYI, I did fertilize it with Florikan (9 month slow-release) 10-4-14 fertilizer (their blend that is recommended for palms).

Also, it is planted slightly above grade, has mulch over the planting area, and the soil was not ammended when it was planted (typical Florida sandy soil, although not "too much" sand in that particular area).

Over this past weekend, I did notice that a few of the lower leaves were starting to turn brown and a couple have now fallen off (all the top leaves are still in their stagnant/dormant state).  I'm typically concerned about my plants not getting enough water (especially in our current drought -- we're 18 inched below normal for the year) but, if this is a tree that doesn't like a lot of water, there is the possibility that I've watered it too much (?).

One additional note -- this tree has what appears to be a dark (basically black) coating on about 50% of its trunk area (it was this way when I bought it and it hasn't changed).  When I was watering it Saturday, I rubbed this coating and it did come off and appeared to be some sort of algae (although I don't know if it is/was still alive) -- it this an indication of a problem I should be treating? (once more, this tree is in full sun all day so I don't know how any algae or mold could live in the completely unshaded conditions - this could be something "leftover" from when it was at the nursery and no longer alive/active -- ???)

If anyone knows Russian, here's a web page that may be a good sausage tree resource (I'm going to see if I can get it translated or at least get with an associate who knows Russian to ask if there are any care tips in the text)

http://toptropicals.com/html/tropics/artic...are/kigelia.htm

[fastfeat]

(ThunderSRQ @ Nov. 12 2007,09:25)

QUOTE

Sorry for the delay in responding (I wasn't on the forum this weekend) and thanks for all the advice.

I am hoping/assuming it will "kick in" at some point soon (although I know that growth spurt will almost for sure be next Spring at this point) and, as an FYI, I did fertilize it with Florikan (9 month slow-release) 10-4-14 fertilizer (their blend that is recommended for palms).

Also, it is planted slightly above grade, has mulch over the planting area, and the soil was not ammended when it was planted (typical Florida sandy soil, although not "too much" sand in that particular area).

Over this past weekend, I did notice that a few of the lower leaves were starting to turn brown and a couple have now fallen off (all the top leaves are still in their stagnant/dormant state).  I'm typically concerned about my plants not getting enough water (especially in our current drought -- we're 18 inched below normal for the year) but, if this is a tree that doesn't like a lot of water, there is the possibility that I've watered it too much (?).

One additional note -- this tree has what appears to be a dark (basically black) coating on about 50% of its trunk area (it was this way when I bought it and it hasn't changed).  When I was watering it Saturday, I rubbed this coating and it did come off and appeared to be some sort of algae (although I don't know if it is/was still alive) -- it this an indication of a problem I should be treating? (once more, this tree is in full sun all day so I don't know how any algae or mold could live in the completely unshaded conditions - this could be something "leftover" from when it was at the nursery and no longer alive/active -- ???)

If anyone knows Russian, here's a web page that may be a good sausage tree resource (I'm going to see if I can get it translated or at least get with an associate who knows Russian to ask if there are any care tips in the text)

http://toptropicals.com/html/tropics/artic...are/kigelia.htm

Hey Tim--

(Sorry I haven't gotten back to you. I wound up flying to Austin last minute. Still got a big Euc. deglupta for you; hopefully my watering system, set up last-minute, keeps it and everything else, alive...Phone's back on, so I'll touch base with you later today or tomorrow.)

Looks like you've done everything right with the sausage tree. I'd imagine it's busy putting down roots now and should flush out well in the Spring. Sounds like the black stuff is dead sooty mold, probably from an old scale/aphid infestation before you bought it. It can take awhile to wash off, especially if rainfall is lacking. It causes no damage to the trunk.

Surprised the TT article is only in Russian (Tatiana there is Russian). I think they have a translation toggle there on their site.

Ken.