Firmiana simplex

[iwan]

Anyone growing this in the west?  I see some reports of it being invasive, but most of the people reporting are in the wet/humid south.

[metalfan]

I have a plant that is commonly called Chinese Hat Plant or Parasol Flower and/or Cup and Saucer plant here in FL but it has a different botanical name than what you called it...mine is Holmskioldia sanguinea. DO you have photos of yours?? Mine is yet to bloom.

[SunnyFl]

(metalfan @ Aug. 05 2007,13:45)

QUOTE

I have a plant that is commonly called Chinese Hat Plant or Parasol Flower and/or Cup and Saucer plant here in FL but it has a different botanical name than what you called it...mine is Holmskioldia sanguinea. DO you have photos of yours?? Mine is yet to bloom.

Right, it's different from the simplex.  Here's a link:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts....ex.html

I thought Holmskoldia bloomed more in the cool months - how long have you had yours?

[swamptreenelly]

I have a Chines Parasol tree in a 20 gallon Tub for last 3 years 8' tall and will be planting it this winter. A few years back the leader broke off and we started a new tree from that cutting.

[metalfan]

Yes that is totally different. Mine is more like a small shrub and the flowers are a pink/orangy (in the pictures anyway) and look like round snails.

I git it as a trade in March or April this year, its in a 3 gal, about 3 ft tall and bushy. Maybe it will bloom in fall

[Paul S]

I grow one here in England.  It is currently sulking as I pollarded it and ever since then we've had the coolest summer ever (so it seems) and it is refusing to resprout.  But they are marvellous cold hardy but tropical looking tree.  I can't imagine how they could become invasive.

[Austinpalm]

Don't guess that I qualify as being out west, but there are few here in Austin.  They grow well and fast.  Have not yet noticed any wild seedlings yet.

[iwan]

(metalfan @ Aug. 05 2007,10:45)

QUOTE

I have a plant that is commonly called Chinese Hat Plant or Parasol Flower and/or Cup and Saucer plant here in FL but it has a different botanical name than what you called it...mine is Holmskioldia sanguinea. DO you have photos of yours?? Mine is yet to bloom.

Gina,

I don't have one yet.  Just saw one recently and started researching it.  Looks interesting, but I read some reports of it re-seeding everywhere.  I will have to look into the plant you mentioned also.

Thanks to you all for the comments.  Now to search for a source.

[daxin]

I started a batch of seeds from JL Hudson Seedsman three years ago. Only two germinated and I gave one away to a client. The one I have has grown about 3 feet this year to 6 feet tall in a big container. With this kind of growth rate, I need to squeeze out a spot in ground very soon.

This tree has great significance in traditional Chinese culture. It is supposed to be the only tree that the legendary Chinese phoenix roosts on. Since its large lobed leaves fall very early in the autumn, it symbolize the beginning of that season. Cool rain falling on the leafs of Firmiana trees is a very common theme in Chinese poetry and the sound is supposed to make travellers homesick. The smooth green trunk on young trees is another striking feature, and one famous painter, Ni Zan (1301-1374),  in the Yuan Dynasty is said to have ordered his servants to wash the trunks of his Firmiana trees daily.

null

[mnorell]

These trees are naturalized all around this area, and apparently have been for many years. I was at a party tonight at one of the large, heavily wooded antebellum estates here, and the owner said 'You can have all the Chinese Parasol Trees you want! I can't stop them!" and indeed I have read (and observed) that around Natchez, as well as in West Feliciana parish in Louisiana (around St. Francisville) they are all over. But despite their sometimes-label as 'invasives' here, people love them because of their large, luxuriant leaves, strikingly beautiful chartreuse trunks and showy flower and fruit displays. She said that her understanding was that they were brought to Natchez many years ago as part of a speculative commercial enterprise that failed, but I can't find any economic use for them, and this may just be a tale.

They are often called 'varnish tree' here and I'm wondering if there is a varnish that can be extracted from these members of the chocolate family, but supposedly there's a fluid in the seed capsules that is liberated when they open, and this may have given way to the varnish reference. I have a triple of these trees in my landscape that I planted two years ago, now close to 30' tall, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. They are lush, beautiful trees, fast growing but vertical and perfect for city gardens and houses with limited space. Though often listed as zone 9 trees, probably because they are primarily from Okinawa, Vietnam and southern China, they are hardy at least to zone 8a. In his 1913 Cyclopedia of Horticulture, Bailey described them as being hardy at Washington, D.C. so perhaps zone 7 is a relatively safe zone-rating. In any event, they love this hot, humid summer climate and don't suffer any during their dormancy in winter. We get about 60-70" of rain here annually so obviously they like that!

[bahia]

I have never heard of this tree being invasive in a drier mediterranean climate such as California's.  They are also much slower growing here than they are in the deep south, as this is a tree that requires some patience to see get really tall in our conditions.  A very well behaved, rather slow growing tree in the SF Bay Area anyway, where it is not at all commonly seen.

[fastfeat]

Firmiana simplex is not likely to escape in CA unless it is near a regular water source, such as a creek or lake. I maintained a tree at Cal State Fullerton Arboretum for several years. It was about 20' tall after about 15 years. Only rarely did volunteers appear in the mulch below.

From Street Trees Recommended for Southern California:

Author's note--the close-up of the leaf (bot. left) is not typical. Foliage is usually much duller green. Full-sized tree photo taken in Santa Barbara.