Pink Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima 'Compton' or rosea) source?

[Calosphace]

Anyone know of a good source for the pink form? I really like it and it goes well for a color scheme of a garden I am working on but I'm seeing only seeds being sold or seedlings for like 50 USD which just seems disproportionate. I also was curious about its performance compared to the typical red and yellow form

[Chester B]

I can't really speak to how the pink plant does, but I just purchased a combo pack of seeds with pink, yellow and red.  Within 2 or 3 days almost everyone has germinated and they grow fast.  Definitely one worth growing from seed.  I got about 15 of each color.

I bought them on Etsy, seller is MauiSeedCompany.

[hinovak]

I bought only 5 seeds and 4 of mine came up with minimal effort except not letting them fully dry out ever…as other poster said, worth trying from seed

[Calosphace]

Are they true from seed? I've grown the typical variety from seed many years ago since there's some local plants and it was very easy but I can't recall maturation rate and I just never know if online sellers have accurate seed. but thanks for input!

[Chester B]

18 hours ago, Calosphace said:

Are they true from seed? I've grown the typical variety from seed many years ago since there's some local plants and it was very easy but I can't recall maturation rate and I just never know if online sellers have accurate seed. but thanks for input!

They've all germinated but I guess I won't know until summer if they are what they supposed to be are.  That's the one risk in buying seeds, but at least with these you'll find out first year instead of waiting for years and years like a palm.  

[hinovak]

On 2/20/2024 at 7:57 PM, Calosphace said:

Are they true from seed? I've grown the typical variety from seed many years ago since there's some local plants and it was very easy but I can't recall maturation rate and I just never know if online sellers have accurate seed. but thanks for input!

Very good question! Haha, don’t know yet. I’m in Texas and we got steam rolled by cold that knocked them back some. Thought they were for sure not coming back because I germinated late in the summer and they were tiny, but they came back this year but didn’t get quite big enough to flower, so we shall see next year!

[Keys6505]

I bought pink seeds last year and they grew to flower in their first year.  They grew true to color as well.  I didn't pay anywhere near $50 for them though.  Maybe $10 for a handful on either Etsy or eBay.

[Silas_Sancona]

24 minutes ago, Keys6505 said:

I bought pink seeds last year and they grew to flower in their first year.  They grew true to color as well.  I didn't pay anywhere near $50 for them though.  Maybe $10 for a handful on either Etsy or eBay.

50 bucks, ...for ...seeds?    Talk about " inflation ", haha      ..Seeing an etsy listing for like $5.49  ...for 5  seeds, which is borderline rip off too. 

When I've passed around seed of stuff, the recipients have received a lot more than that  -for free.  

[Calosphace]

Oh to be clear the 50 was for a plant but even then that just seemed steep since they grow fairly fast or at least the other colors do!

I can get behind paying more for seeds and have before but as far as i can tell this species is not particularly rare nor stingy with seed production..

I am seeing some on various forums reporting much lower vigor from pink form though :c so I am going to hold off and see if I can come up with a different plant..

[Chester B]

4 hours ago, Calosphace said:

Oh to be clear the 50 was for a plant but even then that just seemed steep since they grow fairly fast or at least the other colors do!

I can get behind paying more for seeds and have before but as far as i can tell this species is not particularly rare nor stingy with seed production..

I am seeing some on various forums reporting much lower vigor from pink form though :c so I am going to hold off and see if I can come up with a different plant..

So out of germination of the three types I have, I found this:

Red - 100% germination

Pink - 75% germination

Yellow - 90% germination

I used the baggy method with the seeds placed in a damp paper towel.  I transferred them all to their own pots today, so we'll see how they progress.  No real difference noted in the size or advancement of the seedlings.

[ERG]

Letsgrowflorida.com has them. I just ordered mine. Hope this helps.