Pride of Barbados on a street corner
It's that time of year again. Reddish-orange flowers everywhere around town here in Austin, TX. I'm talking about the Pride-of-Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima). This plant is a prolific bloomer from about July til frost in November or December. It can attain a height of 8 feet or more here, but usually is about 5 to 6 feet. This plant is root hardy here in zone 8, freezing back to the ground and returning to bloom by summer. It is easy to grow from seeds as long as you scratch the seed coat and swell them before planting. It is tough and very drought and heat tolerant. Ours here have taken over 80 days of 100ºF this year and are still going strong, producing tons of flowers and seeds.
An interesting fact about this plant is that there are two distinct forms in cultivation. One is the form grown in the Caribbean and Florida, which has rose-like thorns on it and gets almost tree-like. This is likely the real "Pride-of-Barbados", as it does grow there. The second form is a smaller form with bluish green leaves but with identical flowers. This is the Sonoran form, which is found in Southwest Mexico, and is a big time bloomer during the summer monsoon season there. This wonderful form has no real thorns, only small soft harmless bristles along the stems. This is the one commonly grown in central Texas. As a bonus, it's a little more cold hardy than the Caribbean form. Cheers to the P-O-B!!
An interesting fact about this plant is that there are two distinct forms in cultivation. One is the form grown in the Caribbean and Florida, which has rose-like thorns on it and gets almost tree-like. This is likely the real "Pride-of-Barbados", as it does grow there. The second form is a smaller form with bluish green leaves but with identical flowers. This is the Sonoran form, which is found in Southwest Mexico, and is a big time bloomer during the summer monsoon season there. This wonderful form has no real thorns, only small soft harmless bristles along the stems. This is the one commonly grown in central Texas. As a bonus, it's a little more cold hardy than the Caribbean form. Cheers to the P-O-B!!
Caesalpinia pulcherrima - Sonoran form
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