Royal Poinciana Tree (Delonix regia) Seeds
Delonix regia, commonly called flamboyant or royal poinciana, is a tropical tree that is native to Madagascar but has been widely planted around the world in tropical and semi-tropical areas. It typically grows to 30-40' tall with a broad-spreading, flat-topped, umbrella-like crown. Crowns of mature trees often spread to 60-70' wide. This tree is noted for featuring a superb ornamental display of showy scarlet flowers and compound mimosa-like leaves. In the U. S., it can be grown outdoors in the far southern areas of Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California plus Hawaii.
This tree is deciduous in climates that have a dry season or mildly cool winter but otherwise are evergreen. Lacy, feathery, mimosa-like, bipinnately compound leaves to 8-15" long, each having 10-20 pairs of pinnae with further division into 25-35 pairs of smaller pinnules. Flowers (3-4") are a brilliant scarlet orange. Each flower has four spreading petals and a larger fifth petal (the banner) which has streaks of yellow and white.
In the continental U. S., flowering typically occurs from late spring into summer. Flowers give way to flattened bean-like fruit pods (each 24" long). Where winter hardy, flamboyant is an outstanding flowering tree for gardens, parks, along streets, and for large front yards. Mature trees provide excellent shade. Winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-12 where it is easily grown in medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Best with consistent moisture except during the dry/dormant season when watering should be reduced. Plants dislike temperatures that dip below 50 degrees F so bring them indoors before the temperatures start to drop. Flame Trees also make for some of the Most Stunning Bonsai specimens as well.
Name: Royal Poinciana Tree
Scientific Name: Delonix regia
Hardiness zone: 10 through 12
Plant height: 30-40 feet
Light requirements: full sun
Soil & water preferences grow well in well-drained soils.
Growing Instructions:
1. Scarification: Soak in cold water for 24hrs
2. stratification: No Required
3. germination: pick out seeds that imbibe, sow imbibed seeds 1/4" deep, tamp the soil & mulch the seeds bed. Note* seeds that did not imbibe, re-scarify them again until imbibe.
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