Month: June 2018

      The show stopping Dwarf Flamboyant or caesalpinina pulcherrima makes a great container plant and/or bonsai. The plant also know as dwarf Poinciana, peacock flower, Gulmohar dwarf Flamboyant or pride of Barbados grows 12-15 feet tall in the ground.  Most container grown average 5 to 6 feet (20 gallon pots) tall and 4 to 5 feet wide. The dwarf flamboyant grows as a tall bush with lower areas devoid of branches.

Here is southeast Florida they bloom just about year around. In other areas, expect spring through late summer blooming. The dwarf Poinciana tolerates pruning well so they would make great bonsai plants too. The flowers are very showy that are multi-color red, orange with some yellow very. The leaves are small fern like and resembles the Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant tree.

 Growing the Dwarf Flamboyant Plant

The Dwarf Poinciana (dwarf flamboyant) requires a tropical or near-tropical climate to grow in ground. It will handle salty and drought conditions. In the ground it loves fast draining soil and it will drop it leaves in the winter dormant period.

Prune the pant in late October or after first blooming not in spring. If you prune in spring you will lose several months of flowering. When your plants are young pick off the seed pods to force energy to plant grown not see growth.  Yes, you can reduce the number of trunks and create bonsai plants.

In rainy areas add time released fertilizer once every three months.  Fertilized with Dyna-Gro Foliage from spring through fall.

If container grown let it dry out between watering. Water to moisten the soil and make sure the soil drains well. Do not let it get soggy. When growing as a bonsai plant and using bonsai soil then make sure it does not dry out completely except during winter.  Watering: The plant is drought tolerant when mature during the winter time. In the summer, since it’s a tropical plant, it will handle lots of water.

It is not cold tolerant so during cold periods it will need to be brought indoors (dormant periods).  Yes, these are available through Adeniumrose Company LLC.  get yours now!

Fat plant Specimen size Dioscorea elephantides Mexicana plant were just listed on the Adeniumrose Company website.  These are rare plant know as Elephant foot genus Dioscorea Mexicana.  This is a caudex form fat plant with a above ground plant bulb done shaped with a woody exterior.  These fat plants plants are protected and special permits required to collect the plants.   It takes many years to get this big in the right environment.

Rare very Limited Availability Fat Plant

The dioscorea Mexicana plant exterior resembles an elephant foot due to the become more pronounced with age. In containers, they will grow with a diameter of 3 feet and height of 10..12 inches. The vigorous annual vines which may reach 30 feet (9 m) long before dying back in dormant period grow up from the caudex with heart-shaped leaves.

This fat plant goes dormant during the winter and start sprouting leaves and new branches in late spring. Have you review the other rare and exotic plants introduced recently? Other fat plants introduced include Pseudobombax and arabicum seedlings.

Growing the Fat Plant

Habitat: The elephant foot dioscorea has a wide tolerance of growing habitats: weathered rock,  dry stony slopes, under the protection of other bushes The plant is adapted to growing in areas with seasonal rainfall, by going dormant in the dry season. In its natural environment it rests during the hot dry summer.  Dioscorea elephantipes grows in the wet season. The above ground caudex is protected by elephantine bark while it rests. It is used to extreme heat (above 40°C), but it can also take low temperatures (-4°C).

Sunlight : The caudex requires shade/partial sun. The vine that grows out of the plant bulb prefers full sun. Place the bulb under the shade of a bush or bench and then let the vies grow up into the full sun and above! Yes you can use a trellis.

Soil/Roots: Your soil mix should be a minimum 50% inorganic pumice/lava rocks, and 50% organics.  Do not use a oversize pot or plant the bulb below the soil! Do not use moss or moisture retaining material! Only put a very small portion of the plant below soil (10% at most). We rest them in a layer of 1 to 2″ of rock and let the roots find the soil below the rocks.

New roots grow from the outer edge of the caudex, so they are best protected with a well drained layer of gravel. Roots will grow from above the soil into the soil.

Water/Fertilization: During the dormant period greatly reduce the amount of water given to the plant; a light monthly watering is needed at most.  When the stem dies back cut it about 3″ above the bulb.  Fertilize once a month using Dyna-Gro grow and add time released 7-7-7 during the rainy growing season once even 3 months.

Temperatures:  The  Dioscorea Mexicana can tolerate some cold but it better to protect it (better safe than sorry). In frost-free zones they typically go dormant during the dry season. In more temperate zones dormancy occurs in winter.