Common name: Royal poinciana
Other common names: Flamboyant, Flametree, Peacock flower, Poinciana
Description
Royal Poinciana is a this spectacular flowering tree originating from Madagascar.
It is commonly 5 to 10 meters tall in cultivation with exceptional specimens reaching up to 15 meters tall. It develops a sprawling crown, as wide as the tree is tall.
Starts to bloom at the end of the dry and beginning of the rainy season in most regions, when the tree is still leafless and continues to bloom during new leaf emergence for several weeks.
Use
It is cultivated in many gardens around the word for is showy floral display
Climate
Grows and flowers naturally in sub-humid to humid subtropical and tropical climates, generally frost-free areas with annual lows of 14 to 25 °C, annual highs of 23 to 36 °C, annual rainfall of 700 to 2300 mm and a dry season of 8 months or less, extending to 12 months with irrigation or groundwater.
Growing
The tree performs best on dry to moist, free-draining loam and sand soils of an acid to alkaline nature, generally with a pH of 5.5 to 8.0. Has good tolerance of limestone and nutrient poor soils. Flowering performance is best on sites with full sun exposure.