What Is A Flame Tree?

One of the brightest trees in the world is the flame tree, often known as the Royal Poinciana or the flamboyant tree. The tree bears clusters of enduring orange-red blooms each spring with yellow, burgundy, or white patterns.

Each bloom has five spoon-shaped petals and can be up to 5 inches (13 cm) across.

In warm areas of USDA zone 10 and above, the colorful flame tree (Delonix regia) offers pleasant shade and magnificent color.

The tree is covered in eye-catching black seedpods that can grow up to 26 inches (66 cm) in length in the winter. The beautiful, semi-deciduous leaves resemble ferns in appearance.

Care for Delonix Flame Trees 

Flame trees thrive in broad, open areas with direct sunlight. The tree’s roots are strong enough to lift asphalt, so plant it in a large landscape with room to grow. Remember that the tree also scatters fallen blossoms and seed pods that need to be raked.

The flamboyant flame tree’s first growing season benefits from constant hydration.

After that point, young trees benefit from weekly or biweekly watering in dry conditions. Trees that are established well hardly ever need further irrigation.

The only other maintenance required for Delonix flame trees is an annual feeding in the spring.

Utilize a total fertilizer with a ratio of 8-4-12 or 7-3-7.

Beginning when the tree is around a year old and continuing beyond the blooming period in late summer, prune out damaged wood.

Avoid harsh trimming, which might cause blooming to stop for up to three years.

8 Most Spectacular Trees In The Garden

While most of these trees are too big for the average home garden, they would make a worthy addition to small acreage.

Some of the most spectacular trees in the garden are just starting to display their floral features.

Illawarra Flame Tree

Trees such as the Illawarra Flame Tree, or Brachychiton acerifolium, are now in full bloom. Being semi-deciduous, this tree will give the appearance that its entire canopy is engulfed in flames.

Brachychiton acerifolium is a hardy tree, which you would expect to grow no more than ten meters in a local garden.

The Barklya syringifolia or Bajool Rose is always a feature at this time of the year.

It is a bushy, highly decorative tree that thrives in most soil types and may be grown anywhere close to the ocean where it can withstand the western heat.

Barklya Syringifolia

Barklya syringifolia has deep green, almost heart-shaped leaves and does best in full sun; however, it is a bit slow-growing.

Expect a width of 2 to 3 meters and a height of 6 meters. The tree becomes a stunning crown of gold when it flowers in the late spring because the vivid golden flowers stand out against the dark green foliage.

Jacaranda

One of the most distinctive flowing trees in full bloom is the Jacaranda. While the flowering of some of these trees is a bit early this year, they do make an impressive display.

This deciduous tree, grown for its delicate, misty lavender flowers and fern-like foliage, has a comfortable spreading habit.

Most gardeners could expect their Jacarandas to reach a height of 8 to 10 meters (26 – 32ft) and up to 8 meters (26ft) in width when fully mature.

Like a vivid beacon, the flowers of the Poincianas or Delonix regia of the Rockhampton region have one of the best flowering seasons in years.

Most commonly, the flowers are bright to orange-red and often exhibit yellow spotting on one of the petals.

There is also a yellow-flowering form of this tree growing in the region that is just as spectacular.

Poinciana

Poinciana has been grown in Australia Central Queensland for more than 100 years, and its beautiful umbrella shape and almost perfect shade cover in summer have made it an icon.

The Poinciana will grow to more than 10m high and almost as wide. Then, in contrast, is the Grevillea robusta or Silky Oak.

Silky Oak

This stately, very ornamental, fast-growing large tree has timber prized for furniture making.

The Silky Oak has showy rich green fern-like foliage with a silvery underside.

From late spring, masses of golden yellow-orange flowers engulf this tree and attract many birds. Likes medium to heavy soils in an open sunny position and is drought resistant but frost tender.

Mexican Tree Fern

A little more unusual tree flowering well at the moment is the Mexican Tree Fern or Schizolobum parahybrum.

With masses of yellow flowers, the moment that will cover the tree’s entire canopy makes a delightful contrast to the tree’s green trunk.

A native of the Brazilian rainforests, it acts as a canopy tree in its natural habitat, but if planted in an open situation, it will grow up to 10 meters as a single stem.

It is not unheard of for this tree to grow at the rate of two meters per year, and it has foliage that is similar in appearance to the Poinciana, only longer.

Pruning the juvenile tree at around head height, making a multi-trunked specimen helps to control the height.

The Mexican Tree Fern will adapt to quite a wide variety of conditions, from being in full hot sunlight to cool heavy shade, making it suitable for several garden styles.

Cassia Grandis

Cassia Grandis will often explode into flowers after the first rains arrive.
Also flowering at the moment is the Schotia brachypetala or Parrot Tree.

It is a medium-sized semi-deciduous tree that I have gained great respect for its cooling shade, which I have taken enormous advantage of during this week.

It has dark green foliage and spectacular red blooms, making it quite a picture.

Though, in many situations, care needs to be taken in positioning this tree because, during flowering, hundreds of rainbow lorikeets descend to feast on the flowers, making quite a racket.

Bolusanthus Speciosus

Just coming into flower now is a unique tree with Wisteria-like flowers. This tree is called Bolusanthus speciosus or Tree Wisteria and has purple pea-shaped flowers that will hang like bunches of grapes.

When in flower, I believe this tree rivals the Jacaranda for beauty, but its flowering time is only short-lived.

It would have to be one of the types of trees most needed these days, that are small and compact, provide shade, and have the ability to be grown in small yards or along our roadways. You will find that the Tree Wisteria fits this description very well.

One of the largest specimens I have seen would be no more than 12m high, and you would usually expect this tree to be smaller.

Spring is always the time to notice the floral beauty of the trees and shrubs growing in our cities, but it is just so much better this year.