Dwarf Poinciana

BioWorks is finally the proud possessor of some Dwarf Poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), now on display and feeding happy butterflies in the Flight Encounter Exhibit! We received word a few weeks ago that the Holloway Nursery in Plant City was going out of business, and they invited us out to take a look at their remaining inventory. They discounted many plants for us and also made a substantial generous donation of other plants, resulting in some great new species in the Flight Encounter, including four Poinciana plants, which we’ve wanted for some time but was a little cost-prohibitive for our budget.

Dwarf Poinciana is native to the tropics of the Americas, including the Caribbean. It shouldn’t be confused with Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia), a tree that can grow to 50 feet and is only hardy to zone 10 (it’s native to Madagascar). Dwarf Poinciana is hardy in zones 8 – 11; while it may die to the ground in zone 8 in the winter it will rebound once the weather warms up. It is deciduous in zones 9 – 11 and will lose its leaves for short time in the winter.

 
Dwarf Poinciana likes well-drained soil and plenty of sun for best flowering. Water it well to establish it, but don’t let it stand in water for long or the roots may rot. Once established, it is drought-tolerant and thrives even in the hottest days of summer. Though it can grow to 20 feet in the wild, it’s more likely to top out around 12 feet or so in cultivation. Its natural shape is feathery and leggy, although you can prune it in late winter to achieve a more full shape.

The tongue-twisting botanical name of this plant (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) is pronounced ses-al-PIN-ee-uh pul-KAIR-ih-muh. Caesalpinia refers to Andreas Caesalpini, a 16th century Italian botanist and chief physician to Pope Clement VIII. Pulcherrima means beautiful – who can argue with that?

Dwarf Poinciana is a member of the legume family (Fabaceae), reflected in the seed pods it produces. It propagates easily from seed if the pods are allowed to dry completely on the bush; nick the seeds to scarify before planting and the new plants should take off without any problem. It grows quickly, easily reaching a height of 5 – 10 feet in a growing season under good conditions.

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