Royal Poinciana in the UK

Has anyone had any form of success in the UK with a Delonix regia or Royal Poinciana. Living in the UK it will not tolerate a winter here, up to now I have struggled after a lot of work on the seeds, to keep them growing any more than a tiny shoot. This year I have tried and touch wood, they are both around two to three inches with a first set of leaves. I know they will struggle below 45 degrees F and for the first year I will keep them indoors during the winter and summer. My Blue Jacaranda is similar and I have that in the garden during summer and it has reached the height of around 300mm. Any advice gratefully received.

You need to treat these like tropical hothouse plants, and in the UK that's a whole topic all on it own. Growing from seed means these might be bonsai in 20 years in the UK as growth rates here are less than half what you'd get in their natural habitat.

I assume you have plenty of other trees to keep you amused as these are going to be a long term project.

That's what I thought, so if I live to be 80 might just get the enjoyment out of it. Germinated them them in a mini greenhouse on the windowsill. Will have to see if the three of them survive a couple of years then sell one or two of them. Have lots of trees to keep me busy in the meantime. Thanks for the reply.

First one potted up and it has as yet to come across any sustained drop in temperature but here is hoping. Looks very much like my Blue Jacaranda.

Hi! How is your Delonix Regia doing now? I´ve got one too from the seed, two years old now, and I´m slowly thinking about defoliation in the next season, cause it is still not branching..

Nady wrote:Hi! How is your Delonix Regia doing now? I´ve got one too from the seed, two years old now, and I´m slowly thinking about defoliation in the next season, cause it is still not branching..

They need heat and full sun to grow well. Delonix naturally are sparse, with little branching. Each of the doubly compound leaves functionally serves as the ''fine branching''. I would not rush trying to force the tree to branch. Just allow it to grow out until you have the diameter trunk you need to make a bonsai convincing at the height you envision.

Delonix back bud reasonably well, even on old wood, so after you have the trunk diameter you need, a defoliation and hard pruning should produce good results. Make sure this is done during the growing season, early enough the new growth has time to mature before winter. In my area it would be just before, or within a few weeks after the summer solstice. Your climate may be different, adjust your calendar accordingly.