Delonix

Legume family, caesalpinium subfamily. Homeland Island Madagascar, South Africa, Argentina, India. About 20 species are common in nature.

• Delonix regia is a deciduous branched tree, reaching in nature 10-15 m in length and about the same spreading crown. The bark is thin gray, very beautiful from the point of view of a bonsaist. The leaves are bright green, twice pinnate, up to 50 cm long. Each leaf is divided into 20-30 pairs of leaves, each of which, in turn, is divided into another 10-20 pairs of oval leaves. Petioles are significantly shorter than leaves. At nightfall, the leaves fold and droop. In appearance, the delonix leaves resemble acacia. The flowers are large, zygomorphic, bisexual, collected in multi-flowered racemose inflorescences apical and axillary. Four petals are the same scarlet or salmon color, 5-8 cm long. The upper, fifth petal (designed to attract insects for cross-pollination) is distinguished by its color - bright yellow or white, with specks. Stamens shorter than petals. Sepals are also brightly colored. Seed pods are truly giant they can be 60-80 cm long, dark brown. Each pod carries 20-40 seeds of oblong shape, 2 cm long. Below is a photo: new
• Delonix pygmy Delonix pumila is a caudex plant native to Madagascar, reaching 1.5-3 m in height, and in trunk girth about 40 cm, crown span 3-5 m. The bark is gray, the leaves are pinnate, each leaf is broadly oval in shape, on a very short petiole. The surface of the leaves is dull green, the flowers are very large, with cream petals, the fifth petal is yellowish. Stamens almost twice as long as petals, drooping, with bright anthers.

Delonix dwarf, like Delonix royal can bloom at home with good care, has a particularly beneficial effect on flowering for 3-4 months of a cool dormant period.

Delonix is a greenhouse tuberous plant, it requires a lot of space, if not formed as a bonsai (well formed by pruning, easily splices trunks), the span of branches in a 2-3-year-old bush reaches more than 1 m.

Care for Delonix

Temperature: normal in summer, grows well in a wide range from 18 to 30 ° C, but in winter prefers coolness in the range of 10-12 ° C, with dry content. During the dormant period, delonix drops partially or completely leaves, does not tolerate the heating season well, can be severely depleted and die. In natural conditions, Delonix tolerates very low temperatures up to 0-1 ° C, this is unacceptable in a pot culture, but plants older than two years with a good root system can safely winter at an experienced flower grower (who knows how to insulate a pot and not waterlift the soil) at + 4.. + 6 ° C on a balcony or loggia.

• By the way, in the summer period, in the hottest time, Delonix suspends growth - it has a short period of rest, when the heat subsides, a new wave of growth begins, it continues until October.

Lighting: Like all legumes, prefers a light sunny place. Shading will be required on a sunny summer afternoon on the south window, after gradual training you can put it on the street, on the balcony, the veranda - for full lighting.

Top dressing: from March to September, alternating complex fertilizers for ornamental and deciduous plants with fertilizers for ornamental and flowering. Responsive Delonix to transplanting into soil rich in humus. After transplantation, do not feed 2 months, then every two weeks you can feed. If the transplant is not carried out, you can feed the bulk fertilizer "Ispolin" (quantity according to the instructions).

Air humidity: Delonix royal loves high air humidity, in the optimal version 55-70%, it can be sprayed. If it is very hot and stuffy in summer, place the pot on a wide tray with moist moss-sphagnum.

Transplant: Annually in the spring. Soil mixture: 2 part of leafy land, 2 part of turf, 1 part of very large river sand or small pebbles (4-5 mm). Good drainage to the bottom of the pot can be made from pieces of foam. Delonix is undemanding to soil acidity, in nature it grows on soils in the pH ranges from 4.5 to 7, but it is worth avoiding soil latching so as not to disrupt the absorption of some nutrients in the soil.

Delonix formation

Delonix tolerates pruning well, so it is often used as a potensai, forming like a miniature tree in a bowl. It also tolerates pruning of the root system, if it becomes necessary to regulate its ratio with the aboveground part. In nature, the shape of the crown of Delonix trees is not vertical, like in birches, but horizontal, like in acacias. The most suitable African bonsai styles are:

• bushveld style bonsai (flat top)
• pierneef style or open-umbrella (umbrella-shaped)

Delonix grows quickly and energetically, the shoot growing out of the seed needs to be pinched, as two leaves grow, but at first it is reluctant to branch, the problem is that pruning and pinching often leads not to branching, but to the development of a new shoot, but in the singular.

In this case, instead of pruning, you need to do this: when the shoot grows to a certain length, bend it down with the crown and fix it in this position (use soft braided wire or woolen threads), the growth point at the bottom will stop developing, it will be replaced by a new growth point, one that will be lower in the stem, but higher to the sun.

Reproduction

Delonix is propagated by stem cuttings and seeds. Propagation by cuttings is difficult; for rooting, apical semi-lignified cuttings are cut off in early summer. Rooted in water or moist vermiculite, with heating at about 25-28 ° C, good lighting and high humidity (in a mini-heat or sealed in a zip bag).

Seeds can be purchased in a flower shop, choose the freshest ones - they retain germination for 2 years (see packing date), usually 3 seeds in one bag. Sow at any time of the year. Seeds are oblong in shape, large - 20-25 mm long, with a rigid shell. They need to be stratified - carefully filed with a superfile, or pricked with a needle, then soaked for a day in stimulants. You can use drugs Narcissus, Zircon, Rostock.

Sowing in moist loose soil, consisting of the 1 part of universal peat soil and coarse river sand (washed from dust). For sowing, take enough pots of about 350 ml. Delonix seeds require oxygen access during germination, so they are not buried deep in the ground (ground layer about 2 mm). Seeds germinate at 25-27 ° C for 10 to 40 days. Keep the soil moderately moist while waiting. As soon as sprouts appear, make sure there is enough light if sown in winter or autumn, place a phyto lamp or LED bulbs over the pots.

By the way, under natural conditions, delonix is propagated by seeds, when they, being eaten by animals, without digesting, fall into the ground with feces. The warm and moist environment of the intestines of a cow or pig turns out to be a good preparation for the seeds of many delonix species.