Bauhinia Purpurea

Description

This relatively compact but quite fast-growing oriental-looking tree bears extremely beautiful, fragrant, pink, five petalled orchid-like flowers. The branches are clad with large, deeply two-lobed leaves. Native to South China and south east Asia, it thrives outdoors in such places as Hawaii, coastal California, southern Texas, and Florida. Although the tree can stand a small amount of frost it will also do well in a conservatory. Very easy to grow from seed, in traditional medicine systems it is often used to treat various disease.

Sowing Advice

These seeds have already been thoroughly cleaned and should be sown into a well-drained, sandy compost at any time of the year, and covered thinly with sand or grit and kept moist. Keep at between 20-25 degrees C. Seeds sometimes germinate within 4 to 6 weeks although some may take very much longer so please be patient. Plant out in the open ground in warmer countries or in a large container elsewhere.

Key Facts