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A14 LOCAL
Tuesday 14 January 2020

Ornamental trees Episode LII -52

ORANJESTAD — There are numerous ornamental trees that play such a
fundamental role in garden landscapes, providing beauty in the form of
often spectacular flowers and also a wide range of shapes and textures.

Over the past three or four centuries such trees have spread from their
original habitats throughout the tropics, so that today's gardener has an
extensive variety of choices from places you may never have seen.
The famous Flamboyant, or Flame Tree (Delonix regia), for example,
comes from Madagascar. In English knowns as Flame tree, Gold mohar,
Julu tree, Peacock flower and Royal Poinciana.

The flamboyant tree has been described as one of the loveliest and most
colorful trees in the world. With a blaze of yellow to crimson red blossoms
and delicate fern-like leaves, the magnificent flowers graces Aruba from
April until September and all around the earth in tropical climates.

Adapted to local conditions this large tree, which naturally assumes a
spreading umbrella shape, originated in Madagascar and is now found
in many Aruban gardens. It can grow as tall as 18 meters and has smooth
greyish-colored bark and attractive feathery, fern-like leaves, which drop
annually during the dry season. At the same time as the new leaves ap-
pear, the tree is covered with masses of five petal led flowers that are
usually bright red-orange but may also appear in pale apricot. Blooming
is followed by long, flattened, leathery dark brown or black seed pods.
It’s host for lac-insect. It’s a good tree to control soil erosion in the semi-
arid and arid areas.
Flamboyant requires full sun and adequate space to take its character-
istic form.
Flamboyant trees are very hardy and pest-resistant and grow well in a
wide variety of well-drained soils from acid to alkaline and from loamy
to gravely and, if managed well, even in the dark clay-like soil in parts of
Aruba. The trees are tolerant to draught and may be grown close to the
sea, but not right on the beach. Flamboyant trees are not able to survive
in zones that go below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. In windy areas, trees are
susceptible to branch breakage.

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