Have you ever visited a botanical garden on a warm spring day and marveled at tulips in a rainbow of colors, with shapes ranging from cups to stars, contrasting striations, and ruffled edges?Now’s your chance to bring a taste of that awes
12.06.2023 - 01:02 / gardenerspath.com / Joe Butler
How to Grow and Care for Peacock Flowers Caesalpinia pulcherrimaEver wanted the majesty of a tree and the glory of a floral display, all in the same plant? Want all that with a side of drought-tolerance and attractiveness to pollinators? Well, look no further than the peacock flower, aka the red bird of paradise.
This evergreen tree or shrub has dark green, bipinnate compound leaves on thorny stems that can provide a gorgeous screen if desired.
Along with the stunning foliage, this tropical beauty has orange-red, cupped flowers that bloom in clusters known as racemes, which can flower year-round in warm enough climates.
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These flowers give way to brown seed pods, which burst forth to scatter ripened seeds in a dramatic fashion.
Aesthetics, versatility, utility – red bird of paradise has the full package. And it can all be yours, if you have the required know-how. That’s where we come in.
This guide will cover just how to grow and care for a peacock flower. From propagation methods to health care tips, we’ll go over the information needed to start growing these bad boys for yourself – and more!
Get amped for what awaits:
Cultivation and HistoryDespite its name, the red bird of paradise isn’t actually related to a plain ol’ bird of paradise from the Strelitzia genus.
Being a tropical plant, C. pulcherrima thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11 as a woody evergreen shrub or tree, and makes do in Zone 8 as a returning perennial. The peacock flower hails from Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
While on the first scientific mission to the New World in the early 16th century, Spanish botanist and physician
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