Pride of Barbados, sometimes called Dwarf Poinciana or Peacock Flower, is surprisingly unknown to many long time gardeners. I've seen it growing throughout the Southern U.S. Gulf Coast region as far west as Phoenix and Tuscon Arizona in city flower plantings, as pretty as pie in the Sonoran Desert heat, yet, it loves the wet weather here in the cooler rainy season of the Southeastern U. S... It's remarkably uncommon for a plant to tolerate both environments.
Though its been around a while, it's true value as a 1st class tropical plant is largely unrecognized. Possibly because it's a plant for larger yards at 4 to 6 feet in height 6 to 8 feet wide, but it also has the ability to overpower everything but the classiest creations of nature.
The red orange and yellow flowers grab the attention of human beings, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds before any other color, across distances far past mans ability to identify what In the world it could be. This is an attribute very few subjects possess, and it is undeniably powerful. It's fern like leaf texture and habit, it's airy suggestion of peace and harmony are specifically wonderful. If you only get to grow 10 plants in your time on Earth, this should be one.
The plant pictured here is one I've grown for about 8 or 10 years in a hard and dry spot, in my Southwestern Louisiana zone 8b yard, in full sun, on the south trunk of a Long leaf Yellow pine tree, in acidic infertal sandy soil, where it's roots have survived 2 consecutive winter nights of 15 degrees F for 10 hours.Seeds sprout easily for propagation purposes, but the plant is not invasive. It loves heat, pine needles around its base, ample rain but has endured drought, likes a little fertilizer but doesn't usually get any. It just sits there and looks like this from late June until mid-Septmber when seeds demand all Its energy, freezes to the ground in most winters here, and returns to full form every year to make us happy again. It is a living Prayer with healing capacity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesalpinia_pulcherrima
