erythrina lysistemon

have one of these South African trees as a houseplant in a 3 1/2 inch pot. wasn't sure if it would make it through the winter but i started watering with a weak feed in april and it started into growth

but then it just stopped... not sure what to try next. it doesn't seem to be pot bound, and i can't see any evidence of the red spider mite that bothered it last year...

see picture below - last year the leaves were 2-3in long...

any ideas?

thanks

 

Hi Chan2, Its a plant that needs very strong light, so not really suitable as a house plant.
Its basically a tree really that thrives on heat and sun.

So I would say go very careful on the watering and put the plant in full sun if possible.

I had one grown from seed sent me by miraflores, sadly I lost it the winter before last.
I'm now only growing E. Crista Galli its much better for pot growing.

 

thanks pete, glad to know someone else has at least tried it... i got it at a clear out at my old job at birmingham botanical gardens so it has some sentimental value.

it is possible that i am overwatering a bit so will rein myself in on that, but it should be getting plenty of direct sunlight in a south west facing window

really love crista galli so will keep an eye out for seeds and try that too, does it flower as a houseplant?

 

I have only grown E Crista Galli and have in the past had it fower in it's first year but only in a greenhouse. I don't think it would flower in a house even on a sunny window.

 

I've flowered Crista Galli on a few occasions but never the first year as strongy has.
I tend to grow it in greenhouse for the spring and outside in summer, I dont think its suitable for a house plant as it gets far too big and spikey.

I did grow E. herbacea for a while in smallish pots, never got it to flower though.

 

Crista Galli getting going after its spring cut back.

 

I too have succesfully grown 'crista-galli' in a large pot (grown from seed); it's a lovely plant with stunning flowers. I placed mine in a sunny spot outside during the summer and then popped it under cover in the winter. In the spring just as new buds were swelling I pruned it back to tidy it up and keep it in check :thumb:

 

Just got some seed for 'crista-galli' from someone on Ebay, £1.99 for 6 seeds (well packed and with detailed instructions too), not too bad when I found them with a big seed company for nearly £4 for 5!!! :thumb:

 

This is a scanned print of my E Crista Galli grown at work and taken about '93, it did flower in 7 months which even stunned me.

 

wow, strongy and pete - i bow to your superior green fingers if i try crista galli and its not too much of an embarrasing failure, i'll post some pics...

 

Just realised i have a crista-galli which I sowed about 5 years ago and I thought last winter had killed it but it's got a shoot on it! It's lost its name label so I didn't know what it it was. It's never flowered for me. So, they don't like over-watering, is that right?

 

I grew one in a largish pot that flowered successfully from its second year; I used to put it outside from May to September in a spot that got baked by the sun. I used to let it almost dry out between waterings and it was on the rootbound side, so this may have helped it to flower.

 

A couple of old scanned pictures.




The plant in my first picture budded up last year but it was in late September and the flowers never opened properly.

I go along with slightly potbound and well fed on tomato feed.
Never got it to flower in under a 12in pot, preferably bigger.

I've seen it growing outside at Wisley on the old house wall, dont think it was flowering when I saw it though.

 

Here's a pick of an Erythrina crista-galli I worked round at Ventnor Botanic Gardens back in 2008 more then likley killed off by the hard frost's that have happened over the last couple of years, it was quite a large plant and would have been left outside year round for quite some time =]


Erythrina crista-galli by kalmia latifolia, on Flickr

 

It's not a plant you want to run your hands through due to the small back facing spines on the underside of the leaves.:OUCH: