Grevilllea robusta

These magnificent trees are in full bloom at the moment. We planted one here when we bought thinking it would be a small tree ....two years later and 15 foot tall it came down sadly.

These are down one side of our local grocery store which has the storks on the sign. This branch was low enough for me to photograph ...





And sorry, couldn't resist a quick snap as we drove out of the stork overseeing the carpark where you park under Schinus (red pepper) trees ....

 

Fantastic grevillea LoL, I've been thinking of buying one on e bay, dont think it would be hardy with me though, so would probably never reach flowering size.

 

.... and where would you plant it, pete? :rolleyes:

 

They are spectacular in bloom Lol although I have only seen a couple of trees with very few flowers in mid summer passed their flowering time.
They have been grown here for decades as dot plants in bedding schemes as you probably know but I have never seen one growing permanently outside (yet). Perhaps in the Scillies on Tresco maybe but on the mainland I doubt. They are regarded as frost tender but might get through a very mild winter in a sheltered spot. They are so easy to grow from seed and rapid growers at that it would be cheaper than buying one. I don't grow them anymore but did in the 70's, every year.

 

I dunno.

 

Best not try pete since your going to try the Bombax? from Sis ... and where are you going to put them, pray tell?

strongy, having bought a red Grevillea (sorry, the name escapes me at the mo. sort of cross of the Canberra Gem ... whatever you have, pete) and seeing it's beautiful flowers I was interested to see the blooms on the robusta I asked for ID on it earlier this year at the place in the mountain village of Alte where I have better English fish than in England. These blooms stunned me .... I am not particularlly a large person, only 5'2" and my hand is 3" wide by 4" and very long fingers (piano like but I don't play the piano :rolleyes: ) but these blooms would hardly fit in my palm! :eek:

I didn't think they were particulary frost tender as they grow in the Alentejo region here (the one above me) which can be pretty damned cold.

 

AHA, this proves the point that I am always banging on about, there is cold and there is Cold and there is COLD.
And we are in the middle, you get the warmer kind of cold.
I'm sure that makes sense, if so please explain it to me.:D

 

Now, pete, we aint gonna go around about how cold it gets in Alentejo again, are we? :rolleyes:

Obviously, I get a warmer kind of cold than you do because I'm in the Algarve.

 

Yes LOL, but we get a colder kind of warm than you.:p:thumb:

 

David, please don't try to get technical with pete and I .... I can't cope with technical nor cold but not sure how pete would react to either .... :rolleyes:

PS Alentejo is the hotest region in Portugal and can also be the coldest because it's like Spain and is for the most part open flat countryside .... except on the southern and west coasts where it's mountainous! I know that sounds like doh! but Alentejo is the largest region in Portugal.

 

And the coldest region of Portugal, but not as cold as here.
Taters, but not as taters as what we get.:D

 

I thought Portugal was the largest region of Portugal.:eek: But what do I know? I thought Cardiff would win the FA cup.:o:D

 

Cardiff, is that in the west of England somewhere, just North of Cornwall I believe.:D