Culture
Winter hardy to USDA Zones 10-12 where it is easily grown in medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Best with consistent moisture except during the dry/dormant season when watering should be reduced. Plants dislike temperatures that dip below 50 degrees F. Propagate by tip cuttings or seed. Plants grown from seed typically do not flower in the first 7-10 years.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Delonix regia, commonly called flamboyant or royal poinciana, is a tropical tree that is native to Madagascar but has been widely planted around the world in tropical and semi-tropical areas. It typically grows to 30-40' tall with a broad-spreading, flat-topped, umbrella-like crown. Crowns of mature trees often spread to 60-70' wide. This tree is noted for featuring a superb ornamental display of showy scarlet flowers and compound mimosa-like leaves. In the U. S., it can be grown outdoors in the far southern areas of Florida, Texas, Arizona and California plus Hawaii. This tree is deciduous in climates that have a dry season or mildly cool winter, but otherwise is evergreen. Lacy, feathery, mimosa-like, bipinnately compound leaves to 8-15" long, each having 10-20 pairs of pinnae with further division into 25-35 pairs of smaller pinnules. Flowers (3-4") are a brilliant scarlet orange. Each flower has four spreading petals and a larger fifth petal (the banner) which has streaks of yellow and white. In the continental U. S., flowering typically occurs from late spring into summer. Flowers give way to flattened bean-like fruit pods (each to 24" long).
Genus name comes from the Greek words delos meaning evident or conspicuous and onux meaning a claw and referring to the long-clawed petals.
Specific epithet means royal.
Common name of royal poinciana honors M. de Poinci, 17th century governor of the French West Indies.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Spreading crown is too large for many lots. Vigorous root systems can lift sidewalks.
Uses
Where winter hardy, flamboyant is an outstanding flowering tree for gardens, parks, along streets, and for large front yards. Mature trees provide excellent shade.