The Chinese Rain Tree

or

Chinese Golden-Rain Tree

(Koelreuteria Elegans)

The Chinese Rain Tree

In our backyard we have the most amazing tree placed almost exactly in the center of the lot.  It's a tree that everyone in the complex (that has access to it) adores, and it never seems to disappoint us for any of our needs.  It's called a Chinese Rain Tree, but for the longest time we all called it "The Japanese Lantern Tree".  It provides us with some of the first tree buds of the spring, much needed shade in the scorching heat of the Texas summer., Finally, we are rewarded with a spectacular floral display at the end of summer followed by a completely different color display in the early fall when it's seed pods start to mature.

The Chinese Rain Tree is native to Taiwan and Southern China.  It can grow up to 50 ft tall and have a diameter of 35-50 ft around.  In many parts of the world (generally zones 9-11) it has been planted as a general landscaping tree and lines many streets because of it's beauty and changing nature during different seasons.  While very decorative, it's been deemed as a weed or an invasive species in many environments, Australia and Florida being two of them.

The last surviving flower on a cluster, shown with pink seed pods.

While it can bloom anywhere from summer to fall, when it does it produces branchlike clusters of perfect little yellow flowers.  The flowers contain both male and female parts, making the plant Hermaphrodite in nature.  At the end of its yearly growing cycle, before it drops it's leaves, the flowers die off and it produces hundreds of light lantern-like pinkish seed pods that each contain small black seeds.  After that, depending on the weather of the zone, it loses it's leaves until the upcoming spring.

Examples of the seed pods.  Beautiful Pink coloring.

While doing my research on this tree, I read that with plenty of water and a good, fast draining soil that these seeds could sprout in as little as 8-10 days after planting.  The tree is also a fast grower.  It does have a few pests and conditions that could effect the tree, including Scales, Root Rot, and Canker Verticillium--a species of fungus that invades damaged bark and can kill off further bark and cause wilt to the tree.  To date, I am unaware of any of these problems occurring with our tree, which indicates to me that it's fairly easy to care for.

Happy Gardening Everyone!

Thank you for everything, Mr Martinez.  We'll miss you.

I chose to write about this today in honor of my landlord, Roosevelt Martinez.  He passed away last Tuesday from complications brought on by a brain aneurysm at the age of 81.  He was a good man, and a very good friend and he will be missed terribly by many people.  He spent a lot of time this past summer sitting in the shade under this particular tree in the backyard supervising the re-roofing of two of our apartment buildings in the complex. We had some good talks while he was sitting out there and I will always remember him every time I look at that tree.  May you rest in peace and your spirit soar in heaven Mr. Martinez.  You really made a difference in my life, and I'll never forget you.

Working with the Canna Lilies (Canna Indica)

One cool thing about my apartment complex is that it came with a big batch of Canna Lilies in pretty much everyone's front yard.  There are so many of them and I'd bet that they've been here since the complex opened back in the late 50's/early 60's.  They seem to have started from underneath everyone's air conditioner window units, as apparently the water that drains from those provides a needed moist environment that softens the very hard covers of the seeds, thus allowing them to sprout.  They grow best on the east side of the complex as that side gets a lot more sun than the west side.

This plant is indigenous to the Caribbean and to tropical locations in the America's and from what I read on Wikipedia is good to grow through zone ten.  I have friends that grow it back home in Iowa though and it's grown there only in the spring and summer time while the weather is still warmer.  The bulbs/tubers are all dug up then in the fall after the foliage dies down a bit and stored in the basement in paper bags or boxes filled with sawdust and replanted again in the early spring.

3 to 5 flowers per stalk

I live in South Texas as you all know, but I've been keeping my Canna's in containers.  That came about when the landlord (God rest his soul) decided to replace the roof on two of the apartment buildings and gave me the option of digging them up before they were destroyed from falling asphalt shingles.  So, right now I have three containers of these buddies growing in the backyard and I need to get them transplanted into the ground Pronto!  They are spreading inside these containers and all three containers are starting to become really crowded.  This could conceivably kill off the plants, and I hate the idea of just letting them die.

The flowers of the Canna Indica are short and spiky, and really almost boring.  Get enough of these plants together though and they can make a rather nice show!  The flowers grow on stalks that come from the center of the plant, like most lilies, and they produce a several nodes on the stalks that become flowers.  On average, you can expect a stalk to have three to five flower clusters on it.  You can anticipate a flower to last for about three to six days, given the weather.  Hotter weather (90+ degrees) seems to make the flowers die faster.  Cooler weather (75 to 90 degrees) is optimum for a longer lasting flower.

Flowers and immature seed pods

Canna Indica is a Hermaphrodite, meaning that there are no sexes for the plants.  Each plant can fertilize itself and after the flowers die off it's not uncommon to see a strange green spikey ball begin to grow where the flower once was.  This is the seed pod.  It will stay on the plant for several weeks and grow, then begin to die off.  Once it has turned completely brown the pod will crack open and show many perfectly round seeds inside that will either drop off onto the ground or the pods will be popped off by someone like me who collects seeds.

The seeds themselves are apparently quite useful and are used in many crafts.  In the past, they've been used to make jewelry and even to fill maracas and other musical instruments that require that kind of sound.  They are also very hard and have been substituted for "shot" in the guns of the old west.  That's why an alternative name for this plant is "Indian Shot".  Apparently, when soldiers using rifles ran out of lead shot to use in their guns, they would look for one of these plants and collect the seeds to use in place of the usual lead balls they were supposed to load their guns with.

Mature pod with perfectly round seeds

If you've looked at these photos you've noticed that I have a rather substantial crop of seeds this year.  I have many many more than I need, and if anyone would like some of these please feel free to drop me a line.  I will get in touch with you to get your address via email, and get them shipped out to you asap!

My thanks to Wikipedia for some of the information gathered on this plant today.

Happy Gardening Everyone!

Rain, Rain, Go Away...(well, no...not really)

It's been a really rough Summer here in the Coastal Bend.  We've had an excruciatingly hot one, and we've had virtually NO rain.  When it did rain, we'd get like sixteen drops and then it would move on.  Secretly, everyone was hoping for a tropical storm or a hurricane to come through so that this drought would see some kind of end, or at least get close to an end.

Of course, all this heat stunted a great many of the flowers that I had growing in the garden.  My baby plants all stopped their growing and it was a real chore just to keep them alive.  The cacti and succulents that I had growing were an even bigger problem as I had no idea how much water to give them.  Their pots would look bone dry every day, and you aren't supposed to water every day.  Now I'm giving them a closer look and discovering that they were over-watered and I have some serious root damage out there.  Serious bummer indeed.

Of course it was like the calendar had a hold on the rain cycle.  This past weekend was the autumnal equinox, and wouldn't you know it...the rains came...and came.  I haven't had to water even once this past week.  It's a nice break.  The good Lord even sent us one of these, which I find so beautiful!

Rainbow over Flour Bluff, TX on 10/1/12

I love rainbows.  I think to get out often and take photos, but when I do I take more than one...lol!

The other side of the Rainbow!

This rainbow was special in that you could see the whole arch of the thing.  Absolutely beautiful.

What does this have to do with Gardening or flowers?  Absolutely nothing.  But then it wasn't supposed to.  It was supposed to just be a fun post meant to kill the time while I wait for a time when the ground is a bit dryer and I can get outside to do something.  I have lots more things to do outside but because it's so wet right now I can't even go out there without getting my shoes muddy.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, and I'll be back with more gardening stuff after the rain stops.