In the UK, it is grown, but the ones I have seen generally don't thrive. They form leggy small trees, which usually flower poorly (occasional years are good, though), and rarely set seed. I suspect that in gales, the big weak leaves get tattered and branches get broken - making plants prone to getting dug-out by their owners. In my book, they are one of those plants that get pushed on the basis of unusual flowers, but really are not garden worthy.
Curiously, I think the ones I have seen in Geneva were the best specimens I have seen - better than the UK ones despite the winters in Geneva being colder. So maybe their poor performance in the UK is partly due to the soft climate there - summers not hot and sunny enough for good ripening, winters not cold enough for bud initiation. Just a thought.
I have not seen them in their native haunts or in comparable climates.
John: I don't think I have seen one here. But Desmond Meikle, Flora of Cyprus, 1985, Vol.2 p.1216: '...a popular ornamental tree in many countries adjacent to the Mediterranean, but fails to flower satisfactorily any further north, the developing inflorescences being frequently damaged during the winter. G. Frangos (1912) notes specimens in nursery gardens at Larnaca and Nicosia, and the tree, which grows quickly from seed, may now be well established on the island."