[John J]

Bauhinia variegata is a popular street tree in Cyprus. Less common is Bauhinia forficata. The flowers are much more delicate with narrower petals and the leaves are more deeply divided and tapering (acuminate). Unlike B. variegata that flowers in the spring B. forficata waits until the hottest time of the year, July/August. The flowers open before dawn and you need to catch them very early to see them at their best as by around 9-10 am the sun has done its worst. Probably one reason it is not as popular as perhaps it should be is that the trunk and branches are covered in very nasty little thorns. Not advisable to place it near a path.

[Daisy]

Last April I took a photo of this Bauhinia variegata in Irapetra on the south coast of Crete.
It is a street tree and has no irrigation at all.
Two gardens close by have taken cuttings from it and have young trees in their gardens.
The street tree had no foliage at all and the blooms were smaller than those in the neighbouring gardens. However it was full of blossom.
Last weekend I went to look at it only to find that it had been hacked!!
It looked as though this is a regular thing, every few years.
Daisy



Street tree last April.



One of the young trees in a neighbouring garden.



Street tree last weekend.

[John J]

Daisy, the Bauhinia street trees here in Limassol suffer the same indignity at regular intervals and keep coming back. They are very easily grown from seed, in fact that's how I got mine. I took a ripe pod from a street tree, it had 7 seeds and they all germinated. I kept 3 and gave away the rest. Mine self seed every year and need to be weeded out while they're small. Beautiful flowers though, easy to see why one of it's common names is the Orchid Tree.

[MikeHardman]

yes - given a good wrecking with saws, they seem to shrug their shoulders and press on regardless, as my photo shows

I posted hereNow one of those plants (in Polis) has been hacked back again. It is almost leafless. The photo demonstrates how vigorously it shoots after hard pruning. Imagine all the branches before pruning - the shade was dense!

(click on the 'Quote from' link)

[John]

Quite similar to what "tree surgeons" do in London streets these days!

[John J]

Bauhinia variegata in flower now, as is the variety B v 'Candide'.
Incidently, my original posting of what I said was B acuminata I've since discovered is incorrect and should be B forficata. I have not yet discovered how to correct this, maybe one of our excellent moderators could oblige?

[Alisdair]

Done, John.
You can always change your own postings - all you do is click on the MODIFY tab, which brings your original message back on the writing screen. Change it as you want, then click on the POST button underneath.

[John J]

Thanks for that, Alisdair, I'll remember it for any future need.

[Joanna Savage]

My grandmother who lived in Brisbane used to wait with impatience for the Bauhinia street tree cutters every year. She couldn't stand the mess they made and much preferred the trees with new growth. I don't remember at what time in the year they were pruned. Certainly the seed pods were regarded as part of the mess.

[MikeHardman]

Just a little bit to add...
I sowed seed of B. variegata three years ago (collected from the dirt below a street tree in Paphos). This year most of the saplings are flowering for the first time, heights ranging from 1.5 to 2m. That is, these trees do not require too much patience.

[David Bracey]

Its very sad the way trees are "pruned" to-day by "tree-surgeon".  Branches are simply cut-off at a convenient height with no reference given to the future shape, shade effect or the flowering characteristics of the tree.  The French especially are famous for beheading their magnificent planes, supposedly planted by Napoleon to keep his troops and horses cool while on manoevres, leaving unslightly fingers pointing forlornly to the sky. 

[Alevin]

Going back to Bauhinia furficata, it is a tough and  prolific self-seeder. A real fighter, well equipped to survive casual damages (maybe grazing?) : if you try to pull the hundreds of seedlings that come up everywhere, their tap root (that goes down to Australia, for all I know) clings to the rocks down under and refuses to come, untile the stem breaks; and then soon you have a new shoot coming up.

[oron peri]

Two shruby Bauhinias have started to flower in my garden;  Bauhinia tomentosa which is a tall multibranched species that is nicer when grown as a standart, flowers are pendant, yellow with a dark blotch innside, leaves are highly scented when touched. The other is a smaller species B. natalensis with small white flowers with a pinkish midvein, it is a good pot plant.
Both flower through all summer, attract butterflies and in our area Palestine Sunbirds which seems to adore its nectar.
Both species are easily grown from seeds and are higly recommended.

[Alice]

Great plants, Oron.
I particularly liked Bauhinia tomentosa. Does it stand up to wind? What about water requirements?

[oron peri]

Alice,
In my experience B. tomentosa is a tough plant, it is deciduous during winter therefor winds are less of a problem.
It does require some irrigation during summer, in case it lacks water it will drop most of its leaves but will still flower abundantly.
By the way the leaves are nicely scented when touched.