Dombeya "Seminole Pink"

[Jeff Searle]

Here's mine at the nursery. And as you can see, it's flowering heavy this time of the year. I love this plant in the landscape. But the reason why you don't see more of them is because their so hard to propagate. They can be rooted from cuttings, but I never get a high percent of them to take. Also, you can get them from airlayers. Anyone else have pictures of theirs?

Jeff

[Eric in Orlando]

It is hard to propagate. I've tried cuttings several times and never got any to root.

It is blooming heavy now, flowers heavy in spring and sporadically the rest of the year. It is a cultivar of D. burgessiae;

There is also a cultivar called 'Perrine' with paler pink color

D. elegans is similar;

[Eric in Orlando]

D. wallichii has larger, ball shaped flowers that are pendulant;

The one to find is D. cacuminum , it is a tree to about 30ft, this one is at Animal Kingdom;

here is a specimen at the Polynesian Resort at Disney;

[ariscott]

It is good to see what D. walichii will turn out like. I have been given cuttings and so far so good as far as the cuttings go. I will keep you posted how they will turn out. I have a few green stuff sprouting on some of them (touch wood).

BTW, how big do they get?? Are they fast growing?

Regards, Ari

[fastfeat]

Ari--

D. wallichii will form a roundish large shrub or small tree to 20-25' (7-8m) and about as wide. Usually best to grow as a shrub, though it can form a multi-trunked tree.

[Jeff Searle]

Eric,

   Thanks for the great pictures. I did'nt have any idea that they would grow that far north. And also, are you saying that for record data, the tag should read, Dombeya burgessiae cultivar "Seminole Pink"? If so, I will put that down on a tag for mine at the house.

Jeff

[gandryko]

I'm growing Dombeya 'Seminole' in Palm Coast (between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine).  It is blooming beautifully although it looks a little bedraggled in today's rain.  This is its third year from a three inch pot.  One of six untreated stem tip cuttings in potting soil has grown into a plant that is now almost the size of its parent.

 

[Eric in Orlando]

Yep, 'Seminole' is a cultivar of D. burgessiae. The plain species form has pinkish white flowers that quickly brown. 'Seminole' and 'Perrine' were selected at the USDA station in Chapman Field. They are superior forms of the species, with 'Seminole' being better that 'Perrine'.

They freeze down at about 28-29F but come back quickly. I imagine they are root hardy into the lower 20sF.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

Does anyone have any experience in moving these?  I may have to move it because the trees around it will eventually shade it out.  Or on the other hand, how do they perform in shade?

Jerry

[fastfeat]

(Jerry@TreeZoo @ Dec. 22 2007,11:29)

QUOTE

Does anyone have any experience in moving these?  I may have to move it because the trees around it will eventually shade it out.  Or on the other hand, how do they perform in shade?

Jerry

Jerry--

Probably not too difficult to move the shrubby ones like 'Seminole'. (D. cacuminum is notorious for developing girdling roots and is difficult to move once established.) Might root prune it once to develop some new fibrous roots first, then move in a few months.

You'd probably lose some flower production in part shade, but it will probably be OK if getting at least 4 hrs of sun.

[mppalms]

Have you guys had experiences with Dombeya regrowth from the roots?  Do they all resprout?  I'm trying D. cacuminum and D. elegans.  It looks like D. burgessiae 'Seminole' is a better choice than the latter but D. elegans is fast; it grew something like 3 ft. in one summer.

Where I am, it looks like I'll go to 28 deg. F about once per decade and there have been temps down to 20 F (1990), but I have no idea whether that was a freak occurrence or could happen again.  Most of the monitoring stations with historical data are in the flats.

Those photos are great.  Seems like a spectacular genus.

Jason

[ariscott]

(fastfeat @ Dec. 22 2007,07:13)

QUOTE

Ari--

D. wallichii will form a roundish large shrub or small tree to 20-25' (7-8m) and about as wide. Usually best to grow as a shrub, though it can form a multi-trunked tree.

Thanks Ken. BTW, only one of my cuttings have leaves on it. I haven't given up on the rest though.. they don't look dead enough

Regards, Ari

[fastfeat]

(mppalms @ Dec. 22 2007,14:17)

QUOTE

Have you guys had experiences with Dombeya regrowth from the roots?  Do they all resprout?  I'm trying D. cacuminum and D. elegans.  It looks like D. burgessiae 'Seminole' is a better choice than the latter but D. elegans is fast; it grew something like 3 ft. in one summer.

Where I am, it looks like I'll go to 28 deg. F about once per decade and there have been temps down to 20 F (1990), but I have no idea whether that was a freak occurrence or could happen again.  Most of the monitoring stations with historical data are in the flats.

Those photos are great.  Seems like a spectacular genus.

Jason

Jason--

Most of my experience is with D. cacuminum. From what I've seen, it'll take some frost, maybe to 30F, with only foliar burn. Expect twig dieback in upper 20s. Soft, succulent growth is most subject to damage. I'd recommend hardening off slowly in late Fall by withholding water and nitrogen fertilizer. Because it is a large, fast-growing tree, cold damage to scaffold branches and trunk can be difficult to correct safely; watch for persistent cankers following hard freezes.

D. wallichii is similar in cold tolerance. Though its larger leaves melt quickly in cold, it's shrubby habit and multiple trunks make it a better choice if freezes occur regularly.

I'm not familiar with 'Seminole' being grown in CA; it's by far the most common in FL. I'm not sure how well it performs in Mediterranean climates.

[Jeff Searle]

(Eric in Orlando @ Dec. 22 2007,10:53)

QUOTE

Yep, 'Seminole' is a cultivar of D. burgessiae. The plain species form has pinkish white flowers that quickly brown. 'Seminole' and 'Perrine' were selected at the USDA station in Chapman Field. They are superior forms of the species, with 'Seminole' being better that 'Perrine'.

They freeze down at about 28-29F but come back quickly. I imagine they are root hardy into the lower 20sF.

Eric,

  Wow, I never knew that. That it actually came from the USDA field. I always wondered where this plant came from and why it never had a specie name attached to it. Thanks again,

Jeff

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