Sesbania punicea

Gosh that is different it looks like a hand with extra fingers !

The photo doesn't do it justice Amy!

Delonix will still call it a weed though!!

It is very pretty flower and can be very pretty little tree.
Lucky that you can grow it.

Looks great Meanie.

Thanks Klahanie!

Big thank you to you Alex for the seed! I'll pm you in a week or so about sending the Echeveria plants and the Mackaya seed.

Meanie:

It's definitely a weed in many parts of Southern California. In Balboa Park there's one area where it's allowed to grow wild. The flowers and seed-pods are very beautiful, though.

Thankfully our climate will not allow it to become invasive.

Does it grow well outside?

It has this summer. I'll plant it out permanently next spring.

Such a stunning colour.....

They tend to be very hardy. I'm sure it'll grow well for you in the ground.

DD - it really has been worth the effort.

Delonix - it's seed grown so this winter it will still fit the garage, but next spring it will be planted out.

So it's still to small to put out into the yard? I know it's a very fast growing small tree. It can grow to 10' (3m) within one summer season.

One SoCal summer!!!

Looks fabulous.

Meanie:

Yes, 6 - 10' (2 to 3m) is typical...especially if it receives water. It's like many trees in the legume family, they grow extremely fast.

Thanks Linda!

Delonix - I got about 2 metres last year. This year it is more interested in branching out.

It usually starts branching at about 6 -10' (2 -3m) tall. You can have it branch taller if you want a 20' (6m) tall tree...it'll spread about 15' (5m). Large trees are the most impressive because they bloom the most prolific.

Large trees are harder to dig out when they die!

Typically, they're very easy to remove. It doesn't develop the very large trunk.

Here's a photo of some trees

http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/SESBANIA_PUNICEA.htm