Purple Orchid Tree
Bauhinia spp
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If you have a prepared outdoor space where your Purple Orchid Tree will sprout and grow, you can direct seed into your soil. Plant at depth of seed, so your seed will go under about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch. Water to wet top 1/2 inch of soil. Keep moist daily if there is no rain. These seeds typically sprout in 10-30 days. If you first soak your seeds over night, germination normally speeds up to under 10 days
Your Purple Orchid Tree is happy in loose sandy soil with good drainage. In the future when your tree starts to bloom, it will benefit from a late dry winter and dry spring. The dry conditions very much encourage blooming. The point is, do not plant your seeds in wet areas or areas that tend to puddle with rain or irrigation.
You can start your Bauhinia Purple Orchid Tree seeds in containers. You can use Styrofoam 12-ounce to 24-ounce coffee cups or standard 4- or 6-inch plastic pots. You want to use a starter pot that has good depth to accommodate downward root growth.
If you use Styrofoam cups, use a pencil to make about 8-10 holes in the bottom of each cup. Fill with high grade nursery soil mix that DOES NOT CONTAIN fertilizer (except pellet time released). Choose an expensive soil at your garden center; a bag that is very light for its size. Contents should include peat moss and assorted other organic ingredients such as charcoal bits, perlite, seed hulls, etc.
Wet soil several times to get water penetration. Place one seed on top of soil. Cover your seed with about 1/4 inch of dry soil. Re-water to moisten newly added soil. Place cups in a warm spot indoors or outdoors. The warmer the better for faster germination. Water as needed lightly to keep (top of soil) moist After germination, place container in full sun or partial shade immediately the same day. Do not wait.
If you plant to transplant your container sprouted seeds into soil or larger pots, wait until each starter container has developed a good root mass. Likely 8-12 weeks after green growth appears, but you can look whenever you think they are ready to be transplanted. To look, lightly squeeze the starter container (to loosen the soil). Now place your hand over the soil allowing the plant to come between two fingers or your thumb and a finger then turn the container upside down. Slide your container off the soil If you see a good quantity of white roots and/or an aggressively growing tap root, you are ready to transplant to another location. If not, slide the soil back into the same container and wait another week or two then repeat your look.
Expect rapid growth spring, summer and fall. Fertilization with time released pellets such as Osmocote or Dynamite (Nutricote) will help health and growth. You can water generously during spring, summer and fall as this is the normal wet season for your tree and it will enjoy rain or irrigation with good clean water. However, make sure you have good drainage, as “wet” soil is not the goal.
Your Purple Orchid Tree is deciduous so it naturally loses all or almost all of its leaves in winter, typically in South Florida for about 1-2 months. Keep soil dryer during that season, then in spring, when new growth appears again, start using a little more water and start feeding again. Once your tree is about 3 years old, it will begin blooming. Every year it ages it will bloom more
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