I grew an /Erythrina christa-galli/ from seed 25 years ago. I had it
over a dozen years but although it grew well it never flowered, whether
in a pot or in the ground.

Shortly after we moved 11 years ago I bought another plant at a show. It
was about 80 cm high. I kept it in a pot in the greenhouse for 5 years,
but it didn't flower, so I put it in the ground in front of a 50cm high
south-facing wall. Every year it grew really well with stems 3m+ high,
but it didn't flower. It got to be a menace with its backwards-facing
thorns under the leaves. So I dug it up again the best I could (part of
the deep root was left in the ground), and put it in a 45cm pot. Late
last autumn I thought I'd try something different and put the pot in the
garage over winter. I brought the pot back out again in early May, and...

<https://ibb.co/b1sDK5h>
<https://ibb.co/KsQWt4W>

The bit in the ground still produces long stems without flowers.

The only time I've seen this plant in flower before was about 20 years
ago at West Dean gardens near Chichester. They had a few plants in
flower, apparently growing outside in the ground. However, when I asked
one of the gardeners there about them he said they kept the large pots
in the greenhouse in winter and buried them in the ground for summer!

--

Jeff

On 11/08/2023 09:35, Jeff Layman wrote:
> I grew an /Erythrina christa-galli/ from seed 25 years ago. I had it
> over a dozen years but although it grew well it never flowered, whether
> in a pot or in the ground.
>
> Shortly after we moved 11 years ago I bought another plant at a show. It
> was about 80 cm high. I kept it in a pot in the greenhouse for 5 years,
> but it didn't flower, so I put it in the ground in front of a 50cm high
> south-facing wall. Every year it grew really well with stems 3m+ high,
> but it didn't flower. It got to be a menace with its backwards-facing
> thorns under the leaves. So I dug it up again the best I could (part of
> the deep root was left in the ground), and put it in a 45cm pot. Late
> last autumn I thought I'd try something different and put the pot in the
> garage over winter. I brought the pot back out again in early May, and...
>
> <https://ibb.co/b1sDK5h>
> <https://ibb.co/KsQWt4W>
>
> The bit in the ground still produces long stems without flowers.
>
> The only time I've seen this plant in flower before was about 20 years
> ago at West Dean gardens near Chichester. They had a few plants in
> flower, apparently growing outside in the ground. However, when I asked
> one of the gardeners there about them he said they kept the large pots
> in the greenhouse in winter and buried them in the ground for summer!
>
Interesting Jeff, I used to come back from Madeira each year with the
seed but like you I could never get them to flower, unlike you they
never grew well in the ground either so I gave up. But the flowers are
worth waiting for !
--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On 12/08/2023 07:53, Charlie Pridham wrote:
> On 11/08/2023 09:35, Jeff Layman wrote:
>> I grew an /Erythrina christa-galli/ from seed 25 years ago. I had it
>> over a dozen years but although it grew well it never flowered, whether
>> in a pot or in the ground.
>>
>> Shortly after we moved 11 years ago I bought another plant at a show. It
>> was about 80 cm high. I kept it in a pot in the greenhouse for 5 years,
>> but it didn't flower, so I put it in the ground in front of a 50cm high
>> south-facing wall. Every year it grew really well with stems 3m+ high,
>> but it didn't flower. It got to be a menace with its backwards-facing
>> thorns under the leaves. So I dug it up again the best I could (part of
>> the deep root was left in the ground), and put it in a 45cm pot. Late
>> last autumn I thought I'd try something different and put the pot in the
>> garage over winter. I brought the pot back out again in early May, and...
>>
>> <https://ibb.co/b1sDK5h>
>> <https://ibb.co/KsQWt4W>
>>
>> The bit in the ground still produces long stems without flowers.
>>
>> The only time I've seen this plant in flower before was about 20 years
>> ago at West Dean gardens near Chichester. They had a few plants in
>> flower, apparently growing outside in the ground. However, when I asked
>> one of the gardeners there about them he said they kept the large pots
>> in the greenhouse in winter and buried them in the ground for summer!
>>
> Interesting Jeff, I used to come back from Madeira each year with the
> seed but like you I could never get them to flower, unlike you they
> never grew well in the ground either so I gave up. But the flowers are
> worth waiting for !

I don't know why, but the colour reproduction in the photo isn't quite
right. The "standard" is more-or-less correct, but the keel/carina is a
markedly darker red than the standard, making it even more attractive.

What I find strange is that this winter was so cold, and the previous
few so much milder, that I'm sure the temperature in the garage would
often have been lower than the plant experienced outside in the ground
or in the greenhouse in those years. The only other thing is that I left
it completely dry for the 5 months it was in the garage. It seemed
dormant, and it was only when I saw a bud breaking on the woody stump
that I put it outside.

Oh, I've just noticed - "crista" not "christa"!

--

Jeff

On 11/08/2023 09:35, Jeff Layman wrote:
> I grew an /Erythrina christa-galli/ from seed 25 years ago. I had it
> over a dozen years but although it grew well it never flowered, whether
> in a pot or in the ground.
>
> Shortly after we moved 11 years ago I bought another plant at a show. It
> was about 80 cm high. I kept it in a pot in the greenhouse for 5 years,
> but it didn't flower, so I put it in the ground in front of a 50cm high
> south-facing wall. Every year it grew really well with stems 3m+ high,
> but it didn't flower. It got to be a menace with its backwards-facing
> thorns under the leaves. So I dug it up again the best I could (part of
> the deep root was left in the ground), and put it in a 45cm pot. Late
> last autumn I thought I'd try something different and put the pot in the
> garage over winter. I brought the pot back out again in early May, and...
>
> <https://ibb.co/b1sDK5h>
> <https://ibb.co/KsQWt4W>
>
> The bit in the ground still produces long stems without flowers.
>
> The only time I've seen this plant in flower before was about 20 years
> ago at West Dean gardens near Chichester. They had a few plants in
> flower, apparently growing outside in the ground. However, when I asked
> one of the gardeners there about them he said they kept the large pots
> in the greenhouse in winter and buried them in the ground for summer!
>
We got one from Hill House Nursery some years ago, Kept it in our little
greenhouse for a couiple of years but it did nothing much. Planted it
out in our N facing garden just by the greenhouse and it has flowered a
few times from new stems just before the frost. Always gets cut to the
ground in winter by frost.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 13/08/2023 15:39, Bob Hobden wrote:
> On 11/08/2023 09:35, Jeff Layman wrote:
>> I grew an /Erythrina christa-galli/ from seed 25 years ago. I had it
>> over a dozen years but although it grew well it never flowered,
>> whether in a pot or in the ground.
>>
>> Shortly after we moved 11 years ago I bought another plant at a show.
>> It was about 80 cm high. I kept it in a pot in the greenhouse for 5
>> years, but it didn't flower, so I put it in the ground in front of a
>> 50cm high south-facing wall. Every year it grew really well with stems
>> 3m+ high, but it didn't flower. It got to be a menace with its
>> backwards-facing thorns under the leaves. So I dug it up again the
>> best I could (part of the deep root was left in the ground), and put
>> it in a 45cm pot. Late last autumn I thought I'd try something
>> different and put the pot in the garage over winter. I brought the pot
>> back out again in early May, and...
>>
>> <https://ibb.co/b1sDK5h>
>> <https://ibb.co/KsQWt4W>
>>
>> The bit in the ground still produces long stems without flowers.
>>
>> The only time I've seen this plant in flower before was about 20 years
>> ago at West Dean gardens near Chichester. They had a few plants in
>> flower, apparently growing outside in the ground. However, when I
>> asked one of the gardeners there about them he said they kept the
>> large pots in the greenhouse in winter and buried them in the ground
>> for summer!
>>
> We got one from Hill House Nursery some years ago, Kept it in our little
> greenhouse for a couiple of years but it did nothing much. Planted it
> out in our N facing garden just by the greenhouse and it has flowered a
> few times from new stems just before the frost. Always gets cut to the
> ground in winter by frost.

Hill House Nursery in Old Buckenham?

I got my grape vines there: the Black Hamburg now embraces the whole
gable end and is threatening to dominate the nerarby hedge and smother
the Brown Turkey (figs) which live nearby. Brown Turkey also came from
Hill House.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 13/08/2023 21:00, RustyHinge wrote:
> On 13/08/2023 15:39, Bob Hobden wrote:
>> On 11/08/2023 09:35, Jeff Layman wrote:
>>> I grew an /Erythrina christa-galli/ from seed 25 years ago. I had it
>>> over a dozen years but although it grew well it never flowered,
>>> whether in a pot or in the ground.
>>>
>>> Shortly after we moved 11 years ago I bought another plant at a show.
>>> It was about 80 cm high. I kept it in a pot in the greenhouse for 5
>>> years, but it didn't flower, so I put it in the ground in front of a
>>> 50cm high south-facing wall. Every year it grew really well with stems
>>> 3m+ high, but it didn't flower. It got to be a menace with its
>>> backwards-facing thorns under the leaves. So I dug it up again the
>>> best I could (part of the deep root was left in the ground), and put
>>> it in a 45cm pot. Late last autumn I thought I'd try something
>>> different and put the pot in the garage over winter. I brought the pot
>>> back out again in early May, and...
>>>
>>> <https://ibb.co/b1sDK5h>
>>> <https://ibb.co/KsQWt4W>
>>>
>>> The bit in the ground still produces long stems without flowers.
>>>
>>> The only time I've seen this plant in flower before was about 20 years
>>> ago at West Dean gardens near Chichester. They had a few plants in
>>> flower, apparently growing outside in the ground. However, when I
>>> asked one of the gardeners there about them he said they kept the
>>> large pots in the greenhouse in winter and buried them in the ground
>>> for summer!
>>>
>> We got one from Hill House Nursery some years ago, Kept it in our little
>> greenhouse for a couiple of years but it did nothing much. Planted it
>> out in our N facing garden just by the greenhouse and it has flowered a
>> few times from new stems just before the frost. Always gets cut to the
>> ground in winter by frost.
>
> Hill House Nursery in Old Buckenham?
>
> I got my grape vines there: the Black Hamburg now embraces the whole
> gable end and is threatening to dominate the nerarby hedge and smother
> the Brown Turkey (figs) which live nearby. Brown Turkey also came from
> Hill House.

I believe that he means the one in Devon:
<http://hillhousenursery.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=86_88&product_id=267>

I assume that it's still run by Sacha Hubbard. She was a helpful
contributor to this NG for many years, before leaving us for Facebook.

--

Jeff

On 13/08/2023 22:00, Jeff Layman wrote:
> On 13/08/2023 21:00, RustyHinge wrote:
>> On 13/08/2023 15:39, Bob Hobden wrote:
>>> On 11/08/2023 09:35, Jeff Layman wrote:
>>>> I grew an /Erythrina christa-galli/ from seed 25 years ago. I had it
>>>> over a dozen years but although it grew well it never flowered,
>>>> whether in a pot or in the ground.
>>>>
>>>> Shortly after we moved 11 years ago I bought another plant at a show.
>>>> It was about 80 cm high. I kept it in a pot in the greenhouse for 5
>>>> years, but it didn't flower, so I put it in the ground in front of a
>>>> 50cm high south-facing wall. Every year it grew really well with stems
>>>> 3m+ high, but it didn't flower. It got to be a menace with its
>>>> backwards-facing thorns under the leaves. So I dug it up again the
>>>> best I could (part of the deep root was left in the ground), and put
>>>> it in a 45cm pot. Late last autumn I thought I'd try something
>>>> different and put the pot in the garage over winter. I brought the pot
>>>> back out again in early May, and...
>>>>
>>>> <https://ibb.co/b1sDK5h>
>>>> <https://ibb.co/KsQWt4W>
>>>>
>>>> The bit in the ground still produces long stems without flowers.
>>>>
>>>> The only time I've seen this plant in flower before was about 20 years
>>>> ago at West Dean gardens near Chichester. They had a few plants in
>>>> flower, apparently growing outside in the ground. However, when I
>>>> asked one of the gardeners there about them he said they kept the
>>>> large pots in the greenhouse in winter and buried them in the ground
>>>> for summer!
>>>>
>>> We got one from Hill House Nursery some years ago, Kept it in our little
>>> greenhouse for a couiple of years but it did nothing much. Planted it
>>> out in our N facing garden just by the greenhouse and it has flowered a
>>> few times from new stems just before the frost. Always gets cut to the
>>> ground in winter by frost.
>>
>> Hill House Nursery in Old Buckenham?
>>
>> I got my grape vines there: the Black Hamburg now embraces the whole
>> gable end and is threatening to dominate the nerarby hedge and smother
>> the Brown Turkey (figs) which live nearby. Brown Turkey also came from
>> Hill House.
>
> I believe that he means the one in Devon:
> <http://hillhousenursery.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=86_88&product_id=267>
>
>
> I assume that it's still run by Sacha Hubbard. She was a helpful
> contributor to this NG for many years, before leaving us for Facebook.
>
Yes, Sacha is still there. She lost her husband a year or two ago, and
his son is currently running the nursery. She's running the tea room
associated with the nursery.