February 24th, 2011: Brush Kurrajong (Brachychiton discolor) by MargaretK

The Bloom of the Day for February 24th, 2011 was Brush Kurrajong (Brachychiton discolor).

View the bloom of the day here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/botd.php?date=2011-02-24

Zone envy again...but what a stunning tree!

Thanks for pointing that out, Kell.

It's a fantastic specimen, isn't it, Pixie? It is still flowering, almost five months after coming into bloom. It's also getting more leaves every day. I've not seen a better specimen in Perth.

WOW!!!!

Beautiful;o)

big time zone envy!!!

Thanks. I tell you what. You wouldn't be envious if you were here right now. We've just broken the record for the longest period of days over 30C and are just about to break the record for the longest stretch of high minimum temperatures. It's hideous and there's no relief in sight. However, I'm glad you've enjoyed that gorgeous tree.

better than buried in 6 feet of snow???

Ha ha. Probably not.

my front lawn a month ago

:(

I know... I exaggerated the 6 feet... but it's really bad.. we will be lucky to have the holiday decorations in by Easter

Nice lawn.

might be a muddy mess tomorrow with the rain coming.. will soon see how much melts .. supposed to hit 53 F ... might be swimming with the melting and rain

the merry christmas sign is now just christmas... the weight pulled down the merry already... and we can't do anything about it.. just keeping fingers crossed all our stuff is not messed up

Eww, yuck. I hope it doesn't turn out to be bad.

thank you... this is the worst year we have had since we started decorating.. hopefully it's the last one like that

Beautiful tree. Where does it grow? Is it tropical? Luciee

Hi luciee, open the link Kell has included at the top of this thread and it will provide some information, but it then points you towards the plant files, where you can see all details that have been written for DG.

You know how much I love your tree, Margaret! Just so special! You need to spread this tree all around the world!

When I was in Florida last week. I saw lots of these but most had few leaves and really looked half dead. I understand they had colder weather than usual and I wonder if that is what did them in.

PS Margaret, does your tree get covered in those wild and wooly seed pods? If so we so need a big shot of your tree then. How cool would that be?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/269049/

Yes, Kell, there are many bunches of the pods. I'll see if I can get some shots of them. The issue with this tree is the purity of the seeds. With the guidance you've provided, Kell, I'll try to isolate to pollinate them by hand next time it flowers. It is, as you know, right next to a Brachychiton acerifolius and the plants I've grown from the discolor look like a hybrid of the two.

Still, I would love to know what the flowers of this hybrid would look like!

You're right, Kell, it would be interesting. My experience with Brachychitons is that they are really easy to grow from seed, are very slow growing for the first few years, then they take off. They bloom in their own good time and some years won't bloom at all. Oh, and they lose their leaves at the beginning of summer - really helpful when it's 40C.

If anyone wants to take a chance with seeds, just let me know, but be aware that they may be hybridised. It would probably be better to purchase seeds from people on DG who have them growing in the USA and don't have other species of Brachychiton that may cross pollinate the discolor seeds.

Thank you, MargaretK, I should have done that first. Luciee

Luciee, I don't know much about your zones, but possibly it may be a bit cool where you are in winter. Others with a comprehensive knowledge of the US zones might like to comment on whether it would grow where you are.