TECOMA
STANS
Yellow Elder
In the Caribbean you will see these
everywhere. It is actually the official flower of the US Virgin Islands
and the Bahamas. Today there are several varieties of Yellow Elder.
Some are shrubs around 5' in height, others can become small trees
around 20' or so. Tecoma stans blooms mostly during the warm weather,
specially during the spring and fall. The spent flowers should be
removed to encourage bushiness and in some varieties to encourage
more flowers. Well grown plants can become covered with yellow flowers
that have a very good sweet fragrance also. It
is known to attract
hummingbirds, butterflies and/or birds.
Water is average during the warm weather and a little less during
the winter when the plant can loose quite a few leaves depending on
the temperatures. The Yellow Elder is a tropical plant. Established
plants can withstand temperatures in the high 20°s for short periods
of time but it is best if kept above freezing all the time. For cold
climates the dwarf varieties are more appropriate because they can
be grown in pots and brought in during the cold weather easily.
Check
out Tecoma stans 'Dwarf'. It only grows
to around 4 feet.
FAMILY : Bignoniaceae
ORIGIN :
West indies, Tropical America
SIZE : 20'
( can be kept small by trimming )
GROWTH
RATE : fast
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS :
full/partial sun
WATER
REQUIREMENTS :
average
MIN. TEMP. : high 20's
FLOWER : during the warm weather
