The Iconic Illawarra Flame Tree: Brachychiton acerifolius

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Wow it has been a dry, windy, horrible winter here on the east coast of NSW, in the last week the rain has finally reached us. However it seems to me that this is exactly the sort of weather the flame trees enjoy…so many of them are in full early bloom and what a show they put on when they decide to flower 😉

It was a 1970’s ‘theme’ to plant them with Grevillea robusta and the Jacaranda, so they could all flower together red, yellow and purple….very 70’s

I like them alone as a feature tree, where you really see their beautiful form, and when they drop their flowers they sit in a pool of scarlet.

Brachychton acerifolius is considered to be a medium sized feature tree growing to approximately 10 metres high, they can be a little slow growing and can take unto 7 years to flower. There grafted Grafted forms out now that should provide more reliable and quicker flowering periods, check out ‘Jerilderrie Red’, ‘Bella Donna’ and ‘Bella Pink’, they will also grow into a more compact or smaller tree.
Now you don’t need a park style garden to do them justice 🙂

 

 

Comments

2 responses to “The Iconic Illawarra Flame Tree: Brachychiton acerifolius”

  1. Kate Burrett

    We had the trifecta in our back yard in the Blue Mountains as a kid – Illawarra Flame Tree, Jacaranda and Grevillea Robusta, as well as a fire wheel tree. I didn’t know it was a 70s thing, but that makes a lot of sense! It did look magnificent when they all flowered. The flame tree was the first thing I planted when I moved to the Illawarra (no Jacarandas in our native-only garden).

  2. Ben

    That needs some more research,How hardy are they?

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