Just "discovered" the Bauhinias in the last few days (here somewhere).....after 60+ years of gardening.
Better late than never.

Ironically, it turns out I had one all along.....B. yunnanensis, the Chinese (of course!) Climbing Orchid Tree.
It has quietly climbed and over-grown another bushy tree, and is very beautiful in the morning sun.

But what caught my eye (somewhere here) was the B. blakeana, 'Hong Kong Orchid Tree'. I was fortunate
to find them in 5gal at Walter Andersen Nursery in Poway, California, and purchased 2......one to bonsai for
the hummers on the deck, and one to let grow large for the main garden.


Would love to see your Bauhinia sp., and get any tips on growing and propagating.

Surprised no replies in 2 days
Maybe this is the wrong forum?

Very excited to find such a beautiful
tree for our hummers.

Hope someone else will add their experience and images to this thread.

Have to find the right pot for the bonsai.....the root ball is 9" X 9".

I have a few of the white and a purple one. The seedlings tend to pop up everywhere in the garden.

Thanks ScotTi.
Great image.

Wish mine produced seeds, but is seedless.
I think it will be easy to propagate with cuttings & air layering,
which will produce a tree sooner anyway.

I had them when we lived in the Marshall islands, but they won't grow where we are now. I miss them, but my greenhouse isn't large enough to have one.

They do have lovely flowers, but as Scott says, here in Florida they are somewhat of an invasive problem with all the seedlings they produce. Possibly in California it isn't so much of a problem given your drier climate.

No problem at all.......B. blakeana, aka 'Hong Kong Orchid Tree", is seedless.

I'm hoping to have a small forest of them next year, if I can get the cuttings and layerings
to take before it gets cold.

I planted one in the garden to let it grow as large as it wants, though will shape it and
anything I trim will become a cutting.

The other one is going in a pot 12"x12". I'm going to cut it by 2/3 to keep it at ~4'x4' on the deck.

I have one tree. And lots of seeds left over. I planted a dozen and all dozen came up. I gave trees away. I have no more room in my yard for trees let alone a sunny spot for one to make pretty flowers. But I tried. I planted 3. The surviving tree ended up in the forest.. It is growing ever so slowly. But when it grows up, I will be able to see it and her flowers in all her glory!

ShadyGreenThumb said:I have one tree. And lots of seeds left over. I planted a dozen and all dozen came up. I gave trees away. I have no more room in my yard for trees let alone a sunny spot for one to make pretty flowers. But I tried. I planted 3. The surviving tree ended up in the forest.. It is growing ever so slowly. But when it grows up, I will be able to see it and her flowers in all her glory!

Which Bauhinia do you have? Any pics?
"The surviving tree.....It is growing ever so slowly." They're supposed to grow quickly (at least 24" per year for 10yrs)
What happened to the others?

Here are a few pics of the Hong Kong Orchid Tree I plan to pot......I uploaded them to NGA, but they were
sideways, even though they had a scenic perspective (?)
http://cal3d.com/NGA2017/1.jpg
http://cal3d.com/NGA2017/2.jpg
http://cal3d.com/NGA2017/3.jpg

My potted Hong Kong Orchid just bloomed! Only one, but at least one more coming.

The 2nd plant is in the ground in our garden, and I thought it was dying as it lost all
its leaves, but new leaves are forming. No blooms, though.

Hope to have many blooms next year on both.


Here is a larger image..... rollover it with your mouse to see a PseudoHDR version that reveals the details hidden in the shadows.

More blooms coming.......in January?!

These are just on the potted plant.....4 branches with multiple blooms forming.

Also several developing on the plant in the ground.
Did not expect blooms this early, but very happy to see them.

It's been a relatively warm winter in So. Cal., so things are blooming a bit early. Now we just need rain to keep them healthy.

We use B. purpurea, and B variegata flower bud an newly opened flower for stir fry some times.
Never try Bauhinia blakeana though (but those two above are the parents, so might also edible???)

I found this little blurb about Hong Kong Orchids......I guess it's their regular bloom cycle. https://www.fast-growing-trees...

Hong Kong Orchid Trees bring the winter to life by opening their large, pink to purple blooms that are nearly six inches across. Their fragrant blooms first appear in November, just in time for the holidays and last for an entire 5 months to fill barren landscapes with vivid color.

Strange winter here (San Diego County inland)......predicted to be 90F on Monday, with no rain in sight.

Our typical yo yo weather. Yesterday it was 44 on the porch at 6 am...today it was 61 at 6 am.

Just got three Hong Kong orchid trees and looking for advice on fertilizer, watering for them in Las Vegas.

Hope you're planning to protect them in a greenhouse for the winter. You're a zone or two too cold for them there in LV. Are you keeping them in pots? Fertilizing is going to be a lot different if in pots to in-ground planting.

They like lots of water when the weather is warm to hot, from my experience here in Florida where summer is hot but also our rainy season. Need less when it's cooler but winter is their bloom time, so consistent moisture is necessary. Probably once or twice a week, but your dry air there is going to be a problem, so might need water more often.

If you plant them in the ground, a dose of timed-release pelleted fertilizer in spring once it's really warming up will probably be enough for the season. In pots, you'll have to go by the color and size of the leaves. If the color starts looking pale or new leaves are smaller, that's a sign of nutrient deficiency. Keep a very close eye.

I have 2 Hong Kong in the ground inside my greenhouse, planted them 15 or so years ago, of course the have hit the roof and I have to prune them...but they never bloom in there. Their sole function is to be living totems for climbing aroids.

I have the following bauhinias:
yunnanensis
glabra
malabarica
galpinii
grandiderii
mexicana
and my current favorite, madagascarienses (below)

Elaine,
thanks for the info.....after 3 yrs ours has bloomed OK, not prolific.
My sister said hers are in the ground in full sun, so maybe I need to give the
potted one more sun.
The one in the ground is doing OK, though a few times they both
scared me when the leaves dried up. I guess they are just deciduous, and
but opposite time of year.

But I will feed more, and water more, too.

Actually, my favorite bauhinia is the orchid vine, B. yunnanensis (B.corymbosa?).
My sister gave us a scrawny one in a 1 gal pot 15yrs ago, and it has turned into a
very robust vine, attracting bees & hummers, climbing 15 ft. Blooms profusely.

Just took this shot (& the next 2)...no blooms, but has intertwined and
covered a wisteria next to it.


The trunk is still only ~1" thick...amazing it can support
so much foliage.


It puts out seed pods like green beans, and I find babies
coming up in pots nearby.


Earlier this year when a clematis grew together with it.


And growing with a rose.

Very attractive blooms.