Better Orchid Tree - Bauhinia Mexicana or Bauhinia Purpurea

14 years ago

I have a young Bauhinia Mexicana which I received as a young seedlng at a plant swap. I have been very pleased with this young tree. It is primarily a spring bloomer, but repeats bloom sporadically. Last September, I was given seeds of another "orchid" tree by my neighbor and I successfully germinated them for him and kept a young seedlng for myself. In looking at the leaves of my new seedling, it appears it may be Bauhinia Purprea, since the leaves are more rounded that the mexicana. I don't want to plant it in the ground until I know more of the qualities of this tree. Any opnions?

Molly

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Comments (4)

jolanaweb
14 years ago
Hi Molly,first story; a couple of friends in Bastrop planted a purple Bauhinia and after a couple of years they tried to get rid of all of them.
It was pointed out in another post how some plants act different depending on environment and whatever
They were invasive in their yards
Second story; recently I saw some Purple Bauhinia at a Nursery in Bastrop County and asked the owner if they had sold them for long and he told me he special orders them once in a while. I then asked him if he had had any complaints about it being invasive and he said "no"
This probaly hasn't helped, sorry

Oh, have you googled?
jardineratx
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the information, Jolana! Yes, I did some searching and I came upon pretty much the "2 story" problem. I found praises and condemnation on the purpurea, but basically only praises for the mexicana. I think I will hold back on planting my seedling until I can ID it for certain. I understand that the purpuea blooms in fall, rather than in the spring so that may be the piece of the puzzle that will ID this seedling. That's a problem with using common names, i.e., "orchid tree"....it can be any of several species with very different attributes.
thanks again,
molly
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dsstroud, unfortunately, they are a deciduous tree and very messy. They will also get HUGE if you let them. You can't change the nature of the tree, so either change your attitude or chop it down. Not being smart, just that's your only choice. That reminds me of a story of when I was working at a garden center. A woman called and said that the tree we had sold her was dead. My boss went out and it was indeed leafless, but then, all Jacarandas are leafless in the winter. He tried to explain to her that it was deciduous and would come back out and bloom in the spring, but she was all upset and made him dig it up, so he brought it back, cleaned up the roots, stuck it into another pot, and resold it. Then there was the woman who walked in and said she wanted a bush that bloomed all year, only got 4 feet tall and never had to be pruned. I told her the silk flower and plant store was about 3 miles down the road. She didn't like things that grew out of control, and said very haughtily that she refused to prune anything. I told her that this is Florida, everything grows out of control here, and she needed to just buy what she liked and hire a gardener.
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Be very cautious about buying a "Hong Kong Orchid" from a nursery when it is not flowering. The true Hong Kong Orchid is B Blakeana and is sterile. We bought a "Hong Kong Orchid" about 12 ft tall with a 2" trunk for $600 only to find out it was a B purpurea. We rescued four volunteers from the seeds, then asked for our money back from the nursery. After much back and forth, with the nursery claiming that even Hong Kong Orchids have seeds, we got our money back. When we told the nursery to take out the false Hong Kong Orchid, they cut it down instead. Our volunteers are now 12 ft tall with 2" trunks, grown from seed in 3 yr. We are now growing others from the seeds of these volunteers. Our neighbor, who lives on the water, has a 30 ft tall by 30 ft around B purpurea that is 25 yr old. Our Miani daughter's tree is the same size and age. Bauhinias can be ravaged by high winds and freezing temps, but they come back.
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Hi, it sure sounds like too much water. I am in Houston and the leaves only barely fall after blooming and seeding. Then it gets new leaves and fills out. Yellow leaves either means too much water or too little water. In your case since green moss has appeared, there has probably been too much water. When leaves fell from mine in the spring, I asked about it. They fall at this time of year. You didn't mention how big your tree is. Mine is about 20 to 25 feet. The most wonderful tree. I water only when the no rain for a while. It has been an easy tree to take care of. I would leave the tree alone, but gradually let it dry out. It would seem that too quick drying out would be too quick for the tree. Hope this helps, Carol in Houston
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Thank you Steve for noticing the thorns. Maybe it is an 'orchid vine' so to speak. Sometimes plants have thorns, or prickles rather, not for protection, but so that they can catch hold of something and lean or climb on it. That is said to be the case with roses. I took pictures of an 'orchid vine' growing up an avacado tree at the Spanish Govenor's Palace here in San Antonio a couple of years ago. It had huge flowers. Might have to go take a look at that one again. This is a picture of it. The leaves look a little different. There are probably lots of varities of Bauhinia. I'd just like to know what this is so I'd know what to expect it to do. But maybe not knowing is half the fun.
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jolanaweb
14 years ago
Yes, I left that out. The purple is a Fall bloomer. I am very curious to see what you find out because they are very pretty little trees and I love things that bloom in the Fall when most others are showing severe wear from the summer heat, lol
Including me, lol
gusolie
14 years ago
A nurseryman who wants to make a living, selling his inventory, isn't gonna so boldly tell you the plants he sells are "invasive".

Avoid Bauhinia purpurea like the plague!! It sets sooo many seeds, chances are you'll have a problem anyways, unless you have it surrounded by a big apron of concrete or you live in the desert.

Do the B. mexicana!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: self-seeding B. purpurea

Better Orchid Tree - Bauhinia Mexicana or Bauhinia Purpurea

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jardineratx
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Better Orchid Tree - Bauhinia Mexicana or Bauhinia Purpurea

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jardineratxOriginal Author

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