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Friday - August 26, 2011
From: San Antonio, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Pruning, Shrubs
Title: Non-native Pride of Barbados from San Antonio
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have some very successful wildly blooming "Dwarf Pride of Barbados" plants growing in my xeriscape garden. Each year I cut them back to the ground. I have just purchased a new variety called "Caesalpinia pulcherrima Compton" which is a pink variety. It was shipped with one stem [almost tree like] and it is different in that it has thorns. I was wondering if it should be cut back annually like its cousin. Thanking you in advanceANSWER:
"Caesalpinia pulcherrima Compton" from Dave's Garden was about the only information we could obtain on this plant, as it is South American in origin. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the growth, propagation and protection of plants native not only to North America, but to the area in which the plants are growing.
From Texas A&M Cooperative Extension, Bexar County, we found this article on Pride of Barbados. Perhaps they will know the answer to your question on the "cousin," so we suggest you contact the Bexar County Extension Office-Horticulture.
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