Dear All: Regarding FLOWERING TIME of Gulmohar: I have six trees on the street visible from all windows in my home... one sets a few flowers in end of march, fills up by April 15th, one behind it starts in april, fills up in end of april, 3rd and 4th are half way red by end of april and the last two flower in may, mid may to be precise... I note these dates because I am slowly developing allergic conjunctivitis to Krishnachura pollen...this long pollen season is not fun.
These are mature trees, at their tallest,(( their branches are beginning to get that weird J shapes sometimes when they get too long))... so they are upto 4th 5th floor balconies and windows....... this sequence of flowering has been maintained for last decade.....they are street trees, part dirt, part pavement... all get the same rain, and same sustained heat from the building cement... and same abuse from pollution, horns, junk thrown, people sitting leaning on their trunks,. and same air humidity.. and same sunlight ... Since KMC (Kolkata corporation its department for such trees) planted them at the same time, they came from the same nursery.... untill a few years ago they were purchased I am told at one rupee per chara... so was cheapest to plant... hence so frequently planted .... Yet there might be some genetic variation and a reason for flowering at different times .... I have yet to discover it... Additionally I dont think its the water quantity... there is one on a lake shore and a bridge, over which I drive everyday, it flowers profusely.. starting first week in April... and now its completely laden... Dhakuria lake and its surrounding parks, land, and streets were full of Delonix regia trees, and they were the biggest casualty of Hurricane Aila in 2009... they were the most commonly toppled tree... and where damage was done, this tree did the worst.... AND PEOPLE ARE VERY ATTACHED to the red flowers and they think its the pride of the place... including myself...and in Bengal we have a very romantic name for it: KRISHNACHURA.. who won't love the name and its owner??? BUT this tree should be restricted for planting.... ITS invasive, its fills the streets and hence sewer with zillions of leaves (hence help street flooding), no birds other than crows nest in them... ( and you know crows will nest anywhere) .. no animal is seen (at least in my urban jungle) eating the seeds , the only animal I see that has any use for the seeds is the poor womenfolk of the neighborhood who collect fallen pods with their seeds for burning with wood for cooking, the seeds have thick oil.... difficult to express out but ok as fire fuel I guess... Its the most common tree to topple in hurricanes and kaal baisakhi storms, so common right now in Calcutta... Its wood turns an orangeish red exposed to air, and not really very useful in making furniture of any quality or durability... no carpenter worth his salt wanted to buy the toppled gulmohur teers. ((They made beeliine for some other trees..))... we saw street dwellers slowly hacking away this wood for their street chulas... Its myriad seeds find disturbed land even broken sidewalk hospitable , and they sprout and grow... can not be transplanted if the root breaks even a little while trying, roots go very deep very quickly... so I imagine when it self seeds in countryside it can play havoc.... I HOPE I HAVE NOT SERIOUSLY DISTURBED GULMOHUR LOVERS ( I am one) ...but we must learn to temper that love and think of value added urban landscape.... I would love to see birds other than just crows, and native species like neem, mango, kathal, aswatha, bot and a hundred others thrive... in a lively mix... so not plant any new gulmohurs till some sane plan is made up.... Usha di ========== On Apr 30, 8:01 pm, Dr Pankaj Kumar <sahanipan...@gmail.com> wrote: > Some times, even if the plant is in shade during most of the day time > wont flower, if it is a summer flowering. Then when the path of sun > changes by time, the plant flowers. > Thanks for sharing the info. > Regards > Pankaj > > On Apr 30, 4:02 pm, Mahadeswara <swamy.c...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Yes. You are right. The horticulture experts' advice in general : > > withdraw water at the time of flowering initiation . Gulmohar > > flowers profusely in Mysore and Bangaolore, whereas in Chennai it is > > not so and the flowering is not on time (May) . In fact in Mysore it > > is called May flower. Excessive humidity may be a deterrent factor. > > > On Apr 30, 3:49 pm, Neil Soares <drneilsoa...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > Hi Prof. Singh, > > > Would like to try to offer an explanation for this by taking an > > > analogy from the Indian Laburnum. > > > > > > As I had stated in a previous mail : > > > > > > "Forgot to mention that people who plant a Cassia fistula tree in the > > > centre of their lawns and expect it to flower in summer, are solely > > > disappointed because the moisture from watering the lawn is a deterrent > > > to the tree to flower." > > > > > > > available at this link: > > > https://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix/search?hl=en&group=indi... > > > > > > It is therefore possible that while the tree in the first photograph is > > > behaving like any self-respecting Gulmohar should at the height of the > > > summer season, the tree in the second photograph may be placed near a > > > water source like an underground drain / tank or alternatively it may > > > be receiving excessive watering by over-zealous gardeners. > > > Regards, > > > Neil Soares. > > > > --- On Sat, 4/30/11, Gurcharan Singh <singh...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > From: Gurcharan Singh <singh...@gmail.com> > > > Subject: Re: [efloraofindia:68437] Gulmohar Tree > > > To: "mani nair" <mani.na...@gmail.com> > > > Cc: indiantreepix@googlegroups.com > > > Date: Saturday, April 30, 2011, 11:40 AM > > > > Interestingly I have two trees, one on either side of our building just > > > 50 feet away. One started flowering about 20 days back when leafless, and > > > is now full of bloom. The leaves have just started to appear on lower > > > branches. > > > The second tree started producing new leaves but no flowers (both are > > > good sized; almost same height). Only 5-6 days ago it started producing > > > flowers after the whole tree was full of leaves. I am uploading both. > > > Can any member throw some light on explanation for this. > > > > -- > > > Dr. Gurcharan Singh > > > Retired Associate Professor > > > SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 > > > Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. > > > Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ > > > > On Sat, Apr 30, 2011 at 11:11 AM, mani nair <mani.na...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Dear friends, > > > Happy to inform you that the Gulmohar tree which was not flowering has > > > now started flowering. > > > Here are two photos. Sorry for the picture quality. > > > > Regards, > > > > Mani.
