My favorite tropical tree in my yard (Kigelia africana)

[Gtlevine]

My Kigelia africana has been blooming all summer and now I have my first sausages.

Gary

[ariscott]

Nice... Mine is still a long way away from flowering. Now that you have the sausage... you need the cannonball...

Regards, Ari

[epicure3]

Gary, that is a stunner. Can we see a few more pics. Just gorgeous!

[Wai`anae Steve]

My Kigelia africana has been blooming all summer and now I have my first sausages.

Gary

GREAT looking tree Gary. How long did it take to get that big? I have seedlings from Matty about 2" tall right now.

[MattyB]

They seem to be strong growers even as seedlings. I can pluck them out of the community pot with no setback at all.

[BeerPlant]

Great Photo! Man I love that tree, wish I had one!! Thanks for posting...

[LJG]

Gary, your place is turning into a botanical garden of rare trees.

[KPL]

What a strong and beautiful tree. The red flowers are absolutely striking!

Karolyn

[Peter]

Looking good Gary! And Matty, pluck one of those seedlings out for me would you?

[Gtlevine]

My Kigelia africana has been blooming all summer and now I have my first sausages.

Gary

GREAT looking tree Gary. How long did it take to get that big? I have seedlings from Matty about 2" tall right now.

I planted it around 6 six years ago from a five gallon. They are very quick growers for me in inland So Cal and they are evergreen and trouble free, the perfect fit for the palm garden.

[MattyB]

You got it Peter. I've already got them all in 1 gallons.

[ariscott]

Looking good Gary! And Matty, pluck one of those seedlings out for me would you?

Have you got room, Peter???

Regards, Ari

[Peter]

Thanks Matty! I might just barely have the room Ari, once I take out those horrible Grevillea robustas.

[ariscott]

Yeah... who needs them... lol.

Regards, Ari

[AggiePalms]

Great looking Kigelia!

i have wanted one since I saw my first one at Edison's house in Florida, I was just a kid. It is the next tropical tree I want to grow...My last choice was a Ceiba, two years old, about 7 feet, not bad for being in the house all winter. When it outgrows its 24" pot, I don't know what to do with it. Same with the Kigelia when I get it. The funny thing is...two years ago the Home Depot website advertised Kigelia, they would ship it direct all over the US. Let's have a Home Depot Kigelia forest in North Dakota.

[Palms1984]

You got it Peter. I've already got them all in 1 gallons.

Matt:

When did you start your seeds? Do you find when their roots fill out the container, they stop growing? I started some this summer and they grew very quickly until their roots filled out the container...then they stopped growing until they were transplanted into a larger pot.

[ariscott]

Most trees will do that... They don't take being root bound very kindly. Either you plant them or you repot them.

Regards, Ari

[carver]

We have a 40 footer in the front yard, don't park your car underneath it, I know of three windshields it has broken. Bees love the flowers that are still open in the morning, they make the entire yard smell funny can't tell if I like it or not. And the fallen flowers, its like walkin on banana peels, slippy. Seedlings here don't seem as easy to start. Everybody asks about it, I usually offer them a sausage to take home.

[MattyB]

You got it Peter. I've already got them all in 1 gallons.

Matt:

When did you start your seeds? Do you find when their roots fill out the container, they stop growing? I started some this summer and they grew very quickly until their roots filled out the container...then they stopped growing until they were transplanted into a larger pot.

Maybe that's what is going on. I broke up the community pot and they've seem to have stalled out at about 4" tall. I didn't think that they filled out the 1 gallon containers yet but maybe they have. I too started them earlier this Summer. I'm carefull not to fertilize seedlings while they're still attached to the seed so I probably haven't given them any fertilizer yet either so maybe that'll help. I'll just ignore them and if any live through winter I'll pot them up next spring.

[ariscott]

Fertilise, Matt... the tree seedlings aren't as sensitive as palm seedlings, unless they are amherstia

Regards, Ari

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Kigelia africana looks even better in person - Gary always smiles when he is near this tree !

[MattyB]

Fertilise, Matt... the tree seedlings aren't as sensitive as palm seedlings, unless they are amherstia

Regards, Ari

Ok Ari, I'll take your advice. Now where's that 40-0-0 ammonium sulfate?

[BigFrond]

There's no need to fertilize this tree. It will grow very fast. As a matter a fact, the roots will grow into the ground from your 1 gal pots. They are so tough that you can easily grow it from cuttings of the mother tree. Just stick the small cuttings in a shady or partial shade area and voila, a tree with roots within a couple of weeks. The only thing that you need to worry about is the cold weather for the young sapplings this year.

Edited September 22, 2010 by BigFrond

[Palms1984]

You got it Peter. I've already got them all in 1 gallons.

Matt:

When did you start your seeds? Do you find when their roots fill out the container, they stop growing? I started some this summer and they grew very quickly until their roots filled out the container...then they stopped growing until they were transplanted into a larger pot.

Maybe that's what is going on. I broke up the community pot and they've seem to have stalled out at about 4" tall. I didn't think that they filled out the 1 gallon containers yet but maybe they have. I too started them earlier this Summer. I'm carefull not to fertilize seedlings while they're still attached to the seed so I probably haven't given them any fertilizer yet either so maybe that'll help. I'll just ignore them and if any live through winter I'll pot them up next spring.

Thanks for the information.

I measured my larger plants, they're 15 inches tall in a gallon and developing the compound leaves now (I'll post a pic soon). I'm going to have to put them into 5 gallon containers in the next couple of days. I too, have not fertilized them...however, I keep the soil constantly wet. I've read it grows along rivers in Africa; even though it's a drought tolerant tree.

[Palms1984]

There's no need to fertilize this tree. It will grow very fast. As a matter a fact, the roots will grow into the ground from your 1 gal pots. They are so tough that you can easily grow it from cuttings of the mother tree. Just stick the small cuttings in a shady or partial shade area and voila, a tree with roots within a couple of weeks. The only thing that you need to worry about is the cold weather for the young sapplings this year.

BigFrond:

I have seen how quickly this tree grows...especially if it receives copious amounts of water. I've read very large truncheons can be cut and rooted also.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Are these things primarily ornamental or can we throw em on the Barbie like a snag ???

[Palms1984]

Here's a photo of one of my small gallon-sized Sausage trees which were planted this summer. It's 15 inches tall from soil line and ready to be transplanted again. Photo taken Sept. 22, 2010.

[ariscott]

There's no need to fertilize this tree. It will grow very fast. As a matter a fact, the roots will grow into the ground from your 1 gal pots. They are so tough that you can easily grow it from cuttings of the mother tree. Just stick the small cuttings in a shady or partial shade area and voila, a tree with roots within a couple of weeks. The only thing that you need to worry about is the cold weather for the young sapplings this year.

Mine grows faster last year when I feed them organics... I think they will benefit from a bit of feeding, like most things...

Regards, Ari

[JasonD]

I'm excited to learn that Kigelia is so vigorous in SoCal. I had no idea. It's always represented the tropics to me, like breadfruit.

[Palms1984]

I'm excited to learn that Kigelia is so vigorous in SoCal. I had no idea. It's always represented the tropics to me, like breadfruit.

They are quite vigorous and easy to grow. The San Diego Zoo has at least 2 dozen trees on their grounds (that I know of). There's also several in Balboa Park.

I've actually seen them also growing in gardens around my neighborhood. There's a large tree at San Diego State University...I'm attaching a pic.

[Cindy Adair]

I've read that this species is self-infertile (not dioecious). Do I need to make space for two if I want fruit?

[ariscott]

I've never heard that, Cindy... Most people only has one....

Regards, Ari

[Palms1984]

I've read that this species is self-infertile (not dioecious). Do I need to make space for two if I want fruit?

It is a monoecious tree...one tree will bear fruit. The tree posted above is planted by itself at San Diego State University...and had many sausage-like pods.

[bubba]

A few shots of a tree I saw this morning:

I am hoping for some of those bright flowers: