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Tree growing guide
Pink lapacho, also called pink trumpet tree or ipê-roxo, is a frost-tender tropical tree that flowers pink on bare branches. Its thin winged seed loses viability quickly, so sow it fresh, barely covered and warm.
Sow as soon as possible. The seed is orthodox but short-lived at room temperature: in one storage trial viability fell to zero after 90 days on a laboratory shelf, while seed kept in a refrigerator still germinated at about 96 percent after 180 days. If you must wait, keep the seed dry in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Not needed. The seed coat is thin and papery and takes up water readily.
Not needed. This is a tropical tree that germinates without cold.
Not needed. Embrapa researchers improved germination and reduced seedling disease with a brief surface clean (one minute in 70 percent alcohol, then three minutes in 2 percent sodium hypochlorite, rinsed); this is optional.
Germination reached 70-80 percent at a constant 30 °C (86 °F) with light in controlled tests. In India and other tropical regions sow in the warm season; in cooler climates use a heated propagator.
Lay the winged seed flat and cover it with no more than 0.5 cm (0.2 in) of mix.
Embrapa recommends a clay soil enriched with organic matter, or a mix of soil, sand and manure; sand or vermiculite also work for seed trays.
Keep the mix evenly moist but never waterlogged; wet, warm trays encourage the seed-borne fungi that cause seedling lesions.
Germination is good in light, so shallow sowing is ideal.
Seedlings emerge in 6-12 days. Germination is variable, often only 40-50 percent, so sow two or three seeds per pot.
Move seedlings from trays into deep nursery bags (Embrapa uses black polythene bags of about 15 x 32 cm) once they have their first true leaves.
Seedlings spend 6-8 months in the nursery and are planted out at 40-60 cm (16-24 in) tall, in full sun and well-drained soil.
Train the young tree to a single trunk and stake it until it is about 1.8-2.4 m (6-8 ft) tall, then let the crown develop naturally. Water regularly until it is established.
Full sun in well-drained soil. Once established, the tree is highly drought tolerant and moderately tolerant of salt spray.
In cultivation in Florida the tree is slow growing and reaches about 3.7-5.5 m (12-18 ft) with a 3-4.5 m (10-15 ft) spread; in its native forests it can reach 8-30 m.
Trees begin to flower at around five years. The tree is deciduous and flowers while leafless; in central Brazil this happens in the dry season, from May to September. Flowers are rose-pink to purple trumpets.
The capsules are 25-30 cm long. Collect them as they begin to split, before the winged seeds blow away, and sow the seed fresh.
Sow pink lapacho seed fresh and shallow in warm conditions for a flowering tree in about five years.
Yes. Botanists now place pink lapacho in the genus Handroanthus, and Tabebuia avellanedae and Tabebuia impetiginosa are older names for the same tree.
Not long at room temperature: in one trial viability dropped to zero after about three months. Dry seed kept in a refrigerator stayed viable for at least six months.
Only in a container that comes under glass for winter. The tree does not tolerate frost and is grown outdoors in USDA zones 9B-11 and frost-free tropical regions.
