Pride of Barbados

One of the most spectacular plants in bloom right now is Pride of Barbados. Mine has been blooming for about two months and each month it has gotten more and more colorful with additional orange, red and yellow blossoms as large as your fist. You can see many of them around town and in yards. One place is at the intersection of Old Kyle Road and FM3237. Along the fence on the east side of FM3237, there is a row of them interspersed with yellow Esperanza. If you want to see mine, come down to the cul-de-sac on 101 Mesa Drive and just look down my driveway. You may even stop and pick a few blooms or seeds (if ripe), if you like. My home phone is 512-847-8774 if you wish to stop. Plant seeds in late winter or early spring to get a bushier, more compact plant. Nicking seeds with a file is said to be helpful.

Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia palcherima) is not a native plant, but it is heat-loving, extremely hardy, needs very little water or care, is deer proof and comes back from freezes. (Mine did and is more beautiful than ever.) It can grow into a small shrub about 5 or 6 feet tall and 4 or 5 feet wide. Pride of Barbados, also known by other names such as Peacock Flower, Mexican Bird of Paradise, and Dwarf Poinciana, has been declared a Texas SuperStar Plant. It grows easily from seeds and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Although native to the West Indies, Pride of Barbados is now widely cultivated here. I highly recommend it.

Written by Martha Knies