Mark A. Miller
Family
Fabaceae
Botanical Name
CALLIANDRA haematocephala
Plant Common Name
Powder Puff Tree, Stickpea
General Description
Powderpuff tree puts on its show in fall and winter, blooming with distinctive magenta-red flowers. A native of Bolivia, this evergreen, large shrub or small tree is fast growing, attaining a rounded to sprawling habit with long, arching branches.
The fine-textured leaves are compound, made up of five to ten pairs of small oval leaflets that are coppery pink when young and mature to green. This plant can flower anytime year round, but blooms most when days are short, from fall to spring. The buds open up to long red stamens with a white base, gathered in a round puffball. The flowers attract butterflies.
Grow powderpuff tree in full sun and well-drained soil with average or poor fertility. It will be knocked back by hard freezes, but readily rejuvenates like a perennial from the roots. Use it as a fast-growing screen or background plant in the mixed tropical border. If a tree is desired, remove the lowest branches early on when the plant is young. It can also be trained into an impressive espalier. The cultivar 'Alba' is white flowering, and the much smaller-sized cultivar 'Nana' is particularly useful as a houseplant in colder regions, or as a foundation plant or mixed border shrub in frost-free areas.
Characteristics
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AHS Heat Zone
12 - 8
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USDA Hardiness Zone
9 - 12
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Sunset Zone
H1, H2, 22, 23, 24
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Plant Type
Shrub
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Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun
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Height
6'-20' / 1.8m - 6.1m
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Width
8'-22' / 2.4m - 6.7m
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Bloom Time
Early Spring, Spring, Late Spring, Late Fall, Early Winter, Winter, Late Winter
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Native To
South America
