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Bauhinia galpinii

 
Bauhinia galpinii
First flowers, August 2024

Common name red orchid tree; pride of de Kaap
Family fabaceae
Life cycle shrub (Z9-11)
Flowers red (summer)
Size to 10'
Light sun
Cultural notes drought-tolerant

Large shrub (can be trained as a small tree) with brick-red flowers. Native to South Africa. Can reportedly tolerate some freezing temperatures once well established in the garden. In its first winter in the garden, our specimen's top growth succumbed to moderate overnight freezes, regrowing from the base by early April – then the same thing happened in 2023 and 2024. So I'm not so sure I'll ever see it grow into a tree-like form, but I was happy to finally see its flowers in late August of 2024, on lanky growth rising from a tangle of volunteers perennials that have grown up around its base.

red orchid tree; pride of de Kaap
Regrowth from base in April 2022
Bauhinia galpinii
Regrowth April 2023
red orchid tree; pride of de Kaap
Harder freeze in 2024, still regrowing by late March
Bauhinia galpinii
Gangly growth by late season

In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back fence border

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Last modified: December 28, 2024
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