Bauhinia Variegata Alba 'White Orchid Tree' Seed

Bauhinia Variegata Alba 'White Orchid Tree' - 5+ Seeds

A small evergreen tree, Bauhinia Variegata Alba has an open upright growth habit and bears striking creamy-white flowers which are very orchid-like in appearance with a beautiful aromatic fragrance. This variety flowers in spring and intermittently in summer, followed by flattened brown seed pods.
The masses of flowers are pollinated by Bees.

Edible uses:  Flower buds, flowers, leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable, often used in curries. The flower buds are often pickled or used in curries. Young seedpods - cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The seeds are fried and eaten. The gum is also edible.

Propagation: From scarified seed or boiling water treatment.
One method is to put them in a cup and pour on the four to five times their volume of water heated to just below boiling. As they cool, the seeds should swell from the water that has penetrated their hard exteriors. Plant in your pots and keep moist.

Seed - Bauhina's germinate readily, with up to 100% germinating after a year of storage. Germination is very rapid, with seedlings appearing within 4 - 10 days. Seedlings grow rapidly and, under good conditions, can be more than 1 metre tall within 2 months of germinating. The seedlings are somewhat difficult to transplant and so are best moved to their permanent positions whilst still small. If larger plants are moved then they should be pruned back to allow easier establishment. 

Cultivation: Generally adaptable in cultivation, responds to sunny, reasonably well drained positions in most soils. Useful as a tall background plant. Very fast growing.

• Easily shapeable
• Suitable for planting in tropical area