MEXICAN BIRD OF PARADISE
BY ORLANDO MARTINEZ "THE GARDEN GURU"
A listener who used to live in Phoenix once called into my garden show
and asked if he could get the red Bird of Paradise in San Antonio and
how would it do here? He said it was used everywhere in Phoenix:
yards, parks, even highway dividers.
Bird Of Paradise (Caesalpinia Pulcherrima) does great here. It is
widely sold in San Antonio as Mexican Bird of Paradise or Pride of
Barbados. As the caller noticed, it loves full sun and the heat. In our
area it freezes to the ground, but comes back every year to grow to
anywhere form five to eight feet tall. Starting in late May through
October, it blooms neon orange and red. Butterflies and hummingbirds
love the blooms.
To grow the Mexican Bird of Paradise, plant it in full sun with good
drainage. The first year you will have to water it occasionally, but after
getting established it will grow fine with no watering other than rain. It
has no insect pest and requires no fertilizing - unless you want to
speed up its growth. They make a perfect addition to a xeriscape
landscape. Plant along with Ceniza, Lantana, Cactus, Mt Laurel
Perennial Salvia and other low water plants.