Brownea Flower Plant: Description and Germination

                                     Brownea
Brownea is a slow-growing, small, tropical tree with large heads of orange-red flowers, 6-8 inches across, which hang primarily beneath the foliage, on older branches. It is also known as Scarlet Flame Bean. Generally, the exotic looking flowers are not visible at all from the outside. Leaves are compound, leaflets up to 6 in long and up to 2.3 in wide, up to 6 pairs, with sometimes one terminal leaflet, pink-brown and pendulous when young. Flowers borne in large, bright, orange-red clusters, hanging mostly beneath foliage primarily on older branches, which distinguishes it from other Browneas. Fruit is a woody pod about 6 in long and 5 2 in broad.

Common Name: West Indian Mountain Rose, Brownea

Scientific name : Brownea grandiceps

Family: Fabaceae or Pea family

Plant Height or length:4 to 6 meters

Flower color:Red

Foliage color: Green

Tempareture:10-25 degrees C

Light:Full sun/Semi shade

Water:Normal, Can tolerate more

Advantages: Attracts butterflies, Evergreen Tree


GERMINATION

Use a flat tray like container about 10 inches by 15 inches (biggest or smaller your choice) 1.5 to 2 inches deep. Make sure it have plenty of holes in it for good water drainage. Put the seedling mix that prepared up to almost top leaving about 0.5 inches space. Now evenly spread the seeds over it after that cover the seeds with seedling mix only about 0.5 cm (half centimeter). Now water it by watering can. Place the container in semi shaded place.

Step 1 :

Fill a pot with water that equals five times the seed volume and bring it to a boil on a stove. Check the temperature of the water.


Step 2:

Place the Brownea flower seeds in the hot water and stir them for up to two minutes with a spoon before draining the liquid.

Step 3:

Fill a bowl with lukewarm water that's between 86 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit and soak the seeds in it for 24 hours. This pee-treatment is called scarification and alters the hard seed coat, which increases the chances of uniform germination.

Step 4:

Fill a pot with moist seed-starting mix up to 1 inch from the top, place the seed on top of the surface and cover it with a 1/2-inch layer of the mix. Tamp down lightly and moisten the surface with a water-filled spray bottle to avoid washing away the seed.

step 5:

Cover tightly plastic polythene wrap over the pot to promote soil moisture retention and place it in a dimly lit area of the house. Lift the plastic daily to check that the soil is moist. If not, lightly moisten it with a water-filled spray bottle before replacing the plastic. Expect germination within three to five days.

Step 6:

Remove the plastic as soon as the seedlings emerge, and gradually move the pot to a brighter area over a two-week period so that at the end of that time they're acclimated to being in full sunlight.

Step 7:

Transplant the seedlings outside to an area with full sun and well-draining soil after three to five months, when the seedlings are about 8 to 12 inches tall.