October 18, 2006

Feature Article - for release the week of October 22, 2006

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

 Yellow candles for fall Yards

Have you noticed that it’s finally fall?   Recent residents of the area may not notice the slight changes in temperature, humidity and daylight, but a number of our local flowering plants sure do.  There are many golden-colored flowering plants that appear here in the fall.  Last year I wrote about a couple of native yellow wildflowers, the Pinebarren Goldenrod and Southeastern Sunflower.

This week’s column is about an occasional flowering visitor to our Florida Yards that also has yellow blooms.  While it is not a native, the Candlebrush has bold golden floral displays that are at their peak in the fall.  But according to a couple of my county agent colleagues, this plant should be carefully watched to be sure it doesn’t make more work for us in our Florida Yards.

 

Bold and Beany

Candlebrush is a member of the bean or legume family, and there are two different species that go by this common name.  Other common names for this bold tropical beauty are Christmas Candle and Emperor’s Candlesticks.  So it’s important to be able to identify today’s featured plant as Senna alata. (And to add to the confusion, older books name this plant as Cassia alata.)

Experts also disagree on exactly where this plant came from - Argentina, Brazil or possibly Central America.  It has spread through the warmer parts of the world, and has been grown across Florida and Gulf coast to Texas and California. 

They do agree that it has the potential to easily spread into new areas from its seed or from its suckering habit.  Our UF/IFAS recommendation is to use this plant with caution: be careful to keep any eye on where it goes to prevent escape into natural areas.

 

A shrub or a tree?

This plant has an oval shape and could be grown as a shrub or small tree.  It has coarse textured compound foliage that resembles pea leaves.  The thin bark is easily damaged from bumping and scaring.  Generally this plant is routinely seen growing upright with several stems.   Its fast growth rate means the branches are weak and easily broken and these poorly attached stems can also snap off.

The name Candlebrush comes from the flower spikes that look like golden candles when covered with unopened flower buds.  Individual flowers in will open from the bottom of the cluster to the top.  Green winged pods will darken as they mature, and will drop to the ground.  These six-inch long fruits can create a mess with black pods and seed litter.

Lee County Agent Stephen Brown reports this plant in Florida is usually seen as a broken, bushy shrub.  However, in his travels in Central America or the Caribbean, it is often a small tree with a trunk that can reach four inches thick.  So it is capable of being a small tree, but in our area because of frost or stem breakage, expect Candlebrush to only reach 10 to 15 feet in height.

Candle-care

In natural environments this plant may be seen flowering along roadsides and in pastures.  In the tropics, Agent Brown reports that it is an effective street tree, doing well without fertilizer or irrigation.  It may bloom at different times in different locations, but in our area flowering is generally in the fall.

Candlebrush thrives in full sun and prefers acid to slightly acid soil.  It has medium drought- and salt-tolerance.  The plants may be killed back by cold weather in Central Florida, but the roots usually survive and send up new growth in the spring.

Duval County Agent Terry DelValle suggests that if plants don’t freeze in winter, prune them back hard in the spring to improve flowering.  As the young plants develop, new growth should also be pinched to cause branching and increase the number of potential flower spikes.  

If this plant does not come back after a freeze, new Candlebrushes can be grow from seed or cuttings.  Seed can be collected and saved, or you might just wait for them to volunteer.  Because they are fast growers, seedlings will usually bloom the first year from seed. 

 

Bellyaches and Butterflies

A word of caution: all parts of this plant are poisonous if swallowed.  However, it is grown in other countries for its reputed medicinal uses.  Leaves and bark are harvested and are reported to be used as an antibacterial, antifungal, diuretic, laxative and a host of other cures.

Few pests bother Candlebrush, yet it makes a great addition to butterfly gardens.  Several sulfur butterfly caterpillars will chew on the foliage and flowers but usually there are plenty to spare, so spraying is not necessary.  Agent DelValle notes that caterpillar color differences can be seen when they change from feeding on the green leaves vs. the yellow flowers.

In Florida, treat this as a short-lived, beautiful, but promiscuous garden guest.  Most will not survive in good condition for more than three years.  Brown warns that because of its reseeding habit, it may not be a plant you’ll want to give to your gardening friends, unless they need exercise by weeding.

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on Candlebrush, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners.  

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Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Millie Ferrer Chancey, Interim Dean Last update: 10/20/2011 .  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert 

references

Brown, Stephen.  Senna alata. (Tropical Flowering Trees List.)   Fort Myers : UF/IFAS Lee County Extension Service, undated.  http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/GardenPubsAZ/SennaAlataCassiaAlataCandlebush.pdf 

DelValle, Terry B.  GARDEN HELP: Brighten up your yard with cassias. Jacksonville: Times-Union November 13, 2004.  

Gilman, Edward F. &  Watson, Dennis G.  Candlebrush [Fact Sheet ST-125]  Gainesville: UF/IFAS Florida Cooperative Extension Service,  November 1993. http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/casalaa.pdf