Tipuana
( tee - poo - AH - nuh )
At-A-Glance Information
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This semi-evergreen to deciduous genus of trees, also called Tipu Tree, Rosewood, Yellow Jacaranda, or Pride of Bolivia, needs full sun and regular water to perform well. They are native to South America and reach 25-40 feet tall and 30-60 feet wide or more. Their crown is broad and flat, and can be pruned if necessary to create a denser, narrower tree. Clusters of sweet-pea shaped yellow flowers bloom in late spring and early summer, and are followed by seedpods. Use this tree as a street or lawn tree, or as a shade tree for patios. Hardy to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The genus Tipuana is a member of the plant family Fabaceae, and includes just one species, Tipuana tipu. Tipu Tree is best in zones 12-16, 18-24, H1 and H2. To find your zone, click here: Zone Map.
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Caring for and pruning tipuana Trees
Plant your Tipu tree in a spot in the landscape that receives full sun to partial shade. These trunks have large buttress roots when they are mature, so ensure that the planting site has enough space to accommodate their size. Also, refrain from planting these trees near paved areas and buildings, as their roots can lift up poured concrete and interfere somewhat with foundations. These trees are not picky about soil, and will grow in clay, loam, or sand. Tipu trees appreciate acidic soil, but can tolerate slightly alkaline soils as well, preferring a soil pH of between 6.5 and 7.5. Newly installed trees should be watered regularly, up until they reach about 3 years old. These trees are drought-tolerant when mature, but will need this consistent moisture when young to help them develop a strong, deep root system. Mature trees need deep waterings occasionally during extended periods of drought but can otherwise survive off of rainwater alone.
These trees do not require much fertilization; If grown in poor soil, make sure to amend with a generous amount of compost before planting, and repeat applications yearly in early springtime. Tipuana trees require minimal pruning; simply take off dead, damaged, or diseased branches in late winter or early springtime. Shape tree if necessary when pruning. Tipu trees will naturally develop wide, spreading canopies and light prunings can help to maintain structure without compromising growth or the health of the tree.
These trees do not require much fertilization; If grown in poor soil, make sure to amend with a generous amount of compost before planting, and repeat applications yearly in early springtime. Tipuana trees require minimal pruning; simply take off dead, damaged, or diseased branches in late winter or early springtime. Shape tree if necessary when pruning. Tipu trees will naturally develop wide, spreading canopies and light prunings can help to maintain structure without compromising growth or the health of the tree.
Propagation
Tipuana trees can be propagated either by using cuttings or from seed. To ensure that your propagated plant will have the exact same qualities and characteristics as the parent plant, use the cutting method. If you would like to experiment and see what plant you can grow from seed, just keep in mind that it will not necessarily be the same as the parent plant. To propagate your Tipu tree, follow the instructions below:
Propagating Tipuana by Cutting
Propagating Tipuana by Seed
Propagating Tipuana by Cutting
- Gather your materials. You'll need a clean, sanitized, sharp pair of garden shears, rooting hormone, a pencil, and a 3-inch pot filled with well-draining compost or other organic material. If you don't have any potting medium on hand, you can make some. Just mix together equal parts (by volume) moss peat and horticultural-grade sand or grit sand.
- In spring or early summertime, choose the plant that you'd like to propagate. Ensure that this plant has had a good watering the night before, as this will improve the chances your cutting will take root. Cut one or more 6 inch portion(s) of the end of a non-blooming branch and strip the leaves off of the lower half. Make a hole in your planting medium by pushing your pencil into the soil. Dip the end of the stem in rooting hormone, and plant it in your pot. Fill in soil around the cutting to support it, but do not pack it down too much.
- Moisten with water, and ensure that the pot has good drainage. Your pot should be kept in warm, sunny conditions indoors (and not in direct sunlight). Water whenever your soil is dry under the top layer. After about four to six weeks have passed, your cutting should be rooted. When you notice new growth, you'll know you have roots.
- Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until the next spring, when you can transplant it to its new home. Ensure that the last frost of the year has occurred before doing this, as it can seriously damage your new shrub.
Propagating Tipuana by Seed
- Keep in mind that the plant you get from seed will not necessarily mimic all of the characteristics of the parent plant. To propagate by seed, you will need a paper bag, a pot or tray filled with well-draining compost or other organic material, a spray bottle and a fork. If you don't have any potting medium on hand, you can make some. Just mix together equal parts (by volume) moss peat and horticultural-grade sand or grit sand. You will also, after a few weeks, need individual 3-inch pots for each seedling that grows.
- Harvest your seeds. The seed pods on Tipuana plants are pretty easy to spot; they dangle from the branches, left behind after flowers have faded. Once they have dried out and begun to split open, you can harvest the seeds inside. Cut them off of the plant, placing them in a paper bag. Harvest as many as you can, and place the paper bag in a dry, cool, dark area. They will begin to split open and release the seeds contained inside. Once they have been released, take them out of the bag and put them in a container so you can work with them.
- Tipuana seeds have a hard coating that protects them, but this coating also makes it a little difficult to get them to germinate. We can help the process along by scarifying them with sandpaper (or simply rubbing them against an abrasive surface). Do this with as many seeds as you can; they will probably not all sow, and the ones that do will be of varying characteristics. The more seeds you plant, the more chances you will have to get the resulting shrub you want. Place your seeds in lukewarm water for six hours. Viable seeds will sink to the bottom, and non-viable seeds will float to the top. You can discard any seeds that float.
- Water your prepared seed tray or pot filled with soil, and ensure that good drainage is occurring. Place your seeds in your prepared pot or seed tray about a quarter inch to a half-inch under the soil surface. Cover them with soil and water with your spray bottle. Place your tray of seeds in a warm area that receives bright, indirect light. A greenhouse is the most ideal climate, but a planting tray inside a window will do as well. Germination usually takes 7-14 days from sowing. Once you begin to see seedlings sprout and they are able to be handled, transplant them to their own individual 3-inch pots, filled with the same potting medium as described in Step 1. Loosen the seedlings from the potting medium by digging down with the tines of your fork about an inch and a half, gently working the seedling up until it is out. Then, replant the seedling in its individual pot.
- Keep the seedling's potting medium moist, but not wet, by spraying the soil with your spray bottle. Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until the next spring (after the danger of frost has passed), when you can transplant it to its new home.
Tipuana seeds on the tree.
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Tipuana seeds are winged, allowing them to travel away from their parent tree.
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Problems and Pests
Tipuana trees are typically affected by the following landscape pests and diseases:
- Tipu Psyllid
- Red Spider Mite
Gallery
The beautiful yellow flowers bloom in spring and summertime.
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Tipu trees make great street trees and shade trees.
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These trees have compound foliage.
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Videos
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Learn about these drought-tolerant landscape trees.
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All about Tipu trees.
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Resources
The New Sunset Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide (2012) - Pages 631 - 632, Tipuana tipu (Tipu Tree)
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