My mom recently won an indigenous tree in a competition (cool prize, hey?). Its a Milletia grandis or umSimbithi in Zulu. Its endemic to KwaZulu-Natal and grows near the coast, flowering at Christmas with a mass of purple flowers. Unfortunately, it has now become quite rare in the wild as its wood is very hard and prized for walking and fighting sticks as well as agricultural implements.
As luck would have it, there was a baby tree growing in the bag which I quickly appropriated and am now growing in a pot. Hopefully it will be happy and I’ll move it to a larger pot as the tree matures.
you scored! this looks like a cool tree… do you have space to plant it. i’d imagine it would grow quite big and wild if it is used to coastal forest areas..
I think I may keep it in a pot, bonsai-style, for a while and see its happy. Otherwise may set it free in someone’s garden. I’ve got no room in mine 🙁
what about your neighbours? didn’t their huge syringa fall over? maybe they need an indigenous replacement?
It did – but we have already replaced it with an indigenous frangipani, in celebration of the birth of their son!