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GENERAL
Origin
:
Mediterranean,
tropical
Humidity
:
semi-humid, very
humid
Propagation :
sowing and
pricking out
Maintenance :
moderate
CONDITIONS
Urban climate :
resistant
Dessication :
vulnerable
Stagnant water :
vulnerable
Irrigation
:
medium
Salinity/ppm :
high (3500 ppm)
Hardiness
:
-3°C
SHAPE
Type
:
shrub
Height
:
2 m-3 m
Spread
:
2 m-4 m
Foliage
:
evergreen
FLOWER
Colour
:
yellow
Size
:
1 cm
Period
:
February -
December
FRUIT
Type of fruit :
pod
Fruit size
:
12 cm
Flowering Senna grows fairly quickly to some 3 metres in height and at least the same in width.
It is native to subtropical South America and distributed in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. If
watered, it grows well under desert conditions, taking full sun and heat. Single, golden flowers
are borne at the tips of the branches most of the year, but in Arriyadh they are produced most
abundantly in winter. Flowering Senna must not be exposed to cold sites, because of its tender-
ness to frost. After being hit by cold temperatures, plants quickly recover to start flowering in
summer. Any pruning is accepted to grow this plant as a flowering hedge, as a standard tree or
trained along a support such as a fence for ornamental screening. If left on its own, it makes a
huge mound of slender twigs with smooth, olive-green bark. Its compound leaves are evergreen
and up to 35 cm in length with elliptical, pale-green leaflets. Brown, elongated pods develop
soon after flowering. The hard seeds should be soaked in water to ease germination. This shrub
is vulnerable to stagnant water, especially if grown in containers. It does best in soil that is high
in humus and nutrients, ranging from acidic to slightly alkaline. As a member of the pea family
(Leguminosae, now called Fabaceae), the roots of this shrub grow nodules. They contain bacteria
that fix atmospheric nitrogen which is essential for plants to grow. This way, the Flowering Senna
effectively comes with its own source of fertiliser.
281
Senna corymbosa,
Caesalpiniaceae
Argentine Cassia,
Flowering Senna