Cassia Rainbow Shower – One of the most sought after trees in Townsville

Written by:

Emma Davies

Locals know this beauty…you’ll know it from The Strand Park and right here at Project Plants. We have all admired it’s beautiful, showy flowers. If you don’t know it, you’re in the right place!  This one thrives in our tropical climate

The Rainbow Shower is a hybrid, a cross between the Cassia javanica and Cassia fistula…a veritable rainbow of blossom colours, it was first produced in Hawaii about 1925.  The colour of the flowers usually varies between shades of pink, red, orange, yellow and white, the hanging racemes up to 80cm long the flowers covering the tree during spring and summer. They look so pretty in full bloom with lots of flowers over the wide canopy a perfect shade tree for the hot tropics.

They are a sterile tree, so no seed pods!  This means propagating must be done through either grafting or air layering and explains why they are never available in a small size.  They can usually tolerate droughts once established.  They grow well here in Townsville and enjoy full sun for growth and flowering, growing to an average height of 10 meters, so not really suited to small house yards without regular pruning.

Now, this tree is semi deciduous – this means that it drops some leaf in the coldest part in Winter.

The soil should be well drained (see our article on clay soils) and rich, use a quality all purpose granular fertilizer such as Troforte. Water newly planted tree’s well and mulch to help prevent the soil from drying out too quickly.

If you have a garden with space, they definitely will make your garden look unique. Another show stopper.

See if we currently have them in stock HERE