I can only talk about the blooming and not the growth. I had this plant and it bloomed in a one gallon pot. Here in FL it grew slowly and when our rainy season came, it died. It does not like our weather here I guess. Anyway, I was surprised that it bloomed small. I believe it will do better in CA as that is where I had gotten it from.

trini1,

Thanks--it sounds like it blooms at a much smaller size than could have imagined. I assumed it would be in a big pot--if at all.

I haven't received my plant yet, so I can't say anything about the size or the quality, but I was (pleasantly) surprised by the price. I hadn't been looking for the plant. It is in fact from a nursery in California as well, Potato Rock, which is on the North coast. The climate there is very different from that in Florida. Think San Francisco except rainier and cooler.

I was curious so I looked up the info on where specimens have been found in the wild (the Tropicos site). It seems for the most part to be a high altitude plant (2000-3000 m) so I suppose it's not surprising it wouldn't be big on heat + humidity.

Hi
Was completely unfamiliar with the genus and couldn't find a single specimen in Florida.lol I'd bet your're right about the high altitude lists Mexico, Guatamala as the Range . Not much help as that area has dozens of climate zones due to the altitude
Always find it interesting that I find tropical plants that are sensitive to heat far more delicate than those sensitive to cold. Good luck with it !! Sure a fantstic looking plant!! gary

Be forewarned that this tree can get huge here in California, I have seen some in Santa Cruz that were at least 70 feet tall. It does like our coastal climate, as long as it doesn't get too cold where you are, I'd protect it if you regularly get below 27F in winter, though it can survive colder. A more garden friendly alternative of smaller size but similar flowers, would be the hybrid of this with our native Fremontodendron. This hybrid does bloom as a 5 gallon sized shrub, and only gets about 20 to 25 feet tall, and blooms nearly all year long here in the inner SF Bay Area.