We have four Frangipani trees growing along the driveway below the house. From November to May they produce beautiful flowers with the most delightful perfume.
This is our first frangipani flower for the season, such a wonderful example of Mother Nature’s perfection. Frangipani trees are very hardy and drought resistant, in fact they don’t like too much water so they are ideal for many parts of Australia, some varieties even grow in cooler areas. We have very cold winters with frost but this doesn’t seem to damage our trees as they drop their leaves in winter anyway, even in the tropical north. The perfume of these flowers reminds me of my childhood – I grew up in North Queensland on a farm near the beach and summers were filled with the perfume of mango, frangipani, and quisqualis blossoms.
Frangipani trees are very easy to propagate all you need to do is cut off a piece of hardwood about 30 centimetres (one foot) long in winter when there is the least sap and leave it in the sun for a couple of weeks to dry out. If it looks like rain take it indoors then place it back in the sun when it’s dry again. Plant it in potting mix and in a few weeks it will have formed roots.
These unusual looking trees with large green leaves and beautiful flowers suit old and modern homes and are a great addition to water-wise gardens.
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