| My husband and I visited a friend who lives in Fullerton CA and she had a lovely smallish tree called a Spicy Jatropha. Do you have any information on it and how big it gets and how to care for it and do you sell them? I can't find any info at all and would very much appreciate your help. Sincerely, Verity McGregor |
| Spicy Jatropha is Jatropha integerrima, an evergreen shrub or small tree with glossy leaves and clusters of star shaped bright scarlet or vermilion flowers. The plant has a rounded or narrow domed form and gets up to 15 ft tall with a spread of 10 ft or so, although in cultivation it is usually smaller. Spicy Jatropha often grows shrublike with several slender trunks, but it can be pruned to a single trunk. The leaves are extremely variable; they may be entire and elliptic or oval, or they may be fiddle shaped, or they may have three sharp pointed lobes. They are bronze when young and brownish on the undersides. The flowers are about 1 in across and borne in multi-flowered terminal clusters almost all year round. 'Compacta' is a smaller, more compact cultivar. Spicy Jatropha is tolerant of a wide variety of soils so long as they are well drained. It blooms on the current year's growth so it can be pruned at any time of the year. It handles pruning well and can be kept to shrub size, trained to a tree form or used in espalier. It grows in full sun to partial shade and is drought tolerant. Spicy Jatropha is damaged by frost so is considered marginal in zones 9B and 10A, but hardy in zones 10 and 11. Monrovia does grow this plant and you should be able to find one at one of the following local retailers: ARMSTRONG #707 TORRANCE 25225 CRENSHAW BLVD. TORRANCE, CA 90505 (310) 326-1892 SOIL.GARDENING 1799 S. CATALINA AVE. REDONDO BEACH, CA 90277 (310) 791-2265 ELWOOD NURSERY #2 770 SILVER SPUR ROAD ROLLING HILLS, CA 90274 (310) 377-4777 PLANT CITY NURSERY 17565 CRENSHAW BLVD. TORRANCE, CA 90504 (310) 380-6800 CENTENO'S NSY & LDSPG INC. 17514 S. FIGUEROA GARDENA, CA 90248 (310) 768-4089 ANNIE'S MANHATTAN BCH NSY 207 N. SEPULVEDA BLVD. MANHATTAN BEACH, CA 90266 (310) 376-0567 MONETA NURSERY 13633 S. VERMONT AVE. GARDENA, CA 90247 (310) 324-4077 INTERNATIONAL GARDEN CTR. 155 N. SEPULVEDA BLVD. EL SEGUNDO, CA 90245 (310) 615-0353 Best wishes with your garden! |
