Chinese Flame Tree Koelreuteria bipinnata

Koelreuteria bipinnata starts life as an open, slightly awkward young tree and then broadens into a flat topped umbrella of a crown. The leaves are fully bipinnate, and after the late summer sprays of small yellow flowers come papery lantern shaped capsules that flush rose pink and hold on for weeks once the flower has gone. That capsule display, more than the flower itself, is what sells the tree. It is a shade tree for courtyards, car parks and streets where a forest scale canopy will not fit.

Heat, pavement and the litter you should plan for

Plant it in full sun. It is a warm temperate to subtropical performer that takes reflected warmth off paving and walls without scorching, and being deciduous it hands back the winter light an evergreen of the same size would block. Average garden soil suits it, provided drainage is reasonable. It does not need enriched beds, and it holds up on the poorer, more alkaline ground common in newer suburbs. Give it a bed or a wide verge with room to spread sideways, since the mature shape is broad and flat topped rather than upright. Frost is not an issue for an established tree, and the bare winter frame takes cold without damage. It also begins flowering while still a small tree.

The failure mode is litter. Spent capsules, seed and flower fall in quantity, and the seed germinates freely in garden beds, lawn edges and gravel. Keep the tree well back from pool surrounds and formal paving, and pull seedlings while they are small, because a two year old seedling has a taproot that will fight you.

Flame tree against the other deciduous shade trees here

Set it beside American elm and hackberry and the choice is about scale and upkeep. Elm is the grand avenue tree and arrives with an elm leaf beetle management program through much of the south east. Hackberry is the tough, plain workhorse for hostile street sites, with warty corky bark and no flower to speak of. The flame tree is the smallest of the three and the only one that gives you a flowering season and a coloured fruit display, at the cost of sweeping. Choose it for a domestic courtyard or a car park island. All three drop something underneath: elm drops leaves, hackberry drops the fruit the birds miss, and the flame tree drops capsules. There are more options in semi advanced trees.

Building a frame on a young flame tree

Prune in winter while the tree is bare. Early structural work matters more here than with most deciduous trees, because young plants often throw two or three competing leaders and set an uneven crown that stays uneven. Pick one leader, shorten its rivals over a couple of seasons, and clear the crossing wood inside the head. Once the umbrella has formed, leave it alone apart from deadwood. Feed in early spring with a balanced slow release fertiliser over the root zone, water it in and mulch. Avoid heavy nitrogen, which produces soft growth and little flower. Hold off feeding in autumn so the wood hardens before winter.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 3 sizes, from 330mm up to 100L, priced from $149.00 to $649.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to choosing a tree for a small backyard.