Erythrina crista-galli Compacta - Cockspur Coral Tree

Erythrina crista-galli 'Compacta' possesses the same qualities as the Cockspur Coral Tree, but this smaller selection is better suited for container gardening or small gardens and may be even more floriferous. This smaller coral tree shows the same ease of cultivation and equally spectacular late spring flowering, with clusters of vibrant red flowers, highlighted by acacia-like foliage, in a brilliant greenish-blue shade. With a slightly gnarled habit, this shrub with thorny branches deserves to be planted more in our gardens: particularly ornamental and exotic, relatively hardy at its base, it can be grown in the ground as a perennial in mild climates. Gardeners in continental climates will cultivate it as a conservatory plant.

Erythrina crista-galli is a small tree or shrub of the Fabaceae family, native to South America, especially Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. This species, the hardiest of the genus, populates forests along rivers, marshes, and swamps. In its natural environment, the cockspur coral tree forms a tree 4 to 9 m (13 ft 1 in to 29 ft 6 in) tall, with a thick, gnarled trunk, and a cross-hatched fissured bark. Its branches form a spreading crown, with deciduous foliage during the dry season. It is cultivated in temperate climates as a herbaceous plant in the ground, or as a shrub in a greenhouse. Its initially upright habit spreads over the years if it manages to form a small tree.

The shrubby 'Compacta' form, obtained in the Netherlands, does not exceed 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) in all directions at the age of 10, and does not form trunks, but numerous stems, sometimes fifty, that emerge from the base in spring, somewhat like a tree clover. At maturity, it will reach about 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in height and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in width, under good conditions. These long, slender, and thorny shoots bear leaves that are deciduous in our latitudes, meaning they fall in autumn. Each leaf is divided into 3 large, shiny, bluish-green leaflets. The flowering takes place in late spring in mild climates, mid-August if the plant has regrown its branches in spring. At the tips, as well as along the year's branches, clusters exceeding 25 cm (9.8 in) in length form. The coral-red pea flowers have a large standard directed downwards. This nectar-rich flowering attracts many pollinating insects. As in most Fabaceae, this plant has a powerful taproot capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, which is an adaptation to poor soils.

A spectacular shrub, with a somewhat prehistoric appearance, the Compacta cockspur coral tree is sometimes difficult to integrate into the garden. In the ground, one could combine the relentless red of its flower clusters with the white flowers of a buddleia, gauras, or Romneya coulteri. It could also be planted next to the Texas mountain laurel, a curious shrub of the Fabaceae family producing blue clusters, or a night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum), for its fragrance. This shrub is undemanding of soil type and not difficult to grow in a large pot to overwinter in cold regions.