A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Cacti and Succulents Indoors A very old and VERY beautiful crown of thorn.

In '85 or '86, I lived in Lithonia Ga. not far from the Monastary Of The Holy Spirit. This place was known for its' organic breads and pastries, as well as its' bonsai shop. Father Paul Bourne was a noted bonsai master, and he always had some beautiful plants and trees on display, as well as for sale. One in particular was a very old crown of thorn that had the most unusual flowers that I had ever seen. They were variegated red and yellow. Father Paul told me that this particular plant was 50+ yrs. old and had been taken as a cutting from a mama plant that had been grafted, red onto yellow, at a young age. So I bought a little 2" cutting for $5 and took it home and I've still got it.
As I write this, she is perhaps 30" tall, and an absolute riot of color. I have her parked out on the porch in full sun and she is happy! Until I can take and post some pics, just imagine flowers that run the gamut from red with a yellow halo to yellow with a red halo and every possible combination in between. What is even more unusual is that while the yellow tends to stay monochromatic, the reds range from very light pink and peach to bright scarlet, and all of this on each individual flower. For any bonsai lovers out there here is a trick that I use when I can: whatever size pot your plant is in, get another one the next size larger and plant it lip deep in the ground in whatever light conditions you need, then slip your plant in its' pot into the larger one, a pot within a pot. Then just leave it be until it is time to bring it back in for the winter. Water it whenever you water your yard, but, in the event you don't cut your own grass you really should mark it because an encounter with a lawnmower or a weed wacker could be fatal.
As soon as I take some pics I'll post them. Thanx.

sounds beautiful I can't wait to see pictures!

I do so love the crown of thorns. I can not wait to see yours.

I can't wait to see this!!! The coloring of the flowers sounds wonderful!!

You posted May 16th !!! Whee did you go??
I really want to see a picture of your plant.

Hope to see this picture too ..... hope you're not having the same problems I had up till now???