The listing, Ginger Thomas~ Offical Flower of the US Virgin Islands has ended.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 7 - 11. Also known as Yellow Elder and Tacoma Sans. Official flower of the US Virgin Islands. These seeds were gathered 4/27/2013. You get a large pinch which is well over 30 seeds.
We are in our dry winter growth period, so pictures do not do this plant justice. Picture of tree was taken 3/27 at the local shopping center. Second tree picture was taken 4/28. As you can see, if you prune it when it is young, you can have a beautiful tree. They will be bushy if not pruned. Hummingbirds are flitting around them all day. Flowers have a sweet champagne fragrance. Flowers year round, best spring, summer, fall.
It has bright yellow flowers and dense, lushly green foliage that is evergreen in tropical climates, but deciduous in chillier places. It is reliably hardy only down to 28ºF (-2.2ºC), though the roots may survive temperatures into the low twenties. Will grow on a wide variety of soils, including sand and limerock. The plants can be cut to the ground for rejuvenation in the early spring or carefully sheared during the growing season to control shape and size and promote new flushes of flowers. This species needs full sun.and likes well drained soil. Potted plants should be given minimal water when not in active growth.
Trees are easily propagated from seeds that can be planted directly into pots, and they require no pretreatment. Seedlings require 3 to 4 months in the nursery, after which they can be directly planted out. Regeneration by cuttings is also possible.
T. stans provides useful shade, especially in gardens. The species is valued as an amenity tree by virtue of its many yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. Trees can be planted as a live hedge. Trees provide firewood and charcoal. Wood is used in the construction of buildings.