Sorry I could not get a better photo. It got blurry as I zoomed and no one was home to request an up-close view.

My thought too. But delonix is only Hardy to z10. How far is "just south"? Into Florida?

Usually, they start appear near the Cocoa/Cape Canaveral area in central Florida. Did Michael see one in Georgia?

It is in Ga. I know we were in/near Stateboro. Guessing this would not be possible for my zone. :-( Beautiful tree though!

If it helps any with identification, it was at the home of a Hispanic couple (I noticed the name on the mailbox when we passed by) lol. Maybe something native from their area of origin?

Wow! Royal poinciana trees are tropical trees that only can only grow in areas with very warm winters.Definitely pretty far north from ideal growing conditions in the winter! Is that the only tree in the area? A rare find!

Perhaps a microclimate to bump the zone and a more hardy individual specimen in combination. We see lots of variety here in what can survive the cold and what doesn't from the combination of microclimates, individual specimen uniqueness, and if it is an established plant or not.

FataMorgana

Isn't the bloom time of Royal Poinciana much earlier in the season.....as in Spring??

This is obviously a mature specimen and that part of the country has experienced some very cold winters in recent years.

You must have your pictures and vacation spots mixed up. Sure you weren't in South Florida somewhere, sometime?

Example is small and shrubby as though growing outside its area of adaptation - perhaps it even froze and came back from the roots at some point, although it seems like a tropical tree like this would just die completely if subjected to much frost.

Where adapted this makes a spreading tree at least 40 ft. wide. There are lots of them in Hawaii, for instance.

I am sure of where I was lol. I wish it HAD been Florida! :-) Sadly, Just boring old Ga. for a business trip. It was the only tree I saw even similar to this one in the area. That is why it stood out so much. If I go back to the area, I will see if anyone is at the residence. I am dying to know now! Thanks for the great comments!

Michael Jefferies, I have no doubt that you know exactly where you were - with GPS and other similar devices. I am willing to bet that the 'Flamboyant, tree has been in its location for a long time, judging from the girth of the trunk(s).

Either, "Perhaps a microclimate to bump the zone and a more hardy individual specimen in combination." OR there is a shifting northward of the growing zones. LINK About 30 years ago, I had to travel a county or two south to see Schefflera actinophylla flowering in all its glory. The sight is quite common now, all around me. Although the zone is the same, I believe that the "micro climate" has changed.

I'm putting some 'feelers' on it today. It's intriguing, that's for sure. The picture looks like it is in a commercial location.

Michael Jeffries, I thought of starting a new thread but since the thought originated here, I want to share THIS short video and accompanying text here.

@Rhizo Not a commercial location. It is all residential. The tree is in front of a house. The building to the left (green) is also a home.

@ronalawn Thanks for the share! Very cool!

Shrubby habit is an indicator of marginal conditions and not age. Trunk is tiny for the species.

http://www.americanforests.org/bigtree/royal-poinciana-delonix-regia-3/

Any update on this rare find of a tree?

Hi Guys! This was in 2015. I have unfortunately not been able to travel much since. At least not that area. After some great info on this thread, one of the many emails I received was from a lady on the Fl/Ga line area. She actually has one of these in her backyard! It was beautiful from her photo. After all this time and research, I am thinking the micro climate thing for sure. I do not see any other possibilities. Most of the email I received, came from people where you would expect this tree to be. One from this sweet lady that had brought a tree with her when she moved from MEXICO to the US. She is now older and that tree is the best looking one I have ever seen a photo of. Of course she lives in Fl. That is all that I have for now. Thank you for your interest! :-)

It is a Flamboyan Tree native from Puerto Rico or the tropics. I am from Puerto Rico and it is our national tree.

Flamboyant tree is another common name, along with Royal Poinciana, for Delonix regia. It grows in Puerto Rico but is native to Madagascar.

According to google, the national tree of Puerto Rico is Ceiba pentandra which has white flowers.