Guanacaste is a large, tropical tree with a broad, rounded, umbrella-shaped canopy and smooth, light gray bark. It has feathery, compound leaves and white flowers. The flowers are very fragrant. It is evergreen or briefly deciduous during the dry season. Hardy in zones 9-12.
Growing Instructions for the Guanacaste
The seeds have a hard seed coat that has to be treated, or scarified, in order for water to enter the seeds so that they can sprout. 1. Scarify the seeds by nicking or sanding the seed coat. The seeds can be sanded with sandpaper, a nail file or an emery board. 2. Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours. 3. Put a mixture of potting soil and sand or perlite into a pot with drainage holes in the base. 4. Sow the seeds on the soil. 5. Cover the seeds with a layer of soil that is ½ of an inch thick. 6. Water the seeds. Keep the soil moist but not wet. 7. The seeds take 2-4 weeks to germinate. 8. When the plants are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.