Golden Cassia or Glaucous Cassia is a shrub or a small tree with clusters of bright yellow flowers. Senna surattensis typically reaches a height of 15 feet and develops a rounded dense crown and silver gray bark. Leaves are green, even pinnate, 4-10 x 1 1/2-3 inches, with 6-10 pairs of leaflets, but without a terminal one. Leaflets are oblong-elliptical, 3/4-1 3/4 x 3/8-5/8 inches. Flowers are borne in upright clusters at branch ends and nearly cover the canopy with faintly fragrant yellow blooms about 1-1 1/2 inches wide. Bees and butterflies visit the flowers. Fruits are pods, flat, brownish when mature, 3-6 inches long, splitting open to release 4-15 flat seeds. These are used for propagation. This tree can be grown in a range of well-drained soils; it requires vigorous pruning and is short-lived and easily toppled by wind and needs staking for 2-3 years after planting. In landscaping, this flowering tree can be a specimen or accent tree in gardens, along roads and in parking lots, and in a butterfly garden.

Growing Instructions

1. Scarify the seeds by nicking or sanding the seed coat.
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 0.5 inches thick.
6. Water the seeds. Keep the soil moist but not wet.
7. The seeds take 3-6 weeks to germinate.
8. When the plants are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.