Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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Just saw this on You Tube.
I found it fascinating. The end results, those coconut seedlings are dwarfed. Notice how short the trunks are. Seedling coconuts reach for the sky left to their own devices. This is not because of the fancy cleaning and polishing of the nut shell. Towards the end of the video, you see him use an exacto knife to remove the bracts, or protective sheaths of the emerging new growth. I believe it is this sheath removal that "dwarfs" the internode length of the coconut seedling. This is very similar to the sheath removal technique used to shorten internodes for bamboo bonsai. The technique is outlined in the chapter in Bonsai Techniques II by John Naka. I did attempt the sheath removal technique on my bamboo. It works, but the patient died. I don't have a bamboo bonsai to show you at this moment. However, I was struck by the similarity to the bamboo technique that this gentleman used on his coconut seedlings.
This technique might be useful for dwarfing palms in general? Speculation on my part, but if someone out there has an interest in dwarfing palms, this might be something to experiment with.
I found it fascinating. The end results, those coconut seedlings are dwarfed. Notice how short the trunks are. Seedling coconuts reach for the sky left to their own devices. This is not because of the fancy cleaning and polishing of the nut shell. Towards the end of the video, you see him use an exacto knife to remove the bracts, or protective sheaths of the emerging new growth. I believe it is this sheath removal that "dwarfs" the internode length of the coconut seedling. This is very similar to the sheath removal technique used to shorten internodes for bamboo bonsai. The technique is outlined in the chapter in Bonsai Techniques II by John Naka. I did attempt the sheath removal technique on my bamboo. It works, but the patient died. I don't have a bamboo bonsai to show you at this moment. However, I was struck by the similarity to the bamboo technique that this gentleman used on his coconut seedlings.
This technique might be useful for dwarfing palms in general? Speculation on my part, but if someone out there has an interest in dwarfing palms, this might be something to experiment with.
