miker
Chumono
I wanted to share and get feedback on my favorite tropical bonsai subject. Here is my Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) after a bit of much needed attention. I purchased this tree in March 2006 from a vendor at the annual Leu Gardens plant sale here in Orlando. The tree had all of the shari at the time of purchase and I was told it was a collected specimen. There are some really impressive buttonwood
yamadori down in the FL Keys that are kept prostrate and dwarfed by the trade winds and other harsh environmental conditions. The nicest buttonwood bonsai I have seen all tend to be those that were first sculpted into bonsai by the forces of nature. Like many other Florida native tropical trees, the buttonwood ranges along the coast to north of Tampa on the west coast and to Volusia County on the East Coast and tends to be more shrub-like at the north end of its range due to periodic freeze damage.
My work on this tree over the past 10 years has mainly been routine care, pruning to shape and occasional carving to maintain the surface area of the prominent frontal shari that gives the tree the appearance of age and character. The tree is around 14" in height. I have to admit that the crown itself was probably better from a style standpoint in the first few years I had the tree (the crown was an almost perfect elongated scalene triangle) and is a bit more sparse now due to the loss of a few key branches (two are now the jins you see) and overly aggressive root pruning one time that led to a lot of dieback. After a number of mistakes, I feel I have a good handle on this species from a horticultural standpoint.
In the past few months, I have pruned all new growth to one leaf pair to start rebuilding some ramification. The two lower left branches (now jin) were wired down in February but cracked during styling and completely aborted, despite application of wound sealant around the cracks. I decided to make the best of the lost branches by applying lime sulfur yesterday as I was treating the large shari in the front.
Here are a few key points for those attempting to keep this species as bonsai (or in the garden):
-Conocarpus erectus prefers full sun, and, like almost all species kept in bonsai pots, does not like to dry out.
-The tree is tropical in its requirements and potted individuals can suffer if exposed to temperatures below 45-50F.
-Branches tend to be brittle and usually die if cracked when wiring.
-The hard, rot resistant wood lends itself very well to jin and shari.
-Well cared for specimens are quite vigorous and bud back well.
Despite the speckles of lime sulfur on the rim of the pot, I think this tree is looking much improved since I first posted a photo of it in my trident maple thread a few months ago. Thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!
yamadori down in the FL Keys that are kept prostrate and dwarfed by the trade winds and other harsh environmental conditions. The nicest buttonwood bonsai I have seen all tend to be those that were first sculpted into bonsai by the forces of nature. Like many other Florida native tropical trees, the buttonwood ranges along the coast to north of Tampa on the west coast and to Volusia County on the East Coast and tends to be more shrub-like at the north end of its range due to periodic freeze damage.
My work on this tree over the past 10 years has mainly been routine care, pruning to shape and occasional carving to maintain the surface area of the prominent frontal shari that gives the tree the appearance of age and character. The tree is around 14" in height. I have to admit that the crown itself was probably better from a style standpoint in the first few years I had the tree (the crown was an almost perfect elongated scalene triangle) and is a bit more sparse now due to the loss of a few key branches (two are now the jins you see) and overly aggressive root pruning one time that led to a lot of dieback. After a number of mistakes, I feel I have a good handle on this species from a horticultural standpoint.
In the past few months, I have pruned all new growth to one leaf pair to start rebuilding some ramification. The two lower left branches (now jin) were wired down in February but cracked during styling and completely aborted, despite application of wound sealant around the cracks. I decided to make the best of the lost branches by applying lime sulfur yesterday as I was treating the large shari in the front.
Here are a few key points for those attempting to keep this species as bonsai (or in the garden):
-Conocarpus erectus prefers full sun, and, like almost all species kept in bonsai pots, does not like to dry out.
-The tree is tropical in its requirements and potted individuals can suffer if exposed to temperatures below 45-50F.
-Branches tend to be brittle and usually die if cracked when wiring.
-The hard, rot resistant wood lends itself very well to jin and shari.
-Well cared for specimens are quite vigorous and bud back well.
Despite the speckles of lime sulfur on the rim of the pot, I think this tree is looking much improved since I first posted a photo of it in my trident maple thread a few months ago. Thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!
Maybe I need to get the pot cleaned up and photograph it against a better background?!
