In Defense of Seedling Grown BRT

[penumbra]

I realize that there are many here who don't consider growing from seed a good use of their time. I am not one of them. I enjoy the process. This Brazilian Rain tree was grown from seed. It is 3 years old and has never been pruned or wired. I recognized the long lateral branches early on as something I would like to work with so I put it is this tall cascade style pot about a year ago.
Before I started its training I thought I would share it. It is about 5-1/2 inches tall and about 12 inches across.
I don't plan on it ever being a large work.

 

[leatherback]

I really like BRT. They do well, even this close to the arctic.

July 2018


May 2020

I do wire and prune though!

 

[penumbra]

I really like BRT. They do well, even this close to the arctic.

July 2018
View attachment 312367

May 2020
View attachment 312368
I do wire and prune though!

I have about 8 of them in various stages of training. The one referenced is the only one I started from seed myself.

 

[BrazilianMoistWood]

I’ve never had the opportunity of stumbling across and BRT seeds but am keeping my eyes open. Currently trying to root some cuttings that seems to be going well! I saw online somewhere that you can put them in a mason jar instead of a bag when trying to root and it is 1000% more pleasing to the eye

Will it work? We will find out some day!

 

[Clicio]

@penumbra nice work!
I do love BRTs, and they grow like crazy around here.
As @leatherback said, I also prune and wire them, even risking losing some skin from my hands. It's a thorny business!

 

[BrazilianMoistWood]

Will it work? We will find out some day!

... didn’t work... must’ve done something wrong... good thing cuttings grow on trees!

 

[penumbra]

I have not had much luck with cuttings but I am going to try it again in my aeroponics cloner very soon.

 

[Carol 83]

I have not had much luck with cuttings

Me neither

 

[roberthu]

I’ve never had the opportunity of stumbling across and BRT seeds but am keeping my eyes open. Currently trying to root some cuttings that seems to be going well! I saw online somewhere that you can put them in a mason jar instead of a bag when trying to root and it is 1000% more pleasing to the eye
View attachment 313329
Will it work? We will find out some day!

I use a fish tank. Works amazing.

 

[BrazilianMoistWood]

I use a fish tank. Works amazing.

You put it on top? Could you post a pic of your setup please?!

 

[roberthu]

You put it on top? Could you post a pic of your setup please?!

I don’t have a photo at the moment but it is basically an empty fish tank with an acrylic cover. I put pots filled with cuttings in there then cover it up. Mist every other day and blow air into the tank twice a day. Everything grows really well in it. Not sure if they have roots yet but they are all alive and growing after almost a month. No BRT though.

 

[Mikecheck123]

There's nothing inherently bad about seeds. But I think people rightfully bristle at growing from seed when some noob plants one pine seed and calls it a bonsai when it sprouts.

IMO it's only a waste when it's the only thing you're doing. I planted 12 new species this year, all stuff that's just laying around my neighborhood. Good way to get free trees.

Some of the birches I planted last year are already 12 feet tall, so it's also a myth that you'll be waiting a decade to do anything.

 

[penumbra]

Some of the birches I planted last year are already 12 feet tall,

Three things.
How tall were you birch when you planted them? Your post makes it sound like you grew them from seeds
Tall means nothing, what does the trunk base look like?
Birch generally make unreliable if not poor bonsai.

 

[roberthu]

You put it on top? Could you post a pic of your setup please?!

Took some photos this morning. I put it indoor because it is over 90F outside recently and I am worried that the temp is too high to form roots. It is at the window facing south so it should be fine.

 

[Mikecheck123]

Three things.
How tall were you birch when you planted them? Your post makes it sound like you grew them from seeds
Tall means nothing, what does the trunk base look like?
Birch generally make unreliable if not poor bonsai.

They were about 1 or 2 mm tall when I planted them. (yes, seed).

The bases are looking great! Nice movement that you'd never find in nursery stock.

 

[penumbra]

They were about 1 or 2 mm tall when I planted them. (yes, seed).

The bases are looking great! Nice movement that you'd never find in nursery stock.

Sounds like some kind of record. You should post some pictures. I see you are zone 10a. What kind of birches will live in your zone?

 

[Mikecheck123]

Sounds like some kind of record. You should post some pictures. I see you are zone 10a. What kind of birches will live in your zone?

White birches (b. Pendula) and river birches (b. Nigra) are common lawn trees here. B. Pendula is almost ubiquitous for its drought tolerance.

 

[penumbra]

White birches (b. Pendula) and river birches (b. Nigra) are common lawn trees here. B. Pendula is almost ubiquitous for its drought tolerance.

That's awesome. They are only rated zone 2 through zone 7. You must have some condition that enables it to thrive for you. Pendula does not do all that great here as it tends to be very short lived. I think it hates our heat and humidity. I planted 12 of them 30 years ago and unfortunately they are all gone now. Probably had more to do with the shallow soil they were in than the climate. Nigra will live almost anywhere.
Wish you the best.

 

[Mikecheck123]

That's awesome. They are only rated zone 2 through zone 7. You must have some condition that enables it to thrive for you. Pendula does not do all that great here as it tends to be very short lived. I think it hates our heat and humidity. I planted 12 of them 30 years ago and unfortunately they are all gone now. Probably had more to do with the shallow soil they were in than the climate. Nigra will live almost anywhere.
Wish you the best.

Oh interesting. There are lots of examples like that. There's Japanese maples of all varieties here, even though on paper they only go to zone 8.

I was just reading this topic in Bonsai Heresy, I think the thing that saves them is the cool nights. It gets down into the 50s every night here, but almost never goes below 40 ever, hence the zone 10. Which just goes to show how the USDA zone is only one piece of the climate picture.

In contrast, it's probably always in the 70s and 80s at night in LA, which prevents Japanese maples from thriving (at least according to Bonsai Heresy).

Here's the trunk of my tallest one. 1.36 in. thick. I was largely ignoring them and so just discovered a few weeks ago that it had fused with another one. Still deciding if that's gonna be neat or ugly.

 

[penumbra]

Oh interesting. There are lots of examples like that. There's Japanese maples of all varieties here, even though on paper they only go to zone 8.

I was just reading this topic in Bonsai Heresy, I think the thing that saves them is the cool nights. It gets down into the 50s every night here, but almost never goes below 40 ever, hence the zone 10. Which just goes to show how the USDA zone is only one piece of the climate picture.

In contrast, it's probably always in the 70s and 80s at night in LA, which prevents Japanese maples from thriving (at least according to Bonsai Heresy).

Here's the trunk of my tallest one. 1.36 in. thick. I was largely ignoring them and so just discovered a few weeks ago that it had fused with another one. Still deciding if that's gonna be neat or ugly.

That is fantastic. What a climate.
Are you at a higher elevation?