Leopard Bonsai

[Katie0317]

Leopard Tree - Caesalpinia Ferrea

Am sharing this tree, it's new for me and rather rare. In the U.S. I've only heard of them being found in Florida but not often.

It looks like a BRT but the leaflets are much larger, the tree has no thorns and it has a mottled trunk.

 

[sevan]

Thanks for sharing! I started some from seed last year, but it's hard to find pictures of what they might look like in the future.

 

[Katie0317]

I think I may have to air layer it at some point.

This feels like literati in style to me. When I saw it I had to have it. It looks very elegant amongst other trees.

We have to water all our trees twice a day but this one is always parched.

 

[Katie0317]

Thanks for sharing! I started some from seed last year, but it's hard to find pictures of what they might look like in the future.

Do you have pictures of the ones you planted from seeds? I'd like to know how old my tree is, so you're looking forward and I'm looking back.

 

[sevan]

Here are the largest and smallest of the seeds I started last summer. These are about 10 months old at the time the picture was taken.

 

[Katie0317]

Thank you for sharing the pic. They grow fast. I'm hoping to find out how old my tree is when I get back to the bonsai nursery where it came from. I'll share with you when I do so you'll know how long you have before you have a bigger trunk. You're doing a good job on this. I don't know too many people who've been as successful growing from seed.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I think I may have to air layer it at some point.

This feels like literati in style to me. When I saw it I had to have it. It looks very elegant amongst other trees.

We have to water all our trees twice a day but this one is always parched.

Use deeper pots.

 

[Mayank]

Leopard Tree - Caesalpinia Ferrea

Am sharing this tree, it's new for me and rather rare. In the U.S. I've only heard of them being found in Florida but not often.
View attachment 442600
It looks like a BRT but the leaflets are much larger, the tree has no thorns and it has a mottled trunk. View attachment 442601

Nice! Hopefully it flowers for you like the Caesalpinia pulcherrima i grew up with. I think this type has yellow flowers?
Curious why the genus is now changed to Libidibia or something like that instead of Caesalpinia.

 

[Katie0317]

@Potawatomi13... In a place as hot and humid as Florida, all our plants, regardless of pot size have to be watered twice a day. Think heat, humidity and respiration.

@Mayank, I hadn't heard that? I've done a lot of reading and have only seen mention of Caesalpinia Ferrea. I'm interested where you heard about Libidibia?

I got the tree when the flowering season was over, but it may not flower this far north. Sometimes tropical plants will flower in Miami but not as far north as Orlando. Yes, in Brazil the flowers are small and yellow with a reddish streak. I hope it flowers but if it doesn't I still love it.

 

[Apex37]

We have to water all our trees twice a day but this one is always parched.

I’m not sure if this would work for this species as I’m unfamiliar with it, and you may have already thought of it, but could it possibly go in a tray of water so it’s getting consistent moisture throughout the day?

 

[Katie0317]

Thanks for the idea @Apex37. All out trees need to be watered twice a day so treating one tree with a special treatment isn't necessary. Tbh, I'm also not a big believer in feeding trees from the bottom.

My understanding is that the roots on these trees grow quickly. The tree grows quickly and in an article on them by Jerry Meislik says they are tolerant of drought.


Once the desired trunk size is reached, internodes are kept short by diligent pruning, and restraining the plant in a smaller container. The compound leaf is likewise reduced by keeping the plant in a small pot and by shortening each leaf by cutting it back to the first leaflet section. Since the individual leaflets are small this works very well keeping the plant in scale even with small trees.

Here's his article. https://www.bonsaihunk.us/info/CaesalpinaFerrea.html

 

[Mayank]

@Potawatomi13... In a place as hot and humid as Florida, all our plants, regardless of pot size have to be watered twice a day. Think heat, humidity and respiration.

@Mayank, I hadn't heard that? I've done a lot of reading and have only seen mention of Caesalpinia Ferrea. I'm interested where you heard about Libidibia?

I got the tree when the flowering season was over, but it may not flower this far north. Sometimes tropical plants will flower in Miami but not as far north as Orlando. Yes, in Brazil the flowers are small and yellow with a reddish streak. I hope it flowers but if it doesn't I still love it.

If you google caesalpinia ferrea then the other genus pops up also on many sites including wikipedia...

 

[Katie0317]

If you google caesalpinia ferrea then the other genus pops up also on many sites including wikipedia...

It's interesting, and yes I found references to both genus', and they're the same as far as this plant goes. Also, there's a lot of research being done using this for both human and animal disease.

After I got mine I searched for any being sold. I didn't find any bonsai nurseries with any but I did find a landscaping tree that had been cut down for sale on Ebay. I don't think that would work!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

The reason Libidibia ferrea, formerly Caesalpinia ferrea, is rare in North America is that it is native to Brazil and Bolivia, it is not a winter hardy species. Just a few degrees of freezing will kill it. It is an ornamental landscape tree in frost free areas, and used in some agro-forestry plantations for producing fine furniture wood in countries with warmer climates than USA and Canada.

There are several reasons you might not find much information on L. ferrea as bonsai.

One is that it is most commonly available as seed only, not as older plants, thus requiring years to grow to size sufficient to begin working "bonsai techniques".

It has compound leaves, which are generally a design issue for producing bonsai. It is quite difficult to create convincing bonsai with species with compound leaves. One has to allow each compound leaf to serve as a "stand in" for a full branch and leaves. Or alternately, one needs to prune the compound leaves to just a pair of remaining leaflets. Either way, leaf placement can be awkward. If you are lucky, and the tree cooperates, great, but often as the tree develops ramification and size, it becomes "messy", with leaflets sticking out in all the wrong directions.

L. ferrea also tends to be slender thin stems or trunks, with relatively few branches. They can end up a fairly slender tree even when rather tall. This works against the visual tricks we use to make our potted trees look like tall old trees in miniature.

I'm not saying don't use this species for bonsai, I am just listing reasons why many bonsai artists pass this species by. One plus is this species grows fast. It has attractive flowers that are more showy on our "bonsai size" specimens, and its pretty undemanding if you give it sun, and water.

 

[Katie0317]

Thank you for sharing Leo. When I began reading about Leopard bonsai I found that they're very popular as bonsai trees in other parts of the world. Malaysia for instance. They seem to have overcome some of the issues to mentioned and have created some amazing trees.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/54676582952501878/

Powerpuff trees also have compound trees but they create branches in a very convincing manner. My leopard tree doesn't have an abundance of branches but the trunk isn't overly slender and it's a convincing bonsai, although I think most people would assume it's a BRT.

I can only tell you that I'd just found the shohin Trident maple and was thrilled. I didn't need or want a second tree that day but when I saw the Leopard tree it was breathtaking. I assumed it was a BRT but regardless I couldn't pass it by. I can't argue with some of the points you made. I think you're correct but it is convincing as a bonsai tree and there's just something special about it I can't put into words. It's elegant.