Need to identify this variety

[Scorr]

Good Evening - Thank you everyone for your time. I have had this tree for two years. It seems to have some awful die back that I cannot really grasp how to handle. I have lost full, beautifully placed, branches due to this issue. Cannot prune hard at all or the whole branch will die.

1) does anyone know if this is good Bonsai material?
2) what kind of tree is it?
3) it is very tall, with a leggy trunk, could I cut the top off and train the new shoots or is variety not that hardy?


Thank you,
Scott

 

[penumbra]

Is it a tropical plant? Where did you get it?

 

[Forsoothe!]

You need to give us a few hints. What is your general location? Is this wintered in the home? Did it have flowers, please describe anything at all about it and your care for these two years. The bark is unfamiliar (to me) even while it has a striking appearance, did it always look like that? Was it expensive, or cheap? Etc.

 

[Scorr]

I live in Clearwater Florida and purchased the tree at a bonsai nursery called Eve’s Garden that was about an hour away. They have since moved much farther away. I paid $150 for it. It was a big bush at the top but I recognized the potential with that trunk so bought it and wired it up/removed a bunch of branches. It has never flowered. Since I am in Florida, I only bring it in doors if it goes below 45-50, which is rare. I water it daily. The bark is great but does tend to “shed”. Could posting more pictures help? Thank you, guys!

 

[sorce]

Somebody has to know what a opposite "ginseng ficus" is!

Can't believe how similar those leaves are.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[penumbra]

Can't believe how similar those leaves are.

My 1st impression as well.

 

[Forsoothe!]

The whole thing is as un-fig as I have ever heard of. I don't recognize it at all.

 

[Scorr]

So a tropical Ginseng ficus? Am I able to chop the top completely off and start shaping new growth?

 

[sorce]

So a tropical Ginseng ficus?

No. The leaves just look the same.

But these leaves are opposite.
Ginseng Ficus is alternate.

Odd.

Sorce

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I don't have a good sense of scale for the tree.

If the leaves are small, I would guess maybe black olive, usually labelled as Bucida spinosa. Of course common names are confusing, black olive is not at all related to the culinary olive tree. It is native to south Florida and the Bahamas. I believe the species name has been revised, to Bucida molineti.

You should have saved either the plant tag or the receipt from your purchase of this tree, and one or the other should list the correct name. Or you could call Eve's Garden, they should have records of what they had in stock about the time you purchased your tree. If you sent them a photo, I bet they could identify it. Call them, they should be happy to help you, as a $150 tree is not a minor purchase.

Florida has thousands of native trees and shrubs and thousands more introduced exotic species. It can be a real guessing game figuring out what species a tree is from a photo.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I can rule out Bucida spinosa.