Some trees I'm working on...

[coh]

Nice tree. You can get away with a pretty shallow pot on these if you can keep them well watered, and it suits the tree structure to have a wider shallower pot. I found mine always put on as much growth inside (just under fluorescents) as they did in the summer!

This is the pot that came with the tree, definitely not the right one going forward! I'm not even sure if there is any soil in it, as it seems to be completely rootbound. Should be interesting to see what kind of root system is in there.

There have certainly been times this summer when it got too dry and I found it wilted/closed up. Even happened during the winter under the MH lights if I wasn't paying enough attention. I suspect this might be a species that could benefit from having a shallow tray with water under the container (like wisteria, etc) during warm periods when it is actively growing. Not to keep it continuously wet but just to provide more of a buffer.

 

[LanceMac10]

First, love this tree, love to have it in the garden! I'm a bit biased, I like BRT's , but this one has great shape. I think you did nicely, from reading your write-up, in removing some heavier growth. Crown looks open and probably more "settled" than a "before" shot would have shown.

The more "congested" areas on the lower branches is good for their vigor. Your MH lights may penetrate the canopy better than less powerful set-ups? Have a large one on the ranch under "higher-end" lighting, works well but has made the crown too vigorous to the detriment of the lowest branches that receive that much less light. So maybe watch for any signs of reduced vigor in the lower structure?

I see where Bill V's mind was going with the small pot. In my experience, BRT's will still grow pretty vigorously while pot-bound. The trunk, however, will take some time to "thicken" with this approach. Maybe you can gradually "step-up" the container size to kind of have some idea of how much the trunk will thicken compared to your image of the tree in the future? It has a delicate feel and flow now, a wider, shallower pot, allowing the roots to run and warm in the sun might swell the trunk a bit too quickly. Well, as much sun as we get in our northern climate.

Usually repot mid-late May here. Instead of a tray of water, perhaps submerge this smaller pot into a larger one filled with soil? Even a large, well-moistened container won't stave off the "reflexive" action of the leaflets in full sun exposure/ 90+ degrees heat with low-ish humidity. But yes, that's a REAL small pot.

Again, nice tree, @coh these are real fun, as you mentioned. A bit of Bill V. provenance is swell too. Material this size with fair shape is getting harder to come by "up north", in conversation with Michael of Bonsai West this past weekend. He does have a ton of what appear to be rooted cuttings on offer.....'gotta keep the lights on and the water flowing!!




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[coh]

First, love this tree, love to have it in the garden! I'm a bit biased, I like BRT's , but this one has great shape. I think you did nicely, from reading your write-up, in removing some heavier growth. Crown looks open and probably more "settled" than a "before" shot would have shown.

I'm almost to the point of giving up on taking and posting photos as they just don't really show what I'm seeing in person. The canopy is a lot less dense than it appear in the photos. Can't quite figure out why...

The more "congested" areas on the lower branches is good for their vigor. Your MH lights may penetrate the canopy better than less powerful set-ups? Have a large one on the ranch under "higher-end" lighting, works well but has made the crown too vigorous to the detriment of the lowest branches that receive that much less light. So maybe watch for any signs of reduced vigor in the lower structure?

MH does penetrate quite well, plus I have the growing area surrounded by sheets of mylar for added reflectivity. Plus some aluminum foil on the table top to reflect light up. The upper canopy was definitely more vigorous than the lower but I think through regular pruning, it could be maintained without too much detriment to the lower. That said, I'm thinking of just leaving the tree by a window this winter to see how it does. I don't really need growth during the winter, I'd be happy just to maintain the foliage. And those MH lights are expensive to run...400 watts.

I see where Bill V's mind was going with the small pot. In my experience, BRT's will still grow pretty vigorously while pot-bound. The trunk, however, will take some time to "thicken" with this approach. Maybe you can gradually "step-up" the container size to kind of have some idea of how much the trunk will thicken compared to your image of the tree in the future? It has a delicate feel and flow now, a wider, shallower pot, allowing the roots to run and warm in the sun might swell the trunk a bit too quickly. Well, as much sun as we get in our northern climate.

Usually repot mid-late May here. Instead of a tray of water, perhaps submerge this smaller pot into a larger one filled with soil? Even a large, well-moistened container won't stave off the "reflexive" action of the leaflets in full sun exposure/ 90+ degrees heat with low-ish humidity. But yes, that's a REAL small pot.

I don't think I want the trunk to thicken much, I just want to avoid any significant reverse taper. Which could be a challenge with the much larger foliage mass on the upper canopy and the fact there isn't much taper already...plus these tend to develop that fluting on the trunk which can look like reverse taper. Not sure about repotting. I have so many other trees to repot in spring that I prefer to push tropicals to later in the summer or even winter.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[roberthu]

I wanted a Brazilian Rain Tree for a while, so I sold off a few of my other tropicals and picked up this one from Bill Valavanis last September. Pretty much just let it grow through the winter under lights (trimming back extensions that got way too long). This summer I let it grow for a while, then about a week and a half ago gave it a significant cut back. Removed some overly thick branches in the upper canopy. It's still too dense and once the new growth gets going I'll be doing some more selective pruning.

Ultimately I think the current canopy is roughly what I'm aiming for, with a sort of flat-top upper area and a lower region based on the left trunk. It will have to be thinned, probably some more reduction of the heavier (and crossing) branching in the upper canopy. I left a few lower straggly branches that may eventually come off but can decide that later.

Enjoying working with this. It did well through the winter indoors (under MH light), better than my willow leaf ficuses do. And we've had a sunny hot summer (by Rochester standards) so it's growing well now. Needs a repotting and I'm trying to decide if I want to do that after the next growth surge (so probably early-mid August) or wait till it's indoors in stable conditions. Might change the planting angle a bit but the vertical rise of the lower trunk doesn't really bother me.

View attachment 317580

I like that rain tree. Do you think BRT in general do better in deep or shallow pots? I have one that came in a pretty shallow pot and while it looks nice. I don’t think it provides much stability to the roots. Maybe it wasn’t tied down properly when it was reported?

 

[coh]

Quick update on the dwarf boxwood from post 56. Didn't realize it had been 2 years since the last photo. Didn't do much to it last year other than trim back the canopy. This year I decided to explore the canopy and see if I could open things up in places to reveal trunk/branch lines and develop some separation in the foliage masses. Didn't want to reduce too much since it's getting late in the season but at least the process has been started. It's very dense and not easy to work in there to find places to cut back to...accidentally opened a large hole in the upper canopy but that could grow over in a season. (@JudyB )

There's still too much symmetry (especially left/right) but I haven't decided where I want to reduce yet. This thing has a somewhat convoluted structure but I do think some of the branching needs to be revealed to make it more tree-like as opposed to topiary. Hopefully heading in the right direction (or at least, a direction)



For reference, the image from 2018 is below.

 

[JudyB]

Thing has a great trunk and good branching, but it's as you say convoluted in its branching pattern, so is a difficult egg to crack. Have you ever thought about taking it to a workshop? I bet the right eye could find a way to really bring this tree into its best form. I know I tried for years... But looks strong!