Any Hope for Bucida Spinosa (Spiny Black Olive)?

[LeftHandLuke]

I adopted this Bucida Spinosa from PR back in June. Probably should have waited a while before repotting but I'm a moron and that's what us morons do, so sue me. After potting, it defoliated pretty quickly but then new small buds erupted very nicely right where you'd want them to be, But those buds failed. They turned black and dried up. Since then, nothing else has happened. The remaining leaves have stayed but no new growth. All branches scratch back to green cambium. The root system was very healthy, and might still be. The pot drains very well. Any thoughts on how I might save this?

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Anyone, anyone? Bueller?

 

[SWfloirda]

I would keep it in the shade. Don't let it dry out but don't keep it soggy. And wait.

 

[waydeo]

Some tropical trees get mad and defoliate when you mess with them . I've had that happen with a few tropicals. Give it a little time and TLC and it should leaf out when its not mad at you for messing with it.
My 2 cents worth.

 

[Fulan]

When we newbies are told to “wait” how long should we keep trying to revive these things? One year? A season? Ten?

 

[penumbra]

Bucida Spinosa

^^^ is one of those plants that can go through an unexpected dormancy. It also does not like its roots messed with overly much.
If I have a plant that doesn't respond for 6 months it usually goes in the compost pile.
Do you know if your plant is alive? Are the stems / trunks shriveled or blackened?
Does it still have some leaves? If it does, it is likely still alive. My large one never looked great until this year when it was outside all summer.
Try to identify the live parts and cut back to those parts. Put it under a strong grow light for 12-14 hours a day. It is a bit late in the year to expect an outside revival in your climate.
Good luck. It is not an easy beginners plant.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Do you know if your plant is alive? Are the stems / trunks shriveled or blackened?
Does it still have some leaves? If it does, it is likely still alive.

It looks essentially like it did two months ago when the pics were taken, so I'm bringing it into an indoor grow tent and will do as you suggested re: the grow light. Stems still scratch back to green at the tips so there's some life there. I agree about not being a good beginners plant. I may have come close to pulling it off. Lessons learned: It may not have been thriving enough beforehand to easily survive the repot. Also, I know I didn't baby it enough afterwards and instead allowed the sun to burn the new buds. If it comes back, I'll drop an update here. Otherwise, consider it compost. Thanks

 

[penumbra]

It looks essentially like it did two months ago when the pics were taken, so I'm bringing it into an indoor grow tent and will do as you suggested re: the grow light. Stems still scratch back to green at the tips so there's some life there. I agree about not being a good beginners plant. I may have come close to pulling it off. Lessons learned: It may not have been thriving enough beforehand to easily survive the repot. Also, I know I didn't baby it enough afterwards and instead allowed the sun to burn the new buds. If it comes back, I'll drop an update here. Otherwise, consider it compost. Thanks

I think it is in an induced dormancy. Keep it warm and well light. Bottom heat wouldn't hurt.
Best of luck.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Bottom heat

That crossed my mind, too. I've placed it on a warming mat. Thank you!

 

[Tony D.]

Hi @LeftHandLuke, I'm curious... did this tree ever revive for you. I'm having similar problems with my black olive here in upstate NY and I am hoping you had some success.

I'm in "wait and see" mode for now, and waiting for the weather to warm up so I can get this outside for some natural light.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Hey there! Unfortunately, my tree died quickly. I was woefully inexperienced with tropicals, time of year and tropical trees. Honestly, even in hindsight with past experience, I don't think I could have kept one of those alive in my zone, in a pot, at that time of year. There are folks who could have, but that's not my skillset. Not sure if it was the comment by @waydeo above but I've learned that tropicals do just what's described. They get pissed when you change their environment or generally mess with them too much. Sometimes they get real pissed. How or if they survive depends on how badly you piss them off and how well (and gradual) you appease them. Definitely do-able but requires skill and/or talent. Best of luck to you, my friend, and welcome to crazy!

 

[Tony D.]

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately I think I'm in the same boat, or at least in a boat on a similar coarse. I acquired this bucida spinosa in December at a silent auction where it was marked as "free, please take me". Since the proceeds were going to our club and I was a new member, I wrote $5 on the slip and ended up with my second tropical (I also have a shefflera which is doing ok)

The olive wasn't in great shape to begin with and continued to go down hill. About a week ago I thought l might have been over watering it so I lifted it out of its nursery pot to check the roots. The roots looked fine, really good actually. So I than made a classic rooky mistake and figured "what the hell, I already have it out of the pot, why not just repot it." Obviously it has not improved any. I guess I will continue to wait and hope, but I feer its future may be the compost bin. In the mean time I will keep in the window under the led light and hope it warms up enough to put it on my sheltered porch.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Good luck!

 

[Tony D.]

Thanks

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Some folks might advise creating a mini-greenhouse in the form of a plastic bag to increase humidity and heat retention. If I were to go back in time, I would have tried that on mine.

 

[Tony D.]

That's an excellent suggestion, I'll give it a try. Today is warm enough to put my other tropicals out on the porch, but I'm reluctant to move the sad little olive around too much.