Brazilian Rain Tree Progress Thread.

[SWfloirda]

This is the tree I purchased, the other four are cuttings from this one. These pictures are from December 2019-April 2021. In one of the pictures you can see the foil from how I started the tree I now have the sacrifice branch on. I started to like the sacrifice branch more than the original tree so I turned it into a cascade.

 

[SWfloirda]

These pictures are from today. With the exception of the trees that died or were never seen again after the hurricane this one took the most damage. I had it tied securely to a rack but the rack blew over and almost took out my lanai, then the way it landed the winds blew all of the substrate out and bare rooted the tree. It is finally recovering well enough.

 

[SWfloirda]

This is from a cutting from May 2020. Both pictures today. Trying to have the patience to turn it into a clip and grow flat top.

 

[SWfloirda]

This is also a May 2020 cutting.

 

[SWfloirda]

This is the tree from the foil in the picture from the first tree. The air layer initially failed but I saved it as a cutting.

 

[SWfloirda]

The last one. I used a root splitter and took this one from the stump of the tree in the last post. The only one I put wire on today.

 

[trigo]

Nice trees man, it still baffles me how you guys can grow them in your climate.

I will share with you my experience with cascading BRTs, maybe i did something wrong... @Clicio may have some more experience, but i find them hard to keep the cascading branch alive, on my trees they tend to dieback from the lowest branches and prioritize apical growth. I sold 3 of my cascading BRTs because of this, and i still have one that im trying to keep the cascading branch, but already lost like 50% of it... They are alot older yamadori trees though, i don't have experience with younger ones.

 

[leatherback]

climate zone envy is real.

Good stuff, thx.

 

[Clicio]

Nice trees man, it still baffles me how you guys can grow them in your climate.

I will share with you my experience with cascading BRTs, maybe i did something wrong... @Clicio may have some more experience, but i find them hard to keep the cascading branch alive, on my trees they tend to dieback from the lowest branches and prioritize apical growth. I sold 3 of my cascading BRTs because of this, and i still have one that im trying to keep the cascading branch, but already lost like 50% of it... They are alot older yamadori trees though, i don't have experience with younger ones.

Well, to be honest I have never tried a cascading BRT. I do have 5 or 6 old ones, some - a dozen maybe - from seed, and a lot of cuttings. But not even one cascading.
I believe that this style is going to be very difficult for BRTs, as they don't like to grow down.
Good luck anyway, and show us your results, either positive or negative, so we will all learn from your experiences.

 

[SWfloirda]

Nice trees man, it still baffles me how you guys can grow them in your climate.

I will share with you my experience with cascading BRTs, maybe i did something wrong... @Clicio may have some more experience, but i find them hard to keep the cascading branch alive, on my trees they tend to dieback from the lowest branches and prioritize apical growth. I sold 3 of my cascading BRTs because of this, and i still have one that im trying to keep the cascading branch, but already lost like 50% of it... They are alot older yamadori trees though, i don't have experience with younger ones.

Thanks, they seem to love it here in Florida. I noticed before the hurricane last year it kept trying to grow up instead of down the cascade. I was pruning the top aggressively to try to combat that. Since then I'm just happy I've been able to keep it alive after the beating it took. I've been considering finding a way to change the angle of how it sits to make the cascade face up more next spring.

 

[Donaldjoh]

I am in NE Ohio and very new to bonsai. I am very old to plants and recently acquired two sets of cuttings from BRTs. The first set was four cuttings and three of them rooted and are growing well, the second set was 8 cuttings of which 6 rooted. I know very little about these trees other than they are popular in bonsai, so my questions are; how quickly do they grow and when should I start pruning and training? The oldest cuttings are about 8” tall and as yet unbranched, so I know I have a while to go. Thank you.

 

[SWfloirda]

I am in NE Ohio and very new to bonsai. I am very old to plants and recently acquired two sets of cuttings from BRTs. The first set was four cuttings and three of them rooted and are growing well, the second set was 8 cuttings of which 6 rooted. I know very little about these trees other than they are popular in bonsai, so my questions are; how quickly do they grow and when should I start pruning and training? The oldest cuttings are about 8” tall and as yet unbranched, so I know I have a while to go. Thank you.

They grow very fast here in Florida. Generally I prune them in the summer after I notice them go through a grow spurt. You can start training anytime, watch the wire though as the wire will bite quickly when they are growing.

 

[brainfree]

Nice trees man, it still baffles me how you guys can grow them in your climate

Really? I live in Zone 6B and I’ve had my BRT for 5 years now (the one on the left) and it’s doing great with no supplemental lighting.



A one and a half year old cutting from the same tree

 

[SWfloirda]

Some updates.

 

[SWfloirda]

Repotted the last one.

 

[Paradox]

Nice trees man, it still baffles me how you guys can grow them in your climate.

I am in zone 7 and have kept BRT for 7 or 8 years now.

Outside in the summer once temperaturesget above 50 F, inside under full spectrum lights in the winter

 

[brainfree]

Repotted the last one.
View attachment 535529

Those are some serious roots!! Your trees look great SW. Very healthy.

 

[SWfloirda]

The cascade today.

 

[SWfloirda]

Spring in Florida. These are on the cascade.