New Tree.... Brazilian Raintree

Sun Feb 15, 2009 8:39 pm

Something like this??

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/flowerhouse-seed.shtml

I've been to this site before. They offer various sized portable greenhouses or stationary greenhouses for a relatively low price.

Take Care

Sun Feb 15, 2009 8:48 pm

I found something like this that would be good for you entire collection.

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/flowerhouse-plant.shtml

Take Care

Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:25 pm

Ken,

How about something like this.
http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/03/14 ... ncounters/

Norm

Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:34 am

Norm,
I took a look at them to see how much height they had to them. They look like they would work great for the little maples but for the Braz. Raintree, it would be too short. Even without the pot and the humidity tray it would be to short for my tree to fit in.

Thank you for the suggestion though.

Take Care

Mon Feb 16, 2009 4:29 am

Hi, just a thought as to your humidity issue.... is there an air vent blowing on the tree/tray? Keeping a bonsai indoor can be tricky with all the heat and air vents, the air can bounce off a wall and be directed at the plant which will dry them out extremely quickly. Glad to hear the leaf drop is stopping and you are seeing new growth.
Humidity trays really only work indoors, outdoors they are pretty much useless as they do dry out so fast. To keep your bonsai happy, mist it in the morning and in the afternoon but give the tree enough time to dry off completely before the sun goes down, don't mist after dark or with the tree in full blazing sun as the water magnifies and burns spots on the fragile leaves. As to your bugs in the soil, glad you don't see them anymore, they could be fungus gnats, or just a couple of stray ants seeking water, most likely more of a nuisance than a problem which would affect the health of the tree. Ants can bring pests to your tree though to "farm" them ! so do keep an eye out.

Lisa

Mon Feb 16, 2009 12:52 pm

I mist mine once or twice per day or more, no humidity tray, but there is a Juniper next to it that is on a humidity tray. Mine has stopped dropping completely, but yes, there are a few yellowed leaflets that have not fallen yet. At the axils, there are HUGE buds growing all over the place. The haven't opened yet, but they're bigger than I usually see. I don't think they're flowers, though. Right now they look like 3-4mm peas. Perhaps these are new branches forming?

Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:27 pm

kdodds,
I too see new growth coming in. The largest growth I see is something like pea sized but about half the size of a pea. Then there are much more of them but smaller in size all over the place. I would have liked to see more growth on the bottom branches. I have yet to see hardly any growth on those branches.

Do you mind me asking, what do you mean by axil? I've never heard of that term before.

Take Care

Mon Feb 16, 2009 6:16 pm

Yeah, I would say about half the size of a small pea is about right. The point at which the leaf sprouts from the branch, the smaller, "inner" angle. For example, if you pinch say, a Ficus, a new branch will sprout at the terminal axil, the inner angle where the last leaf left is sprouting from.

Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:04 pm

Ahhhhh.......Ok.......Thanks for that kdodds.

I took off the top stones from my tree. They made it difficult to judge when to decide to water. I also took a general look at the roots. Nothing seems out of the norm. I didn't pry at the roots and get all of the soil ouot because I really don't want to right now. Things look pretty good so far. While I took it out of the pot I did my best airerate the soil and look for anything that shouldnt be there. While the tree was out I noticed the leaves closed pretty fast. They are starting to open up now so it should be fine.
My B-Day is right around the corner so I got my B-Day list submitted to my parents with I think 3 trees in it. I plan on adding a few more as well.

Take Care

Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:47 am

Actualy, for the terrarium, I was thinking about what is called a Wardian case. See here http://www.floridaplants.com/HP/warv.jpg and here http://www.fownc.org/images/news53/04.jpg Finding one large enough shouldn't be a problem (its the cost).

Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:11 pm

Just tought I might share some updates with you all.

My tree is still losing leaves but only a few a day.

A TON of new growth is coming in so I am really happy that.

I found that without the rocks on my soil, the soil drys out faster than with them on. So I put the little shale pebbles back on the surface of my soil.

I MIGHT BE MOVING!!! I don't really want to move but yet I really do. It wouldnt be very far at all. Just a few miles down the road. The only reason for moving is because its cheap and it has Mom's "dream kitchen" :roll:

But for me, it has excelent lighting for my trees. Notl like here. The front of the house faces due south so they should get very good light if we move. Also, there is a Japanese(somewhat anyway) garden in the back yard. 2 very nice Japanese Maples and asorted plants. Not sure which kind yet. There is also a very nice coy pond in the garden. No coy in it right now but that could easily be changed. All places have great lighting. ALOT of potential!
But remember, right now, we don't know if we've got it. Mom and Dad got the contract in so we should know if we get the house officially by Wednesday or Thursday.
There are a few downsides but some of them pertain to my local area which is private. One of them tough, is that if we move I won't get a new computer. I'm a huge gamer so I love to build my own gaming computers with my dad. This one would heft a huge sum of money but I get to spend time wth dad putting it all together.

Take Care

Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:48 pm

Just a quick update.

We didnt get the house we had put the contract on. So we're not moving. I'm kind of dissapointed but I'm also relieved.

Norm, do you mind me asking if you got any snow from that storm a few days ago? I got near 9 inches! How much did you get?

Take Care

Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:27 pm

Quick update on my Braz Raintree.

It is shooting with new growth. Tons of new growth. Needs pruning but I want to ease into that.

The leaves have ceased to fall. I think the reason they kept falling was because I was overwatering. :oops:

I think I'm going to wait another year for a re-pot. The soil looks healthy to me.

I have fertlizer so the organic stuff its in will have nutrients. All in all it is going to be a fine tree. I just need to prune it. I think I'm going to get a tool kit soon so I might wait till mid April to prune and trim and such.

Take Care

Sat Mar 21, 2009 12:06 pm

Mine have ceased falling as well, but as I was pruning new growth I noticed that all of the ones that DID fall were from the axils where new growth was coming in, so it's probably something perfectly normal.

Mon Jun 01, 2009 4:10 am

Here is a link I found useful, Because it has been very hard to find good information about my Brazilian Rain tree.

http://www.bonsaihunk.us/info/TexasEbony.html

The Texas Ebony care is very similar. There is more information on it and the trees are almost exactly the same as far as tree care ( pruning, growing mediums, light requirements, temperatures, and more ).

Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:19 pm

Ok, since I got a helpful response and I haven't been around in quite awhile. I might as well post an update on it.

My tree is NOT doing well. I wish it were teh exact opposite. After it had gotten through the shock of falling leaves awhile back, we had gone a trip. My folks hired someone to take care of the pets, etc. Anways, the pet sitter we had hired, failed to water my tree enough. So then it started losing more leaves. Then, in an effort to try to save it, my Mom over watered it. It had lost all of its leaves at that point. So then it started to recover, until a few days ago. I had put it outside on my deck, and the weather was a high 79 degrees with 96 % humidity. But, to my surprise, in teh middle of the night, a sudden thunderstorm ravaged our area. So now, the thing is too overwatered for me to give it the fertilizer it needs. Things aren't looking up at all. I've done the best I can do to try and save this tree but thats all I can do, try my best and see what happens.

BUT, thank you for that post. If this tree dies, then I will most likely go out and buy a new one.

Norm, how are you doing my friend?