Braided camelia

[Eckhoffw]

This caught my eye at the Home Depot.
It was simply tagged, Camelia braid.

I liked the foliage, and how the whips are starting to fuse.
I have no idea what variety it is.
There are flower buds on it, but can’t quite be sure what color yet.

Does anyone know how quickly these fuse?
I cut the rubber tie on the trunk to arrange the whips a bit but will bind them back up to further fusion.
Any thoughts?

 

[Carol 83]

Pretty sure that is a Gardenia. I have a couple Gardenia's and Camellia's and that is a Gardenia. Mine are braided also and I just use them as patio trees. Never tried to bonsai them but it's nice to have their fragrant blooms inside during the winter.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Yes! Gardenia! Thanks Carol. I don’t know why I got Camelia in my head.

 

[Esolin]

Gardenia flowers are always white. They are sometimes used for bonsai, and I would treat them like a camelia in terms of care and styling. I don't know that the leaves reduce much. They are slow growers, so they will probably take a while to fuse. I'd focus on learning how to keep it alive for a few years before working it too hard, but that's probably just me since I've not had a lot of personal success in keeping potted gardenia's alive. They don't like our alkaline water/soil here and require diligent ph tinkering. Winters, not pH, are probably the bigger challenge in your area.

 

[Eckhoffw]

Gardenia flowers are always white. They are sometimes used for bonsai, and I would treat them like a camelia in terms of care and styling. I don't know that the leaves reduce much. They are slow growers, so they will probably take a while to fuse. I'd focus on learning how to keep it alive for a few years before working it too hard, but that's probably just me since I've not had a lot of personal success in keeping potted gardenia's alive. They don't like our alkaline water/soil here and require diligent ph tinkering. Winters, not pH, are probably the bigger challenge in your area.

Thank you very much! Yeah very alkaline water here too. Good to know.

 

[Carol 83]

They like a little Mir-acid once in a while.