Flowers 2017

[0soyoung]

It’s too small to be a good lantana bonsai anyway.

You don't really believe this nonsense, do you?

Were I in your stead, I'd be looking forward to a lifetime with it - nip it here, nip it there, let it grow and bloom, and grow old together. That's what a good bonsai is, IMHO.

 

[Velodog2]

You don't really believe this nonsense, do you?

Were I in your stead, I'd be looking forward to a lifetime with it - nip it here, nip it there, let it grow and bloom, and grow old together. That's what a good bonsai is, IMHO.

Lol well I intend to keep working it, but it’s made very little progress in five or so years. Too much twig die back and not enough ramification. Indoor overwintering doesn’t help. Maybe I’ll get better at it but in the meantime, flowers. I like your description of a bonsai life btw.

 

[sorce]

Indoor overwintering doesn’t help.

Wonder what @Anthony and @Leo in N E Illinois say about a dormancy with this species....
Like pomegranate, Chinese elm, etc...

I'm noticing my ficus go thru a "dry season dormancy" in summer. I may try to encourage that a bit more somehow, try to have them in a more natural rythym.

Hopefully you will find the small secret.
Because that is a bitchin ass tree!

Sorce

 

[Anthony]

@sorce ,

I am afraid no advice can be given from down here.
Though a yellow orange form grows wild and is native, the wood is very soft
and any damage, will lead to rotting.

So by and large, it is admired on the roadsides, but is left alone.
Maybe Leo can help out?
Apologies.
Anthony

 

[Anthony]

@sorce,

talked to K by e-mail.

Here is what he suggested.

Observe the size of wound that heals on the lantana.
Very often a softwood will heal up to this size easily [ ].
Factor in your growing / pruning technique to encourage the
plant to heal.

Thus far we have some 15 / 16 locals studying and more coming in.
So it will be a while before we get to the lantana.
However, the above is how we controlled the problem of trunk rotting
on the Sageretia t. and Fukien tea.

Softwoods can often expand in trunk rapidly if ground grown.

You just have to study the plant's growing properties.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I believe the Tea Olive has the most pleasant smell I know off. Subtle yet distinctive.

We had one in our front yard that had unfortunately outgrown its space. The flowers smelled so nice, like oranges. This time of year, the eleagnus is incredible too. That is on the Bonsai bucket list.
Here is a single bloom open on an as-yet untrained Kinsai Satsuki Azalea from last night:

 

[Velodog2]

Thanks. It is a nice tree as it is and I’ll get pics showing its structure up someday. I probably need to let it grow free longer between prunings to give the ramifications more time to strengthen. As it is they die back randomly and often and back budding is frequent but unpredictable. I saw several larger ones of at at least two feet in height at a club mtg several years ago and noted that even they had very open branch structure with only a few levels of twigging. It does have uros and rotting areas that add to its character. An eBay purchase btw.

 

[Velodog2]

@sorce,

talked to K by e-mail.

Here is what he suggested.

Observe the size of wound that heals on the lantana.
Very often a softwood will heal up to this size easily [ ].
Factor in your growing / pruning technique to encourage the
plant to heal.

Thus far we have some 15 / 16 locals studying and more coming in.
So it will be a while before we get to the lantana.
However, the above is how we controlled the problem of trunk rotting
on the Sageretia t. and Fukien tea.

Softwoods can often expand in trunk rapidly if ground grown.

You just have to study the plant's growing properties.
Good Day
Anthony

Thank you Anthony! This was a wild tree at one point from Florida and yes, I need to work better with the natural growth characateristics of the tree.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Brian Van Fleet - love that Kinsai, sweet.

@sorce & @Velodog2 - I have not kept Lantana alive for very long. Mostly because any starts I've had were very young, and were not good enough to rate getting ''preferred treatment''. But I know a little about Lantana. They are native to North, Central and South America, and have become invasive weeds in many parts of the world. They are hardy enough to survive in the landscape into south half of Georgia, and around the Gulf, including parts of Texas. I would protect them from temps below freezing when in a pot, because mine always wilted at temps barely above freezing. Wilting may be a protection strategy, by wilting cell damage isn't as severe in a freeze.

I have wintered them in my unheated well house - only to have them rot. It may be too wet, which combined with the cool temps, leads to rot.

I have wintered them in the light set up with the orchids. Winter growth tends to be leggy, just cut that off in spring when you put them outside.

They are in the Verbena family, they have soft wood like many herbs. They are brittle, best to style by clip and grow rather than wire shape into them. They will flower continuously if given enough sun.

That's all I know.

since this is a flower thread. Paphiopedilum henryanum, I have a couple in bloom now, a relatively easy to grow, compact lady slipper, this plant is in a 3 inch pot.

 

[milehigh_7]

Oh hello winter in Vegas!

 

[namnhi]

 

[Velodog2]

Lol well I intend to keep working it, but it’s made very little progress in five or so years. Too much twig die back and not enough ramification. Indoor overwintering doesn’t help. Maybe I’ll get better at it but in the meantime, flowers. I like your description of a bonsai life btw.

@Osoyoung - in fact I like it so well I’ve made it my signature, unless you object.

 

[Carol 83]

What frost?

 

[Deano]

"Pixie Queen"Bougie starting to bloom again.

 

[Carol 83]

 

[pweifan]

@Carol 83 or anyone else, can you recommend a source for orchids? For example, I'd love to get a Masdevallia erinacea. I'm not sure how hard it is to find them. Thanks!

 

[Carol 83]

@Carol 83 or anyone else, can you recommend a source for orchids? For example, I'd love to get a Masdevallia erinacea. I'm not sure how hard it is to find them. Thanks!

@Leo in N E Illinois would be the guy to talk to about orchids.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Carol 83 or anyone else, can you recommend a source for orchids? For example, I'd love to get a Masdevallia erinacea. I'm not sure how hard it is to find them. Thanks!

For a vendor in the USA, I recommend J & L Orchids, they currently do not have Masd. erinacea listed, but they have had it in the past. You can trust them for mail order, I have bought from them occasionally http://www.jlorchids.com/

The only source I checked that had Masd erinacea listed was Colombian Orchid Imports. They have a commercial growing range in Colombia. They bring in 3 or 4 shipments a year from Colombia. The way it works, you send in your order, when they have sufficient orders to make the import permits, inspection, expediting service and such cost effective, they bring a shipment into the USA. your order then gets shipped from their USA based greenhouse. They currently do have Masdevallia erinacea on their list. Contact them to see if you can get some.
http://www.colombianorchidimports.com/ I have not ordered from them, but they have a good reputation.

Another importer I would check out would be Ecuagenera. They attend several shows every year in the USA. place your order via email, then either pick the order up at an orchid show they are attending or they will mail your order to you from the show venue.

http://www.ecuagenera.com/ORCHID-SPECIES

Basically, this is all I have at the moment for sources. By the way, Masdevallia erinacea is not common in the USA because it is not easy to grow. This is not a beginners plant, in fact I can not tell you how to grow it, as I killed mine a number of years ago. But if you have grown other Masdevallias, and have had good results I think it could work for you.

Second suggestion. In the USA, it is easier to get imported plants to establish if you import them in spring, rather than autumn. I would contact the vendors, reserve your plant but ask them to hold it until the spring shipment. You will have a better chance of the plant surviving.

Hope this helps.

 

[JoeR]

For a vendor in the USA, I recommend J & L Orchids, they currently do not have Masd. erinacea listed, but they have had it in the past. You can trust them for mail order, I have bought from them occasionally http://www.jlorchids.com/

The only source I checked that had Masd erinacea listed was Colombian Orchid Imports. They have a commercial growing range in Colombia. They bring in 3 or 4 shipments a year from Colombia. The way it works, you send in your order, when they have sufficient orders to make the import permits, inspection, expediting service and such cost effective, they bring a shipment into the USA. your order then gets shipped from their USA based greenhouse. They currently do have Masdevallia erinacea on their list. Contact them to see if you can get some.
http://www.colombianorchidimports.com/ I have not ordered from them, but they have a good reputation.

Another importer I would check out would be Ecuagenera. They attend several shows every year in the USA. place your order via email, then either pick the order up at an orchid show they are attending or they will mail your order to you from the show venue.

http://www.ecuagenera.com/ORCHID-SPECIES

Basically, this is all I have at the moment for sources. By the way, Masdevallia erinacea is not common in the USA because it is not easy to grow. This is not a beginners plant, in fact I can not tell you how to grow it, as I killed mine a number of years ago. But if you have grown other Masdevallias, and have had good results I think it could work for you.

Second suggestion. In the USA, it is easier to get imported plants to establish if you import them in spring, rather than autumn. I would contact the vendors, reserve your plant but ask them to hold it until the spring shipment. You will have a better chance of the plant surviving.

Hope this helps.

Very intersting and useful info. Ive been thinking about buying an orchid lately but don’t want the lame Walmart ones. Sooooo many to choose from, no Idea where to start! Also looking at purchasing nepenthes or monkey cups, do you have experience with those or other carnivorous plants?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

only Nepenthes I have is a N. maxima hybrid, I think (maxima x ventricosa) - the maxima hybrids adapt well to my Chicagoland climate, it is a highland that tolerates some heat, so it is fairly easy to grow. It was a gift from a friend, so no vendor advice beyond search the web. If you can spend the money to get larger plant to start with, one big enough that it is in a 5 or 6 inch pot. The little ones fresh from tissue culture are quite difficult to get to size up. Warning, all Nepenthes are fairly robust vines, even the dwarfs will mature at over 6 feet or over 2 meters. Maxima hybrids can vine to 20 feet. Easy to manage, clip growing end if you want to stop vine from lengthening. It will back bud, hopefully from the base. The premier Nepenthes, N. raja which has pitchers that can hold up to a gallon of liquid, it is a monster plant. Small pitchers until plant is quite large, vines will run 50 feet, more than 15 meters. Raja is a lowland Nepenthes, if you can't keep it above 80F and above 70% relative humidity it won't grow, it will just sit dormant. The hybrids are easier to grow than the species.