Hobbyist, Technician or Artist ?

Adair M

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Anthony, buttonwood is often used for bonsai. Yes, it’s got great deadwood. Since it’s tropical, I would think it would be a great subject for you.
Anthony, just google “buttonwood bonsai”, then click the images button. You’ll see lots of outstanding buttonwoods with small leaves.

In fact, the first bonsai I ever saw with great deadwood was a buttonwood. I’ve never had one because I don’t want the hassle of dealing with winter. But you should be all over them!
 

Shima

Omono
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Tuborg and pølsevogn. Hot dog wagon. Life was good. How nice to live in a small manageable country that minds it's own business.
 

Anthony

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@Adair M ,

Sifu,

on our side Buttonwood is actually a beautifully domed tree with amazing
bark.
Since we tend to work with observation of trees in nature,
you might see a 3 foot specimen in some years.

That Juniper wannabe attempts we leave to folk in the colder zones.

Happy to look at your Juniper examples, but have no problems
with being unable to successful grow one.
This yard has like 3 hanging on junipers.
AND K only just found an orange flowering Bougainvillea that fades to
orange, so Bougainvillea is back on the table.

I am afraid zonal lusting/envy,, died a while ago down here.
The native trees are wonderful and very satisfying.
What we grow with the use of the fridge is more of a technical
challenge.

The use of a drawing to create a tree, is much like creating what you guys
call, an imaginative, multi-figurative composition in Fine Art.
It is challenging, and extremely satisfying as growing healthy trees/shrubs go.
You should try it one day.
Thanks for chatting.
Good Day
Anthony

* Good one @MichaelS :)----------ha ha ha ha
 

Adair M

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@Adair M ,

Sifu,

on our side Buttonwood is actually a beautifully domed tree with amazing
bark.
Since we tend to work with observation of trees in nature,
you might see a 3 foot specimen in some years.

That Juniper wannabe attempts we leave to folk in the colder zones.

Happy to look at your Juniper examples, but have no problems
with being unable to successful grow one.
This yard has like 3 hanging on junipers.
AND K only just found an orange flowering Bougainvillea that fades to
orange, so Bougainvillea is back on the table.

I am afraid zonal lusting/envy,, died a while ago down here.
The native trees are wonderful and very satisfying.
What we grow with the use of the fridge is more of a technical
challenge.

The use of a drawing to create a tree, is much like creating what you guys
call, an imaginative, multi-figurative composition in Fine Art.
It is challenging, and extremely satisfying as growing healthy trees/shrubs go.
You should try it one day.
Thanks for chatting.
Good Day
Anthony

* Good one @MichaelS :)----------ha ha ha ha
Which is odd since you try to grow JBP!

I was not suggesting that you try to grow Junipers. By all means work with material that grows well in your climate.

I really don’t know anything about buttonwood. But all the ones I’ve seen have had beautiful deadwood. I’ve never bothered trying one since it’s tropical, and I don’t want to have to greenhouse them.

You don’t see any with deadwood? Where would the ones I see come from? Could you take some without deadwood and make deadwood the way we do with Junipers?

By the way, Junipers, especially Junipers with deadwood, do not grow where I live. They are common out West, but not here. So, I wasn’t much of a fan of them because I hadn’t really seen them in nature. Once I did go up in the Sierra mountains and saw them first hand, well, that changed my perspective! It was amazing to see 3000 year old trees with awesome deadwood!

Perhaps you should see if there are collectible buttonwood near you!
 

crust

Omono
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Adair I believe you have a nomenclature issue here. Button wood in Anthony's land is not what you are thinking of and my friends in the tropics do indeed do much growing from seed--what takes 20 yrs to grow of size here takes just 6 there due to species and climate.
Which is odd since you try to grow JBP!

I was not suggesting that you try to grow Junipers. By all means work with material that grows well in your climate.

I really don’t know anything about buttonwood. But all the ones I’ve seen have had beautiful deadwood. I’ve never bothered trying one since it’s tropical, and I don’t want to have to greenhouse them.

You don’t see any with deadwood? Where would the ones I see come from? Could you take some without deadwood and make deadwood the way we do with Junipers?

By the way, Junipers, especially Junipers with deadwood, do not grow where I live. They are common out West, but not here. So, I wasn’t much of a fan of them because I hadn’t really seen them in nature. Once I did go up in the Sierra mountains and saw them first hand, well, that changed my perspective! It was amazing to see 3000 year old trees with awesome deadwood!

Perhaps you should see if there are collectible buttonwood near you!
 

chicago1980

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What species are grown there?

Can you post photos?

The ramification must be quite advanced!

Adair I believe you have a nomenclature issue here. Button wood in Anthony's land is not what you are thinking of and my friends in the tropics do indeed do much growing from seed--what takes 20 yrs to grow of size here takes just 6 there due to species and climate.
 

Adair M

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Adair I believe you have a nomenclature issue here. Button wood in Anthony's land is not what you are thinking of and my friends in the tropics do indeed do much growing from seed--what takes 20 yrs to grow of size here takes just 6 there due to species and climate.
Ah. That might explain it. Thanks.
 

Anthony

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Sifu,

@Adair M ,

Look up Pemphis. I believe that is closer to your idea of the Juniper.

Additionally, even though things may seem to grow faster, it still
takes 35 to 50 years for heartwood to mature for durability.

The Black Pine as seed was a gift from Mr,Y.Danabara through the
Japanese Bonsai Association [ is it Nippon Bonsai ?
He was a recommended teacher, when we reached out for help.

He sent two packs of seeds, Maple and Black Pine. The Maple did not
grow the J.Black pine did.
Additionally, no pine can enter Trinidad as a growing tree, only seed.

We were amazed to realise that they grew down here.
So more seed was obtained and the rest is action.
Good Day
Anthony

# @crust ,

Thank you. The Buttonwood is Conocarpus e.
But as I said before, it is a tree down here at 30'
and the trunk is amazing.
 

Adair M

Pinus Envy
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Sifu,

@Adair M ,

Look up Pemphis. I believe that is closer to your idea of the Juniper.

Additionally, even though things may seem to grow faster, it still
takes 35 to 50 years for heartwood to mature for durability.

The Black Pine as seed was a gift from Mr,Y.Danabara through the
Japanese Bonsai Association [ is it Nippon Bonsai ?
He was a recommended teacher, when we reached out for help.

He sent two packs of seeds, Maple and Black Pine. The Maple did not
grow the J.Black pine did.
Additionally, no pine can enter Trinidad as a growing tree, only seed.

We were amazed to realise that they grew down here.
So more seed was obtained and the rest is action.
Good Day
Anthony

# @crust ,

Thank you. The Buttonwood is Conocarpus e.
But as I said before, it is a tree down here at 30'
and the trunk is amazing.
This video from YouTube has some buttonwood bonsai:

 

Adair M

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I understand that these can grow to be 30’ tall. Bonsai is all about making small trees out of what would otherwise be big trees!
 

Anthony

Imperial Masterpiece
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Sifu,

you are a gem, Try to understand, that for a short space of our Northern coastline, say
10 feet these white wood shrubs exist.
However, they don't last as the termites eat them.

They live on in the swamp zones as magnificent trees. Noble, tall and powerful.

If we grew them, this is how they would be shown.
Additionally we found a new strain that has smaller leaves, but the tests are still
on going.
In the early 90's Christine Rojas, ran a magazine called," World Tropical Bonsai magazine."
which featured American Buttonwood [ Conocarpus e.]
Very beautiful.

But we love our trees for what they are.

Let me illustrate with an experience.

An English Art Teacher in a local college, asked everyone to draw a house as an assignment.
10 /11 year olds, and everyone drew an English cottage.
She explained that one should learn to love his home.
So though we can appreciate Chinese/Japanese bonsai, we use native trees as
they grow as our examples.

Trinidad is a fertile mild zone. Trees are happy mounds.
Thick and few branches, powerful trunks or wood so hard that the trunks stay thin.
A big difference to the world of the Juniper.
You know similar to the Shimpaku as a tree in China, but a shrub in Japan.

I thank you for trying to cultivate this useless student of yours, but
my joy is in my jungle.
Have a great day.
Anthony
 
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