Tropical / Temperate [ ?] Catlin Elm - Soil Mix - Fast grow - Maintain

Morning to All,

Catlin elm - root cutting - about 15 years - seems to be adapted to the Tropics
Clip and Grow [ alphabetical order ]



Soil mix - Sifted porous crushed red brick from hollow clay blocks. Fired to maturity.
Sifted crushed sharp sand - construction material
Home made compost
Cocopeat.

What I discovered around 87 or so was that crushed brick held water in itself, sharp sand held water around itself and organic materials such as compost, made naturally rich in macro and micro nutrients,
with cocopeat for just holding moisture and like compost stores fertilizer.
As cocopeat breaks down it may release potassium.

The mix of organic to inorganic goes from 50 / 50 to 30 organic / 70 inorganic.
My placement for most trees is full sun and a few light shade [ under a Flaucortia- spelling?]

The mix remains freely draining.

I repot yearly for the smaller trees and every 3 years for the larger trees. The organic is dust by then but still freely draining.

The brick comes from the discard piles at the brick factory, so all you need is a shovel and sieves.

For fast growing apart from the ground or large conatainers, I upgrade the brick and sharp sand to a larger size.

My compost is sifted yearly and then aged for one year.

Lawn fertilizer at 1/3 or so strength is used during the dry season. Growth remains even, but constant, and leaves are green of colour. Nitrogen boost.

Images of the inorganic components - expanded view




Should appear at actual size - compressed - hence pixilation. apologies.



Feel free to question or comment.
Khaimraj

Hi Khaimraj,

Nice tree, trunk and branches are well tapered,definitely the result of the clip and grow method,. you have to do something with the first branch of the left trunk, it seems to be smaller than the second branch. I like your soil mix, I use a similar mix.
Cheers

Hello Ka Pabling,

thanks, I didn't even notice that. Will correct it. By the way I am probably going to lose the first branch on the right side. You probably can't see it, but it is suicidal. The cambium keeps falling off and regrowing only partially. Any suggestions?
Thanks again.
Khaimraj

Hee hee - it is a pretty to look at soil, oranges, reds and purples with white, browns, and black. With moss as a lawn and green leaves, it's a knockout - reminds me of my paints - iron oxides.
Pardon my silliness

Khaimraj,

nice tree.

what a coincidence. your tree has some similarity with the twin trunk I just posted. also same clip and grow technique...

the first branch can easily be remedied, its a small tree and branch size can catch up easily with upper branches.

regards,
jun

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:
My placement for most trees is full sun and a few light shade [ under a Flaucortia- spelling?]

"Louvi
Flacourtia inermis
a.k.a. Rukam, Batoko Plum, Lori-Lori


Red-purple, grape-sized fruit with juicy flesh.

Description: Small or medium sized tree that is very invasive in some tropical areas.

Hardiness: Unknown, but presumably not freeze hardy.

Growing Environment: Cultural information is unknown though it flourishes in tropical climates.

Propagation: By seeds.

Uses: The fruits are eaten fresh or cooked.

Native Range: Native to the Philippines, but has naturalized in tropical Asia and Africa."

In the US, Catlin elm, a variety of Ulmus parvifolia, is often sold or recommended for growing indoors in the North. I have not seen actual evidence of this.
Iris

Ms. Iris,

once again thank you, thank you, thank you.

Flacourtia inermis on our side is called, Governor Cherry, and having seen one done on the SiDiao Site, I know it makes a good bonsai. As usual I am testing at 15 inches [ 38 cm ].
Beautiful small tree to shrub.

Grows easily in our heavy clay soils [ sapote ] and will re-sprout from severe chops, so I see yet another collected specimen tree. However I can produce 3 inch trunks easily in 3 years and probably 5 inches in 5. Testing is being done on the branching, branchlets, this tree is easily leaf dense.
In our climate it is possible for the tree to go completely nude, but soon re-sprouts.
Bark in older trees flakes off in large chucks, feeding my locally grown for scent orchids and my medium sized white Cattleya.

Fruit normally has be rolled in the palms to soften for eating, but this may be the older varieties, it isn't a commercial crop and most likely the English dropped it off as with many other trees in the commonwealth a long time ago.
Children love it, adults less so.

There must be in India - gm.seacom what about you ?

Hopefully a few will appear as Bonsai Specimens on this list at some time.

Ms. Iris,

my Catlin came from San Antonio, Texas, the mother never adapted, but her roots did. I remember a report from Florida saying much the same.
The trouble with elms on the whole indoors at an Eastern window [ almost 6 hours of sunlight ] in my house is the bugs. Everyone wants to feed. Three feet away from the window in almost full sun, no one will touch it.

Using a systemic is only a temporary protection and showers in the bathroom, work for even a shorter time.
Thus endeth mine experiments foreth growing indoors. [ tried Fukien tea and Ficus and Calliandra, results all the same - last effort croton. ]
Thanks again.
Khaimraj

* My governor cherry tree produces one fruit per year, but somehow has numerous children all over the yard. No neighbour for 500 feet has a tree - I have checked.

KHAIMRAJ,,,As usual that is a really nice tree,,I like it as you know i am a elm person...the lower branch on the left looks like it could be removed i think..what about the branch above it could it be wired and brought to the front to replace the small one???? CAN,T see if it is a back branch or not....just a suggestion,,look and see if it makes sence or not.any way with your fast growing it will be a good tree..take care john

John,

to correct the mistake that Ka pointed out, all that has to be done is to let the branch assert itself a bit more.

Catlin, does not quite grow like the Southern Chinese Elms down here. There will be only 1 or 2 periods of growth. The leaves will become cracked, and I will take them all off. Buds will form and I will allow three leaves to develop at the top and six on the side or below. Then I will nip back all over to 1 or 2 or 3 leaves, generally.
However, that will be the growth for about 6 months and then the leaves will do the same again and I will repeat the above.

To grow a new branch, a nick over a suspected bud, will start a bud, more or less. I will feed well for at least a month, to get the response.

What I will do as well is re-assess the tree, since I have grown careless with the visual aspect, and if a branch needs to be moved or removed, it will be done.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Khaimraj

Fast growing or not - this is the finished height and all I want is slowly fattening trunks
Not sure if genetically it can branch anymore at this height, or if I cross that boundary and then branchlets start to die off.

Howzit Khaimraj,

Nice tree. Mahalo for the information about your soil. Very interesting.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

Thanks Tim.

I hope it is of some use to you.
Khaimraj

Tim,

if I might add on.

I have 2 open bottom troughs, about 3 feet deep, with clay soil at the base, and on top of that about 1 foot [ 30 cm ] of rubble, very coarse 4 inch [ 10 cm ] shapes+. I filled the rest of the space with compost, bone meal, and the larger brick particles seen above. Grows tomatoes, green peppers, and egg plants very well. I even grew a head of cauliflower and a few leeks. I did have to boost with a fertilzer high in p and k, but the tomatoes, still ripened on the vine very well and did not deform on the kitchen counter under their own weight.

My compost is everything the yard produces, bamboo, weeds, lots of weeds, tree branches, palm anything egg shells, vegetable scraps and now I have added on rabbit dung with rabbit urine on sawdust [ local tree, just air dried stuff no preservatives etc.]
The rabbit urine should feed the critters that can handle sawdust. The heap [ 10 x 10 feet - say 3 m x 3m and about 3 feet -1m high ] shows where the urine falls as holes.

I layer to give air to the heap.

Next two years my bonsai should getting the new blend.

To aid the older trees I use back about 50% of the old soil sifted out. The rest is a fresh blend. The growth stays very even. No yard long shoots over night

It is as I said before, fast growing is great for young trees in development, but older trees ---disaster!
Khaimraj