Ageing in Tamarinds = the 3 stages

Hello to All,

thought I would share with few that grow Tamarind trees indoors or in other than Tropical climates.

The tamarind goes through 3 stages of ageing, starting off as,

[1] Smooth

[2] Furrrowed cork bark

[3] Flaking bark

This process takes between 8 to 10 years and these trees all have or had branch extensions.

Feel free to comment yay or nay.
Khaimraj


Here are three examples -

[ a ]



[a 2 ] Close-up - note this tree is preparing for the Flaking stage, as the furrows fall off.



[ b ] Heavily furrowed bark - this tree is about 8 years old and grown only in an inorganic soil. Old leaves are left on the soil surface to rot and an osmocote fertilizer has been used to feed on.
Note branches for smoothness of the bark.



[ c ] Also around 8 years and showing the furrows. Smallest Tamarind of the 3.

That is really nice bark, very nice. If I ever get a greenhouse, where I could keep a tamarind growing through the winter I will definitely try them. Don't see that happening any time soon, but I do think about it. Tamarind pods are available at my local grocery store, getting seed should be no problem. Thanks for posting. Looks like a nice species to work with.

Leo if you try,

talk to Carl Rosner, he has one just a year and half from seed. Got it up to about 3' in so many months.
Carl can be googled.
[ Carl is over 80 by the way ------ you have to admire the man Fine Artist and Bonsaist ! ]
Later.
Khaimraj

I got an off-list question.

Response - these are not really being trained for Bonsai. Though they could with time become Bonsai efforts.

[1] Was the first of my experiments into just how small one could grow a Tamarind.

[2] How well would a tamarind grow in an inorganic soil, being fed on just it's own leaves and a slow release fertilizer.

[3] An even smaller tamarind, and how many branches could you grow.

I have since moved onto, seedlings that have the first branches at 2.5 cm or less above the soil's surface. Looking at pea size and under 10 cms.

Later.
Khaimraj

Khaimraj,

Nice Tamarinds, they look like they could become bonsai at some point even though that doesn't seem to be your present intention. My friend has a nice tamarind bonsai that I use as a reference point .....as you know they are fast growing and can quickly give the impression of age due to their furrowed bark which improves and flakes more as they age. I have a few seedlings that I am will try to develop in the coming years and will probably air-layer a few from trees I have access to.

On another note, do you have any Guava (Psidium) trained/in training as bonsai? I have not seen any in training in Jamaica nor have I seen or heard of any mentioned in the forums that I have visited (as limited as those visits are).

Nigel

Nigel,

the local guavas, on our side when old reach about 12" [ 30.5 cm ] in trunk diameter and are not very branch dense. This is more or less the reason, they are not really used on our side.
You would also probably have to go for 3 to 4' [ 91.5 to 122 cm ] in height and as large as a base diameter you can get.
[ Same situation for Dongs.]

Have you guys been successful ? Images ?

However in the books, you will find the Strawberry guava, which is not native to our side, and it looks good as a bonsai.

We use a guava type which probably grows wild in Jamaica.
I haven't got a latin name for it , as of yet, but here is an image. The bark has just started to peel.
Later.
Khaimraj

That looks a lot like jaboticaba...are they related?

Chris,

we have quite a few of the Guava / Myrtle types, and for all I know this is jaboticaba, or Eugenia monticola or Myrcia arimensis.

When I get some time next year I will try to get it correctly identified at the Herbarium.
Apologies, no real help.
Khaimraj

Khaimraj,
As you said we have quite a few varieties of guava growing wild in Jamaica. The ones I know are the Strawberry guava which has a pinkish/reddish flesh, Mountain guava which has a yellowish flesh with yellow fruit when ripe, one I only know as Spanish guava which is shaped like a pear and has yellow fruit when ripe. My parents had a very old tree from which I was planning on taking some air-layers but Hurricane Sandy decided to take the tree with her, and it is then that we found out that the whole tree was hollowed inside from in the roots throughout all the main branches so it was really the cambium that was keeping it going as there was no heartwood. The width of the trunk at the base was probably 2-3 feet and it had good branch distribution but like most guava they tend to be quite leggy.

There are some other varieties of guava that I don't know the names of that are endemic as well.

The image you have posted appears to be a guava but it could easily be a Jaboticaba as they have the same beautiful peeling bark. Sorry I can't help with identifying what it is, maybe some other pics from different angles may help.

One of my first trees was a beautiful little Jaboticaba with great branch distribution that killed through exuberance. I repotted and took off too many roots and it died...I don't have any Guavas or Jaboticaba in training but its on my "To Do" list for 2013 to get at least one of each in training.

Your guava/jaboticaba looks like a candidate for a broom style...have you decided on a style yet or are you letting the tree talk to you?

Nigel

Nigel,

I like that - letting the tree talk to me. I was given this tree a few years ago as a gift, it was designed like a ladder.
Presently, I am checking the density of branching and of the leaf. Additionally, also being tested, how does the tree respond to being defoliated and heavy pruning.

I have an older specimen, with a trunk about 3 times the thickness, cut down to about 8"[ 20.5 cm ], which I hope will make a bonsai.
So all the tests will be done on the thinner of trunk tree.

This by the way is not my favourite type of tree, since I prefer trees at 15 " [ 38.5 cm ] and smaller and this tree feels as though it should be 24" [ 61 cm ] tall or taller.
I may grow both for a few more years and eventually just give them away to one of the other guys to continue training.

I am beginning to feel as though I am going to specialise in Japanese black pines and Tamarinds, with a few other types here and there.
Hang around for Christmas day, as I have my "special" bonsai to show / start for the year. Chuckle.
Ah goh ketch yuh later.
Khaimraj

Nigel,

2 to 3 feet wide trunk -------------woooooooooooooooooooooow !!
In a state of awe.
Khaimraj

Nigel,

see if you have this on your side -

https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t4866-alexandra-and-the-3rd-dimension

Should good to try and grow a few. Local to our side.
Later.
Khaimraj

Khaimraj,

I did some checks and found that there a few varieties of Zantho that are endemic to Jamaica. It looks familiar but I'm not sure that I am acquainted with it. I will see if I can locate it and try to find plants.

The plant in your link is pretty nice, I especially like its branch placement which is really seen in the defoliated pics. The guava tree was 40+ years old so the trunk size was truly realised when the tree was blown down by Sandy. Looking forward to your X-mas bonsai show, I will be looking to post some of my stuff as well.

Cheers,
Nigel