royal poinciana bonsai project

royal poinciana (delonix regia)  are claimed by some to be the most beautiful of all flowering tropical trees.   several years back I was fortunate to be able to collect two old/stunted specimens from a landscape.  the trees were more than 25 years in the ground,  but grew no more than 3 feet tall.  both survived and have adapted to life in a bonsai training pot.  sharing some annotated pictures of work on one.

the right trunk is mostly dead. rot has started at the soil line and is working its way upwards.    the tree moved to a work table. this  is the back. dead trunk on the left  the focus is on the deadwood..  the rot has to be stopped and the bulky trunk reduced .  work proceeds in stages.  from rough cutting to something more refined..   a dusty while later..

at this point the  carved wood is wet and fibrous.  the plan is to allow the fresh wood an opportunity to thoroughly dry,  then treatment with wire brush, small bit detail work, sanding then application of wood stabilizer.

best wishes,   sam

Sam,

you may wish to graft branches on. I have only seen one decent attempt, but not good as design goes.
I wish you the best of luck.
Khaimraj

Sam,

Like you I also have a Ponciana in training however, unlike you, I was not as fortunate to find a tree with a good trunk, mine is being grown from seed. My tree is about 2 years old now. It is currently in a growing bed as I'm trying to add some girth to the trunk and develop branches. I'll post a pic to the thread when I get a chance...I also have a friend with a few that I'll try to take some photos of and post as well. The more examples we have then hopefully it will spread the knowledge on the species as bonsai subjects.

All the best with this tree, please continue to share its progress  

Nigel

thanks khaimarj and nigel.

the tree actually has a nice selection of branches and many new small shoots emerging in favorable locations for canopy development, so grafting (which I never thought of) is unnecessary. am experimenting with pruning to see if foliage size can be reduced. will start on the second tree soon. will post pictures.

best wishes, sam

This specie has very very soft wood, no matter what you do to the deadwood   
I think it's going to rot. I hope I'm wrong however.

thanks. time will tell

best wishes, sam

These are my most favorite trees in nature. I always love to see them when vacationing in the carrabean. I just got back from Jamaica where I got to see about 3 different colors of blooms. I have always wanted to have one as a bonsai. My question is has anyone ever had one bloom in a pot?

Jkd2572,

yes, they do bloom. A gentleman in my neighbourhood, had a red type in flower, but that was about 1988 or so. No pictures to show.
Not an easy tree to work with, as branches tend to die back to more or less 3 at any time, though, there will be many buds. The roots are amazing, as they lift, but once again this is not an easy tree to work with.
Maybe someone elsewhere has figured out how to do?
Khaimraj

the second poinciana.  work pending.

best wishes,   sam

Hello Sam,
Nice trees, with great potential.  I also love the 'Flamboyan', as they call it in Puerto Rico.  Here's my 2-year old grown from seed in Maryland, USA (zone 7)
Cheers,
Luis

thanks for sharing

best wishes, sam

I'm really beginning to have a grudging respect for the negative comments posted up by many members here about the Royal Poinciana/Flamboyan' (Delonix regia) tree, as a candidate for Bonsai.    Admittedly, the blossoms on these things are almost irresistable.  Unfortunately, those compound leaves are HUGE and they seem to drop branches quicker than the proverbial 'blink of an eye'!  But, at least in my own experience, they seem pretty difficult to kill.  And hey, what tree collection doesn't have some (ridiculous?) things in it that are hugely challenging to develop?  
Not having access to in-ground, more mature landscaping material to collect - here is a picture of what we usually get up north, with seed-raised specimens to start with.  Both of these trees are now both over 3 years old, with not a branch in sight!  The different pots are an attempt to try different growing techniques to see how they respond.



So......  frustration will inevitably rear it's less than patient head in these trying circumstances.  In desperation to hopefully get SOMETHING out of these obstinate trees, a forest/group planting was just started this summer.  The 5 trees in this group were all defoliated during the process.  Plus, they have been started out initially, in a deeper training pot.  When the trees get their root mass established better, I will transplant the group into a more proper, shallow oval pot.



Those 2 you're working with are some really nice, collected trees you've got Sam.  Best of luck developing them, and please keep us posted on how they develop over time.

thanks, I will

best wishes, sam

Also pretty high up north - this little guy is now over 2 years old, and still waiting for the first branch to appear...
Any tips on how to get that to happen?

See here-

http://cafedepuertorico.com/Flamboyant_Bonsai.html

The last image is photo manipulated, but I wish it was possible.
Khaimraj

* By the way, try for only 6 branches, but work on the roots, as the Flamboyant ages, the roots lift out of the ground and are really impressive.

Try also a - Pride of Barbados -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesalpinia_pulcherrima

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Caesalpinia_pulcherrima_0005.jpg

Sam,

Royal poinciana has a history as bonsai in Puerto Rico of more than fifty years. The two oldest specimens are owned by Pedro Morales and were started by two Puertorican bonsai pioneers; Mr. Adán Montalvo and Mr. Hugo Storer. Go to his page to see them. They both bloom.

Dead wood rots quickly, even with treatment. Don't be discouraged. They heal beautifully and hollows will close up in no time.

Take care,

Jose Luis

thanks jose, nice to hear from you. several years ago a friend in honolulu had a nice one in full bloom. someday I trust mine will bloom, too.

best wishes, sam

I have attempted two plants and they are both over ten years old. The oldest was placed in a small container from seed and it never branched. The second was placed in a gallon pot and branched within the second year. Both have never bloomed I am assuming that the plant needs to be greater than 24" in order to support blooms.