Vitex Quinata

Hi,

Vitex Quinata one of the most poppular tree to make bonsai in Thailand. My written English is poor,for this reason the explanations are short. Let's see vitex...bonsai.

My trainning Vitex bonsai.

My friend's Vitex bonsai .

Vitex...at my friend's bonsai farm.

Bonsai master's trainning Vitex bonsai.I think it's a very perfect bonsai in the future.

yet one more reason i think i,ll move to thailand.
wow amazing material!

matsu

A perfect Vitex bonsai. (Owner:Thai bonsai grower association president)

Great Post April 19.

Oh how I wish I had such a quick progression... just like RichT I too like to have my trees grow so well

Very nice Vitex. On my Trips to Thailand I have seen many great bonsai including Vitex. It also used for deadwood, shari, designs.
Jerry
www.bonsaihunk.us

Beautiful species and excellent work you have done there. I wish I had a tree like that in my collection . Keep up with the work and keep on posting too .

Stunning trees, the winter look is even better as ther is so much more detail to see.

James

issara.... what is perfect bonsai?

sarwatee krup puwanath,

my Thai panyaa said sway mak mak and I agree.
ken

hi,
I have a vitex that came from thailand, a few years ago.
I live in england.
Could someone give me some basic advise.

1. Does it prefer Acid, Neutral or Alkaline Soil conditions.
At the moment it is kept in Akadama, grit and peat.

2 Water, does it need to be constantly moist, or dry out before watering.
It nearly always gets rain water.

3 Shade, partial shade or full sun.
It is kept in a hothouse/greenhouse.

4 Is there any special techniques for pruning, best time etc.
it seems to suffer die back after i prune it.

5 what sort of feed does it prefer and how strong.

I am struggling with this tree, and it is a shame at it has a nice trunk about 7 inches Diameter and 36 inches high.

hi gundadin, sorry it,s taken a while for a reply, i suspect that the reason your vitex is not doing so well is the temperature. i know you said its in a heated greenhouse but how warm do you keep it ??? . vitex in thailand always lose their leaves and shut down in our cool season, nov to feb. in our cool season it is still in high 60,s to low 70,s. now our hot season is just starting and its creeping up to 80,s and 90,s and my vitex are just starting into growth .they like full sun , < WHICH YOU DO,NT GET IN UK > AND PLENTY OF WATER , soil and fertilizer they are not fusy. they like good draiage, i see them for sale everywhere and they are always in clay soil thats like concrete but they are ok, i grow mine in pumice so they drain well, try giving some artificial light see if that helps, and keep the temp up. hope this helps . regards john

All I can say is WOW! Thanks for sharing

hi,
Many thanks for the reply,

Can I now assume that it should de-foiliate totally,
as tree has never lost all its leaves, in november it loses about 3/4 of them but the rest hang on.
I assumed incorrectly that it would be an evergreen when kept in a greenhouse, same as my chinese elm.

In the winter only, the greenhouse is bubble wrapped for insulation.
I heat the air to 12 deg C.
The tree is sitting on top of a heated bed of sand ( soil warming cables ) and bubble wrapped around the outer sides of the pot to keep
the soil temp. as high as poss. The underside of the pot is quite warm.

I leave it in the greenhouse all year only coming out if we have a heatwave.
The temperature can get fierce in the summer peaking at over 120 F. So I have to partially shade it.
I do however keep the tree in the sunniest part.

I purchased a gro-lux light 4 ft long this nov. and have been keeping it on every day.
Now I know it should lose its leaves I was obviously wrong to do so.
I will keep the light on during the day every day and only turn it off for very sunny days in the smmer.

I have now covered the tree to kill the light and will leave it covered for 6 to 8 weeks. Next year i will extend this to 3 Months.

I use akadama / peat / and grit. Refering to your pumice would the japanese Kiiyu be ok ( I use this quite a lot on other trees ) especially pines.
It can be a bit acidy.
What else do you use with the pumice. Could you tell me your full mix and the ratios.
Do you allow it to dry out before watering, or should i keep it constanly moist.

What do you think I would appreciate any comments / suggestions.

I purchased it from a seller I met in chat a chat ( or is it chak a chak ) market in bangkok.
His english was as good as my Thai. I will post some pics in the summer.

Best regards, from a more optimistic Phil.

hi,
Many thanks for the reply,

Can I now assume that it should de-foiliate totally,
as the tree has never lost all its leaves, in november it loses about 3/4 of them but the rest hang on.
I assumed incorrectly that it would be an evergreen when kept in a greenhouse, same as my chinese elm.

In the winter only, the greenhouse is bubble wrapped for insulation.
I heat the air to 12 deg C.
The tree is sitting on top of a heated bed of sand ( soil warming cables ) and bubble wrapped around the outer sides of the pot to keep
the soil temp. as high as poss. The underside of the pot is quite warm.

I leave it in the greenhouse all year, only coming out if we have a heatwave.
The temperature can get fierce in the summer peaking at over 120 F. So I have to partially shade the greenhouse.
I do however keep the tree in the sunniest part.

I purchased a gro-lux light, 4 ft long this nov. and have been keeping it on every day.
Now I know it should lose its leaves it was obviously wrong thing to do.

I have now covered the tree to kill the light and will leave it covered for 6 to 8 weeks. Next year i will extend this to 3 Months.
After it has been uncovered, I will keep the light on during the day every day and only turn it off for very sunny days in the smmer.

I use akadama / peat / and grit. Refering to your pumice would the japanese Kiriyu be ok ( I use this quite a lot on other trees ) especially pines.
It can be a bit acidy.
What else do you use with the pumice. Could you tell me your full mix and the ratios.
Do you allow it to dry out before watering, or should I keep it constantly moist.

What do you think I would appreciate any comments / suggestions.

I purchased it from a seller I met in chat a chat ( or is it chak a chak ) market in bangkok.
His english was as good as my Thai. I will post some pics in the summer.

Best regards, from a more optimistic Phil.

john5555leonard wrote: hi gundadin, sorry it,s taken a while for a reply, i suspect that the reason your vitex is not doing so well is the temperature. i know you said its in a heated greenhouse but how warm do you keep it ??? . vitex in thailand always lose their leaves and shut down in our cool season, nov to feb. in our cool season it is still in high 60,s to low 70,s. now our hot season is just starting and its creeping up to 80,s and 90,s and my vitex are just starting into growth .they like full sun , < WHICH YOU DO,NT GET IN UK > AND PLENTY OF WATER , soil and fertilizer they are not fusy. they like good draiage, i see them for sale everywhere and they are always in clay soil thats like concrete but they are ok, i grow mine in pumice so they drain well, try giving some artificial light see if that helps, and keep the temp up. hope this helps . regards john

hi,
Many thanks for the reply,

Can I now assume that it should de-foiliate totally,
as the tree has never lost all its leaves, in november it loses about 3/4 of them but the rest hang on.
I assumed incorrectly that it would be an evergreen when kept in a greenhouse, same as my chinese elm.

In the winter only, the greenhouse is bubble wrapped for insulation.
I heat the air to 12 deg C.
The tree is sitting on top of a heated bed of sand ( soil warming cables ) and bubble wrapped around the outer sides of the pot to keep
the soil temp. as high as poss. The underside of the pot is quite warm.

I leave it in the greenhouse all year, only coming out if we have a heatwave.
The temperature can get fierce in the summer peaking at over 120 F. So I have to partially shade the greenhouse.
I do however keep the tree in the sunniest part.

I purchased a gro-lux light, 4 ft long this nov. and have been keeping it on every day.
Now I know it should lose its leaves it was obviously wrong thing to do.

I have now covered the tree to kill the light and will leave it covered for 6 to 8 weeks. Next year i will extend this to 3 Months.
After it has been uncovered, I will keep the light on during the day every day and only turn it off for very sunny days in the smmer.

I use akadama / peat / and grit. Refering to your pumice would the japanese Kiriyu be ok ( I use this quite a lot on other trees ) especially pines.
It can be a bit acidy.
What else do you use with the pumice. Could you tell me your full mix and the ratios.
Do you allow it to dry out before watering, or should I keep it constantly moist.

What do you think I would appreciate any comments / suggestions.

I purchased it from a seller I met in chat a chat ( or is it chak a chak ) market in bangkok.
His english was as good as my Thai. I will post some pics in the summer.

Best regards, from a more optimistic Phil.

ALL I CAN SAY IS GREAT !!!!! i wish we could have trees like that.. How old are they when they look like these ??? take care john

hi phil, don,t change the soil, what its in is ok and they do,nt like their roots messed around with too much. i never let my tree dry out i keep it moist. i cannot give you soil mix ratio because i use differant ones for each tree, but i use pumice a lot because i can,t get akadama etc here . i do,nt understand why you have covered the tree ?? what ever sun you get cannot be as strong as in thailand so why cut it down more ??? . regards john ps i know chatuchat well, and i speak thai