Dombeya rotundifolia

Hi All

Last week I'm walking around in a (normal, oldest in town) nursery that's busy closing down....   

Anyway, I spot a Camphor tree in a group, saw all the trees were marked down due to damage, and one trunk caught my attention...

Quickly gooooogled "Dombeya r. bonsai", got a few hits, so I figured it's all good and bought it....

Further research seems to show it might be difficult, but it was cheap, and it was a rescue   

Funny part was the major search hit that convinced me was this thread   




Neli, looking at some of your photos, specifically the bark and pointed leaves , are you sure about your ID?

Yes Darling, 99.99% be he be!
Did you see the flower? Typical dombeya flower. have had may of them over the years...I am in Europe now....hope will have more flowers when I get back...will take pictures for you.

Hi All
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dombeya_rotundifolia
"Dikbas" translates as 'thick bark'......quite frankly never seen bark that thick!   

I need some advice, as you can see I chopped the tree which just got rid of mostly damaged bits, and topped up the soil with some sand.

We're still in winter, Spring and potting/re-potting is supposed to start in September/October - my Dombeya is budding all over....?

Not expecting any serious cold the rest of the winter and I'm on a hill so it's warmer than average.

Does anybody know how much root work they can take, and could I consider potting this tree a bit earlier?

Cheers
Gerhard

Gerhard,
we opened a FB page where we continue helpful discussions relevant to our area...many people are posting there. The guys started repotting in the beginning of this month...weather has been unpredictable this year...many are complaining that their trees are budding too early and started repotting, but keep their trees in warm places just in case weather changes...Look for South African bonsai forum on Face book. Ask about dombeya there ...someone might have repotted one before...
My assumption will be that it is a tropical tree...and tropicals you can repot almost any time when it is warm. I dont think it will be a hard tree to repot. it grows so easy from cuttings and is somewhat drought resistant. To be on the safe side you can do it in stages...but I would not fear much.

I am now home, after a month of gallivanting in Europe...and London...checked all the dombeyas...and you can be right...Mine can be walichii or burgessiae..

Neli wrote:Gerhard,
we opened a FB page where we continue helpful discussions relevant to our area...many people are posting there. The guys started repotting in the beginning of this month...weather has been unpredictable this year...many are complaining that their trees are budding too early and started repotting, but keep their trees in warm places just in case weather changes...Look for South African bonsai forum on Face book. Ask about dombeya there ...someone might have repotted one before...
My assumption will be that it is a tropical tree...and tropicals you can repot almost any time when it is warm. I dont think it will be a hard tree to repot. it grows so easy from cuttings and is somewhat drought resistant. To be on the safe side you can do it in stages...but I would not fear much.

Hi Neli

Thanks, will have a look.......

I only paid N$175 less 20% discount for the tree, but the more I look at it, the more potential I see - don't want to kill it, but at the same time don't want to waste unnecessary time and energy on an unproven species.....with all the other trees I bought I'll be air-layering till my fingers bleed come Spring.

Guess it all depends what I find below the soil......if I can't get it in a shallow development pot it's likely to end up in the trash....

Noooooooooooooo! Not in the trash! take your time...it will be a cute tree.

Hi

I need to sort out some photos, but I believe I can triple the total online knowledge regarding this species....

I went wild with the roots and the plant took it, but I have serious doubts this plant is suitable for any serious kind of bonsai....

Why?

Hi Neli

One of the Afrikaans common names is "Dikbas", literally Thick Bark.....and that it has, unbelievably so....

New branches are very brittle, and thinking about building branching with bark that thick looks futile.

Best I can imagine with my tree is chopping it low and building a lollipop of leaves to hide the chop.

Could turn out cute, but not great....

Photos hopefully later today.

Maybe it is better to make a larger tree?

Almost a week late, but here goes...




I had to be heavy handed with the roots, bad bad nursery bag roots.....





...but it seems they can take the treatment...