Beautiful Sarasota Banyan.

Hi everyone, It was such a nice afternoon here that I decided to take a long walk through my neighborhood. I found a street I haven't explored before, and snapped a pic of this nice looking Banyan hiding just a few feet from my backyard. I saw it, and it made me smile. Maybe someone else will feel the same!

Beautiful! Do you have a picture of the whole tree?
Todd

Todd Ellis wrote:Beautiful! Do you have a picture of the whole tree?
Todd

Me too.i'm a ficus nutthanks for sharing
Alex/Ogie

Very powerful tree. What species is it? Can you take a shot of the leaves, stem?
Jerry

Hi,
Sure does gladden the heart and light the face with a smile. Will appreciate snap of the whole tree.
Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Mohan.

Nice tree.

For Sarasota, as for most of Southern, Central Florida, the ficus you find are usually Benjamina. It's a little too far north for other species to survive for long.

When you head further south and on into the Keys is when you start seeing all types of ficus growing everywhere. If you've never been to Key West, you can spend an entire week just tree watching. Which is a little weird by most peoples standards seeing as how it's Key West.

Hey, SRQ, have you been to the Ringling museum right there in Sarasota? Aside from being a nice museum, there are some really nice ficus there.

Ed

I just got back from a vacation in the Sarasota area. The trees in the Marie Shelby Botanic garden were amazing, also all the live oaks in the area are very inspirational. I just started some live oak acorns to turn into bonsai the other day. Check out the trees that are on a golf course right near St. Armans circle (don't know about my spelling here) I have a picture of one I stopped to check out.

Lawrence


[img][/img]

[img][/img]

I will go on another walk today, and try to get pics of the others around it, and some of the whole trees and leaves. Not sure the exact species. Maybe the leaf shots will help. I have been to the Ringling museum and the trees are fantastic! Last year, In St. Petersburg (Fl), I saw one with an absolutely enormous trunk. This tree must have been there long before any of us even thought of settling here. I would love to get a picture of that beauty. But I will look forward to snapping a few of my local ones later today

Also, thanks for mentioning Selby, Lnatural. The Selby Gardens just down the street from me is a great attraction to anyone who visits Sarasota. The people who run it are so passionate about beautiful plants, and it shows. Also, a great bonsai display! I'm not sure if it is a permanent exhibit for Selby, but when I have gone, they've had all sorts of very nice specimens. I'm lucky to have so much inspiration at my disposal

EdMerc wrote:For Sarasota, as for most of Southern, Central Florida, the ficus you find are usually Benjamina. It's a little too far north for other species to survive for long.

Ed, I would have guessed F. retusa, Chinese banyan. Mine is quite cold hardy. I don't have a greenhouse and only bring it in during freezes. It's under my live oak so I don't even worry much about frost, just the nights that I know are going to drop below 32, and sometimes not even then. I will say that it spent more time in the dining room these past 2 winters than the last ten combined.

R

srqstyle wrote:Also, thanks for mentioning Selby, Lnatural. The Selby Gardens just down the street from me is a great attraction to anyone who visits Sarasota. The people who run it are so passionate about beautiful plants, and it shows. Also, a great bonsai display! I'm not sure if it is a permanent exhibit for Selby, but when I have gone, they've had all sorts of very nice specimens. I'm lucky to have so much inspiration at my disposal

I suspect that the local Bonsai club maintains the exhibit and also meets at Shelby.

You suspect correctly, Billy And from the information you sent me last week, I found that a friend of mine is a member! I plan on attending the April meeting. Also looking forward to starting my own bonsai at my first meeting from Selby's pre-bonsai stock. I will be able to bring this with me to meetings and events and take advantage of Selby's resources and member's expertise. I am a little nervous of the auctions they hold a few times a year... I am sure to become bonsai-broke within a year, haha! Just kidding

srqstyle wrote:I am sure to become bonsai-broke within a year, haha! Just kidding

Nope, that's pretty much the way it works.

Russell Coker wrote:

EdMerc wrote:For Sarasota, as for most of Southern, Central Florida, the ficus you find are usually Benjamina. It's a little too far north for other species to survive for long.

Ed, I would have guessed F. retusa, Chinese banyan. Mine is quite cold hardy. I don't have a greenhouse and only bring it in during freezes. It's under my live oak so I don't even worry much about frost, just the nights that I know are going to drop below 32, and sometimes not even then. I will say that it spent more time in the dining room these past 2 winters than the last ten combined.

R

Do you have a picture of your live oak? I love those trees!

This is back in September during a dry spell. It is covered in ferns (resurrection fern) that are green when damp.

I could hang out there all day long, beautiful tree!

Lawrence

Hey everyone! Sorry, I didn't make it home before the sun set tonight, so I won't have any pictures of the Banyan trees until tomorrow. I did however see a great sight at the old Historic Sarasota County courthouse while I was downtown today. I love this gnarly tree (I have no idea what it is, although the way this tree blooms before any leaves start to show reminds me a lot of the Cherry Blossoms I saw every year when I lived in D.C.; other than their color). I know that these aren't "bonsai", but to me the art of bonsai belongs to those who truly appreciate the beauty of these trees, and try to respectfully re-create it in an area where the true scale and length of time until fruition would be impossible. To see them in nature seems to be almost a miracle of time, patience and beauty. That's what it's all about, right?

Probably Tabebuia caraiba
Aka: Yellow Tab, Yellow Trumpet
Native: South America
Foliage: palmately compound

srqstyle wrote: I know that these aren't "bonsai", but to me the art of bonsai belongs to those who truly appreciate the beauty of these trees, and try to respectfully re-create it in an area where the true scale and length of time until fruition would be impossible. To see them in nature seems to be almost a miracle of time, patience and beauty. That's what it's all about, right?

Srqstyle and Billy,

It could also be Tabebuia chrystoricha (Golden Trunmpet Tree) now known as Handroanthus chrysotrichus and flowers this time of the year as well. Regardless of ths species it's just lovely and inspirational for sure. Note; Botanical names of this genus/species are all over the map and are in a flux of change right now but Tabebuia has been around for decades so it's probably going to be around for a while!

Randy

tabebuia sounds nice... We are in the middle of a major storm right now... I hope everything makes it through ok.