Brazilian Raintree Flat-top Progression. Lots of Pictures - please wait to load

Hey everyone. This is my Brazilian Raintree being trained into a flat top style. Please note that Erik Wigert is very much responsible for shaping the tree into a flat-top and growing it from June 2010 - December 2011. I feel this tree wouldn't be this far along if it hadn't been for him. All the other pictures are mine and I will continue to update this thread with new work, but a lot of this credit is with him. All I did before the tree went down to FL was feed it well, water it well and love it well. No shaping of any kind. Erik and Andrea have been fantastic to work with and I couldn't be happier with them. If you have advice or need advice, please feel free to ask on this thread.

I bought the tree in 2008 and didn't take too many pictures of it then but in 2009, I did, and then no more again until June 2010. The tree was taken down to Wigert's Bonsai nursery in June 2010 and I picked it back up in December 2011. Yes, the transformation you see was done in 1.5 years. This tree grows extremely fast. Once it came back to my house, I slip-potted it into a larger pot, defoliated it and did extremely minor root work. I looked underneath the soil line and found some really nice roots that could be uncovered on the right side of the tree. On the left side however, although two really good roots were found underneath, they were not quite strong enough to allow removal of the larger, crappy root above. This will be removed next year. The back of the tree has a really good root but it is really really small and so I need to leave it alone for at least a couple of years to allow it to strengthen completely.

After the tree was defoliated I didn't take off any crossing branches or any whorls. Apparently a healthy raintree will put out buds everywhere. Well, the tree was defoliated and repotted March 24th and exploded with new growth immediately and the last pictures you see are in April 11th.


January 2009


July 2010


November -December 2010....unsure of the exact month but about 6 months or s after the last picture


June 2011


January 2012


March 24 2012 Defoliate

Yeah, there's a lot of pictures. It probably takes a long time to load.

I highly value and respect your opinion Jun, so I really appreciate the kind words. They mean a lot to me coming from an artist like yourself.

Have a great weekend!!!!
Sam

Very nice tree Sam. Is it a Brazilian Jaboticaba? Did it thicken up in the pot or in the ground? WOW it filled up with leaves in less than one month!!! Amazing!!

Javaliman wrote:Very nice tree Sam. Is it a Brazilian Jaboticaba? Did it thicken up in the pot or in the ground? WOW it filled up with leaves in less than one month!!! Amazing!!

Thanks Denis. The tree is a Brazilian Raintree, Chloroleucon Tortum. Used to be called (may still be called) Pithecellobium tortum so it's not a Jaboticaba.

It was never planted in the ground. Just slip-potted into larger pots and what you see is the growth that was achieved within the timeline shown. It was in FL for a year and a half where they have 2 seasons, Hot and Hotter I don't think this tree has achieved anything special, these guys grow like weeds in the right conditions from what I understand.

Have a great weekend!!!!
Sam

Looking Real nice! I like the structure when did you get it back from Eric? I pruned mine back some today and had to take wire off.

Thanks Reggie. In January.

Yours is looking good too. I wish we had some of your weather but I think we're going to warm up starting tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!!!!
Sam

With the nebari, the nice trunk fluting, and the continuing ramification from the defoliations you'll have a tree that will rival Erik's big Peirneef in just a few more years, but yours will be Kifu size.

And again your progression is just further proof that a vacation in Florida can work wonders.
-Jay

look at this little 14 month old booger

That little guy is great Reggie. Do you plan to keep him small or make him bigger?

Thanks
Sam

I defoliated this guy today and wired some of the branches. Here are some before, during and after pictures. Because I let a lot of branches elongate quite a bit, the trunk has actually gotten a little bigger as well as added some to the fluting but I'm looking forward to working on more ramification, which unfortunately slows down the trunk growth. The branch that's been guy-wired down, will probably be removed later.

its looking really good Sam! I'm gonna tear mine down and build it back up again soon too.

Thanks Reggie. Please be sure to post some pictures.

you did really well my friend,
your record maintenance for this plan is amazing hats off dude,.......
its really a great visualized path way for the beginners like me to observe and learn
once again thanks a lot for your efforts,.................

Thanks for your kind words. I did a little bit more work on it recently and started experimenting with a new "technique" which I'll share on here shortly. Plus I now have a sweet new camera and can take better photos. I'll keep you updated.

Have a great week!!!
Sam

Sam,

nicely done so far. Thanks a million for posting images.

A question - what is that soil mix in the last images?
Thanks in advance.
Khaimraj

Beautiful work.
Shabbat Shalom Luciano.

This year on the right side I was focusing on fattening up the secondary branches and next year I'll repot and focus on ramification. I would have made this into a 360 type video but I don't know how. Feedback is most welcome, especially from our Brazilian friends who are doing such a fine job with their Raintrees.




































I like the second picture as my front. The wire on the left is anchored to a root that will be removed next year. Two gorgeous replacement roots are underneath this one. I've started weakening the top root by scraping the cambium off the top part a few months ago. We had a major hail storm and I had some damage on the roots on the right, so I applied some cut paste, although much more than I needed just to be safe. That's the big greenish blackish blotch you see on the right.

Have a great week!!!!
Sam

The tree is developing very well. There is some more front view on your pictures. You gotta be carefull with that "knee" there...it could reverse the taper. Cant wait to see new nebari. Keep us posted Thanks

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:Sam,

nicely done so far. Thanks a million for posting images.

A question - what is that soil mix in the last images?
Thanks in advance.
Khaimraj

Hey Khaimraj,

I just realized I never answered your question. My apologies. Thank you for the compliments.

What you saw on top of that picture was a lot of Osmocote (Fertilizer). The top dressing is Turface but most of the soil underneath is a mix of Lava Rock and sifted Pine Bark. In my climate I haven't had very good luck with straight turface. It dries out too fast. I was watering 3 - 4 times a day in the heat of the summer and I still had issues with leaves drying out. Next year I plan on adding some sifted Pine Bark to my mix to retain some more moisture. We'll see how that works.

Have a great week!!!!
Sam

luciano benyakob wrote:Beautiful work.
Shabbat Shalom Luciano.

Thank you Luciano. You guys are doing some amazing things with Raintrees over there. We're light years behind you guys.

Have a great week!!!!
Sam

yamasuri wrote:The tree is developing very well. There is some more front view on your pictures. You gotta be carefull with that "knee" there...it could reverse the taper. Cant wait to see new nebari. Keep us posted Thanks

Thank you, I appreciate it. There is another root in the back of the tree that I haven't exposed yet either. He's pretty small and I'm hoping he'll gain some size nexy year if I don't prune it at all during repotting.

I'm sorry, I don't know what a "knee" is. Do you mean the long curvy root on the left?

Thanks again!!!
Have a great week!!!!
Sam

Thanks a million Sam.

This is why I time my repotting for our Dry Season and can still use compost/cocopeat in my mix. The trees appreciate the extra water and later as the rains return the roots have already mastered the container, so the bucket a drop water has no effect on them.

However, I still water by watering can and observe the wet to dry soil cycle as well.
Best to you.
Khaimraj

One word! Fantastic! Getting better and better!

I love the trunk. I love the bark. I love the foliage. And ever since I saw the acacias on the African savannah, I've been fixated with "flat tops" and I have difficulties resisting the urge to shape all of my trees in that way!

Nice work on the tree, I like flat top trees also, I see you must have a bird problem with the pond there... I know that feeling also..