Chinese sweet plum

Sweet Plum

Chinese Sweet Plum

Chinese Bird Plum

Hedge Sageretia

Pauper’s Tea

Mock Buckthorn

Sageretia theezans

Sageretia thea

sa-jer-ET-ee-a

Chinese Bird Plum

Sageretia theezans

Sageretias are tender shrubs with small green leaves and leathery exfoliating bark that leaves a multicolored patchwork. In summer tiny flowers appear in the leaf axils of new shoots and produce large clusters of white followed by small blue stone fruit.

field grown
Chinese sweet plum
 Sageretia theezans

Sageretias are evergreen in milder climates but become deciduous in temperate zones when exposed to the cold of winter. Sageretia are very rarely seen for sale in Garden Centers. Chinese sweet plum has a tendency to climb and is difficult to control as an ornamental plant. There was one growing in Daffin Park, but it was removed a few years ago. Branches have spines, sharp thorn tips.

Chinese sweet plum is widely used for creating bonsai and is often sold as a bonsai for indoors. Sageretia theezans shoots from old wood and is trained using the “Clip and Grow" technique. Many bonsai Chinese sweet plum are imported from China where they are field grown. Sageretias are tender shrubs and will survive temperatures just below freezing but will drop all leaves. They must be protected from hard freezes where the roots could freeze. Sageretia are considered to be a cool house bonsai. If kept indoors, Sageretias need a position that is reasonably humid and should be cool at night as in an unheated room. Keep the soil slightly moist, never let dry completely.

exfoliating bark

In Savannah the Sageretia can be grown outdoors all year round with some protection on the few nights that dip below 25 F. Small flowers and fruit will develop if the tree is left unpruned.

Ponytail Palm- no true palm

Nolina recurvata

Beaucamea recurvata

Ponytail Palm

Bottle Palm Tree

Elephant Foot Palm

but it is not a true palm

A succulent that is often grown as a houseplant. Bottle Palm Trees need to be provided with well-drained soil and, although they will respond to being watered during summer, they should be kept dry during winter. Ponytail palms have an attractive caudex (short, thick stem).  A green rosette of strap-like leaves emerges from the head, cascading to the soil line, like a fountain spurting water from a bocksbeutel or fiasco bottle. Nolina is native to central to southeastern Mexico, in semi-desertic areas and is a curious landscape tree outdoors in freeze free locations.  As a landscape tree bottle palm may get to 15 feet tall and the caudex can slowly grow to 12 feet in diameter. With age, the trunk may develop multiple heads. Older Nolina recurvata survive lower temperatures.

Cutting the "crown"
can induce branching
Nolina recurvata

Ponytail palm makes a handsome "indoor bonsai", does well even in rooms with air conditioning as long as it has bright light. The brighter the light the narrower the foliage. For optimum performance full sun is best.  Keep outdoors in the heat of summer to increase the growth rate.  Bottle Palm Tree tolerates heat very well and does not appreciate frequent watering.  Never allow water to sit in the bottom of a container saucer or for soil to remain soggy as Nolina recurvata stores its water in its base. The bulbous base allows it to survive interior winter heat very well. Bonsai soil generally minimizes the chances of root rot, especially compared to the peaty mixes normally used in most tropicals. Allow the soil to dry well between waterings. With any doubt on whether or not to water the plant, don't! Over-watering is the single most frequent cause of failure. 

a fountain spurting water from a bocksbeutel  bottle.
Bottle Palm Tree

Pony tail palms rarely need to be repotted. The root run is not very extensive so they can be "underpotted" for a considerable time. Root trim and repot in late spring when the "palm" is actively growing. Trim any large, old roots then dust with a root hormone, repot using dry soil. Push the soil into the root ball with a chop stick to eliminate any large air pockets. Do not water for at least a few days. The wounds must callus before watering or else root rot may start. Do not fertilize for a few weeks.

The texture of the trunk looks
and feels scaly like the
foot of an elephant
Elephant Foot Palm

During the growing season, fertilize Ponytail Palms with a water-soluble fertilizer suitable for container plants. Dilute the fertilizer by half for each application to avoid damaging the roots of the tree. Always water any plant thoroughly before applying fertilizer.

In early summer cut off  the "crown" to induce branching, new heads will appear in about a month.

caudex forming
succulent
from Mexico

Nolina recurvata are dioecious, that is male and female reproductive parts are on separate plants. Masses of small white flowers are produced in summer, followed by spectacular stems of pinkish, 3-winged seeds on mature female trees. When propagated from seed, the tree forms a more desirable broader base than if propagated from offsets of a parent tree. Bonsai grown from seeds are called Misho bonsai. Soak seeds in warm water for 24 hours. Sow in fresh moist potting soil. Use a mix with good drainage. The seeds grow better with a minimum temperature of 68°F. Keep the soil moderately damp.

Most Ponytail Palms sold here are imported from China.
Chinese Nolina Recurvata Manufacturers

Feather Pine- "Trees with knees"

Taxodium distichum

Bald Cypress
Feather Pine
Care

Bald Cypress is a "deciduous conifer"- it has cones and sheds its needle-like foliage in the Autumn.

Other deciduous conifers are: 

• Larch- Larix
• Golden Larch- Pseudolarix amabilis
• Chinese Swamp Cypress- Glyptostrobus pensilis
• Dawn Redwood- Metasequoia glyptostroboides.

Along the Altamaha River

Bald cypress and pond cypress are in the Taxodiaceae family. Bald cypress can be easily confused with pond cypress (Taxodium distichum var. nutans). Pond cypress has smaller, scale-like leaves pressed on the twigs. A twig of pressed pond cypress leaves resembles a pine needle pointing up or out from the stem. Bald cypress leaves are linear and feather-like  and the twigs hang down looking more pendulous than pond cypress twigs and leaves. Also, pond cypress tends to occur in still-water wetlands rather than flowing-water wetlands.

Bald cypress are found in  wetland habitats

Bald cypress is a wetland species that grows along rivers, streams, and creeks as well as in swamps with slow moving water.  It is a legendary tree of the Deep South known for its "knees," moss-draped crown, and buttressed trunk. Taxodium distichum  can live up to 600 years old.  Taxodium distichum is native to the coastal plains along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and north up through the Mississippi River Valley. The heartwood of old growth bald cypress is very resistant to rot.  This is not true with younger second growth trees. 

Bonsai in Autumn
Bald cypress with knees 

Cypress knees are woody projections sent above the normal water level function is unknown Lowland or swamp-grown cypresses found in flooded or flood-prone areas tend to be buttressed and "kneed," as opposed to cypresses grown on higher ground which may grow with very little taper.

now is the time to find
trees with cones

Seeds are produced annually and good seed production occurs about every 3 years.  Seeds are dispersed more frequently by flood waters.  Under swamp conditions, the best seed germination generally takes place on a sphagnum moss or a wet-muck seedbed.  On better drained soils, seed usually fails to germinate due to lack of surface water.  Soil saturated for 1 to 3 months after seed-fall is required for germination. Seedlings require light for good growth, thus control of competing vegetation is necessary. 

Green Bald cypress cone

Old-growth bald cypress
 form a flattened crown.




Altamaha River

Bald Cypress tree is an excellent choice for someone who is just getting started with bonsai. Seeds and small trees are easily collected in this area, now is the time to find trees with cones and watch for them to turn brown so that the seed can be collected just before the cones open. The best digging time for cypress is from mid-­December to late February. Bald cypress bud back easily and will produce vigorous sprouts from the stumps. Taxodium distichum are frequently planted in groups in a single container, forming a Bonsai forest. Japanese term for growing a bonsai from seed is Misho.

Ron Martin bonsai forest Workshop

Bald Cypress 
bonsai prefer to
 live outdoors.

Bald Cypress are not true cypress. True cypress are in the Cupressus family and are not native to the southeastern United States.

Bald cypress
with roots submerged in water
and branches draped in
Spanish moss
Tillandsia usneoides

Pond Cypress
Taxodium distichum var. nutansin still-water wetlands
SE Georgia

Looks like bamboo, is called bamboo, but isn't bamboo.

Pogonatherum 

po-gon-AY-ther-um

Pogonatherum crinitum
 "bamboo-like" stalks

 Pogonatherum crinitum

"German Bamboo"

"Bonsai Bamboo"

"Bamboo Grass" Jin Si Cao

Baby Panda Bamboo

House Bamboo Jin Si Mao

Cat teasel, Salsola grass, fox tail, pens to be grass, oxtail grass, Rattus grass, itachi-gaya- weasel saw grass.

Pogonatherum crinitum
"bamboo-like" leaf  blades

A delicate grass with tiny, clumping erect "bamboo-like" stalks, clothed with sea-green  "bamboo-like" leaf blades. Fabulous when displayed as a bonsai.

Looks like bamboo, is called bamboo, but isn't bamboo.

Give this Asian native a moist, but well drained soil. Baby Panda Bamboo likes a lot of water. If outdoors in the summer it can sit in a saucer of water. Needs a few hours a day of solar light. Fertilize periodically; in the spring use a fertilizer rich in nitrogen and potassium, to encourage the development of new vegetation and of flowerings. Selectively remove “culms” to keep this grass attractive and to encourage new shoots.

Protect from hard Freezing.

Pogonatherum crinitum
a delicate species Fabulous as a bonsai

Pogonatherum crinitum has long been used as a folk remedy for the treatment of many inflammatory diseases in Taiwan. Baby Bamboo is used worldwide as a houseplant. When the grass becomes too tall, trim the plant back so it can rejuvenate.

Miniature Bamboo Grass

Pogonatherum paniceum

  

Time to collect Japanese Maple Seed

The seeds have matured and are starting to turn brown.  Time to gather them before they fall to the ground! 

Japanese maple seed wings are drying

 Japanese Maple 

Momiji 

Acer palmatum

Japanese maple seed tips of the
 wings turn brown in late summer

Japanese maple seed in mid summer

Many poke fun at the idea of starting a bonsai from a seed. “Look how old I am I don't have time", but the creation of a bonsai from a seed is very rewarding. There is no such thing as "bonsai seed". The packs of seed marked as such, are just ordinary tree seeds that can be grown into a bonsai. They are a good source of tree seeds when none are locally available.

Once the new leaves come out
 in the spring,  flower 
and seed begin to appear 
on Bloodgood Seedling 

Bonsai grown from seeds are called Misho bonsai.

Tsukamiyose A natural forest planting can be created by scattering several to several dozen seeds in a tray. The seedlings are planted very close to each other and develop into multiple trunks with each tree naturally competing for its own light and space.

Getting tree seeds to sprout:

Acer palmatum stratification

Most tropical trees will germinate as soon as they ripen, but seeds from most temperate trees need to be sown after stratification. Stratification is a period of artificial winter that trees that are not tropical need to set off the internal clock that spring triggers and makes seed sprout as temperatures rise. Depending on the seed species, they will need 21 to 90 days of cold storage to begin to sprout. This can be done in the home refrigerator.  Use zip-lock sandwich bags with damp peat moss. A fungicide can be used in the media to keep soil borne diseases from killing the seedlings. If any of the seed germinate in the refrigerator, plant them.

Japanese maple seed

When the artificial winter is over, the seeds are ready to be planted.  It is suggested that they be soaked overnight in room temperature water to improve germination percentages. Seeds that float after soaking won't germinate so toss them out.

Japanese maple seed

Sow the seed in a light and friable soil mixture is so that it drains well to prevent fungus and sprinkle peat moss over them. Air should move to prevent damp-off. The air movement he says simulates natural outdoor conditions. Light friable soil dries quickly and seedling with their minimal root system can be killed in a few hours from dryness, or direct sun!

Banrot is a broad spectrum root rot fungicide in a 40% wettable powder configuration. It provides contact and systemic action for control of damping-off and root and stem-rot diseases

Subdue Maxx Controls damping-off and root and stem rots caused by pythium and phytophthora. Apply only as a soil drench or soil surface spray followed by irrigation.

Bloodgood Seedlings
"I started it from seeds myself."

Alternatives:

Chamomile tea - 2 tsp of chamomile flowers to 1 cup of boiling water allow to steep overnight or at least until cooled. Strain and then use as is to moisten growing medium before planting seeds then use in a mister to spray soil. Sage or garlic teas also have been used. Soak the seeds in a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water (1 teaspoon to 1/2 cup of water) to remove any lingering bacteria on the seeds. Some lightly sprinkle a bit of cinnamon or baking soda over planting mix used as a fungicide on plants for mildew.Two capfuls of household bleach in the water used to dampen your peat moss or vermiculite could act as a fungicide.

Always make sure horticultural tools are disinfected even if they are new, and that your planting pots are disinfected....

Disinfection of Horticultural Tools and Pots

"Empty pot of soil"

Plant tree seed in the Fall and let Mother Nature take care of your stratification. Just remember to protect them from rodents (squirrels and mice) and label that “empty pot of soil”. Once I was talking with a fellow enthusiast in the nursery and he started raking his fingers through a tray filled with soil and began talking about soil mixes. I should have labeled that flat as I had seeded the tray with  Jacaranda for a Tsukamiyose the day before!

Growing 'misho' bonsai is both economical and rewarding.

More Misho Pictures.........