From: jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Tipuana tipu
Date: 28 Sep 92 05:24:31 GMT
Organization: -

In article <fS9Jue7@quack.sac.ca.us>, pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey) writes:
> In article <1992Sep24.222559.809@calmasd.prime.com> 
> jhb@calmasd.prime.com (Jim Bishop) writes:
> 
>>They seem to be quite large with a dense canopy.  I think they would
>>be difficult to contain in a pot for long.  
> 
> Actually, almost anything can be grown in a container. The secret is to
> prune the root mass and the plant top and remove circling and dead and
> deseased roots. 
> [Description of how to contain a large plant deleted]
> Take this process to a small enough container and you get the
> Chinese art of bonsai.
> 

I wish I had the patience it takes.  I have some jades that need
reviving by this method.  I've been meaning to repot them for 4 years
now.

>>I wish I had one of these instead of the coral tree I have in my
>>backyard.  I planted the coral tree for its dense deep green tropical
>>looking canopy.  Last weekend the tree broke (more like exploded)
>>under its own weight plus the moisture from a heavy fog.  Since this
>>was 30 foot tall tree with a 40 foot spread, it will take several
>>weeks to clean up the mess and several years for it to grow back.
> 
> Must have been something in bloom. You can prune to develop stronger structure.
> I would think the ideal time would be after a bloom cycle. Think of it
> like a peach tree. In a mild climate free of ice and snow load, a peach
> grows too much and carries peaches out at the very ends of weak young
> branches and as a result, eventually kills itself.
> 
Well, I didn't trim the coral tree last fall because if you do you
loose the spring bloom.  Also our winter was so mild (even mild by So.
Cal. standards) that the tree was evergreen this year.  The bad part
was I didn't get much bloom.  Apparently even coral trees need some
chill.

I've done everything wrong with the coral tree this year.  I've pruned
it slightly, but if you have a coral tree where it gets regular water
you are supposed to trim out 1/4 of the wood at least once a summer. 
It's a lot of work with a tree the size of mine.  I was planning on
pruning it soon, but it nature beat me to it.

>>I ran as much of the tree through the shredder as I could. (It took 5
>>hours of non-stop shredding!)  Now the odor coming from the compost
>>pile is starting to get to me, but it (the compost pile) is very hot
>>and I should have some great compost for fall planting.
> 
> Should be good stuff, high nitrogen. If the pile gets too hot, that
> means there is too much nitrogen and you are losing a lot of it to
> nitrification, so you get better compost by adding high-carbon material.
> This is the secret to top quality compost, maintaining the correct C/N
> ratio, don't ask me, I'm not a compost guru, maybe someone else would
> care to volunteer their secrets of top quality composting.

Well between the woody part and the green part you get a pretty good
mix for composting.  Also the wood is loaded with water, which is why
it often breaks under its own weight if given too much water.  It's
kinda fun to run through the shredder sinc eht would is so soft.  My
compost style is similar to Arnold Zwicky's (minus the urine), but it
works fine.  I knew exactly what he meant by "mining" for compost.

Jim
Newsgroups: rec.gardens