Leaf Pruning

I’ve let my small trees grow and now it’s time to do a little leaf pruning. The purpose behind leaf pruning is to encourage ramification which is the increase in branching. Another desired effect is growing smaller leaves. With an increase in the number of branches, more leaves mean smaller leaves. I’ve only done partial defoliation on two Green Island Ficus trees by pruning off the largest leaves and that has worked pretty well in reducing leaf size.

I hadn't done any pruning on the cuttings from the Dwarf African Strangler but now they've grown enough to take off a few leaves. In the Spring I'm planning to try a root over rock style with one of these and probably re-potting the other two out of their training pots. 

Before Pruning

After Pruning

Brazilian Rain Tree - Pithecellobium Tortum

The Brazilian Rain Tree is a very interesting and beautiful tree. This tree is similar to another tree in my collection – the Texas Ebony. Both of these trees have compound leaves and grow thorns on the branches and trunk.

The Brazilian Rain Tree is native to, well Brazil and is suitable for growing in USDA Zone 10-11. That means the minimum temperature should not be below around 40F. So while these trees will grow well in warm and hot summer weather outside in the US, they need to be brought inside during the colder months where outdoor temperatures will drop below the minimum.

The tree has hard wood but rather delicate soft green branches that grow out long and a little floppy that will eventually harden. What is truly interesting about this species are the leaves. The tree grows compound leaves – a shoot will have 4-6 pairs of opposing leaves and cool thing is that the leaves fold together and close at night. The same behavior can occur on very sunny days as the leaves may partially fold in order to regulate the light striking their surface. The Brazilian Rain Tree also produces white flowers but that may or may not occur with a bonsai. My tree hasn't produced any flowers.

Another unique feature of this tree are the long thorns that adorn the trunk and some of the more mature branches. Unlike the Texas Ebony, these thorns are rather large given the smaller size of my tree and almost look like short branches. I have pruned a few back to remove some clutter but generally speaking I've kept them at least at this point.

The tree that I have is maybe a few years old--- I bought it this summer so it is pretty young. I understand that more mature trees develop flaky bark that peels off to add different color and texture to the trunk.

Watering & Fertilizing

I follow the same watering method as the other trees with the soil moist to a little dry before the next watering. Most times indoors that means watering every other or third day. Good soil drainage is very important with this tree as with all bonsai.

During the summer when most of the growth takes place I fertilize every weekend with a basic 20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer. I'll probably cut back to once per month in the winter.