White Lead Tree Seedling

Tree species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Sprouted around : Aug 7, 2015

While my 2 root cuttings died, this seedling sprouted on its own, in the garden soil that I had collected for the root specimen.

Amazing growth in just 4 months from a seed ! 52 inches tall from soil surface, trunk as thick as pencil.

Dec 16, 2015

Note : White lead tree is a fast growing weedy tree and invasive species. And very tolerant of pests & beginner mistakes. I would say it is the perfect bonsai material, even better than ficus species, for shohin or small bonsai.

This happened during my first week of bonsai journey. Hence, many mistakes happened. Lessons in hindsight - avoid black pots as they heat up a lot and avoid pure clay soil since drainage isn't good.

I inserted 4 perforated straws into the soil till the pot's bottom for deep root watering, aeration & drainage, as a successful patch-fix solution.

I let the seedling grow undisturbed with no pruning, just to see its fantastic growth rate ! I will wait for a year before any pruning or re-potting happens. Let it touch the ceiling on my apartment balcony :-)

Part 2 of this article : Double air layering on the same tree trunk