MEGA Updates On My Bonsai Collection

A quick update on several of my bonsai trees.

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Bonsai From Seed In 2 Years !

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

This is a 2 year progression story of my bonsai tree grown from a seed. While many countries consider it as a weed / invasive species, I feel it is a perfect bonsai material, for beginners since it is very tolerant of pests & beginner mistakes.

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It is a rugged fast growing tree and available in plenty around the area where I live. This story also represents my growth in bonsai, from total ignorance to some knowledge now :-) The above video is part 3 of this story, on my blog.

Part 1 article : Growth of a tiny seed
Part 2 article : Double air-layering on same trunk

 

Double Air Layering On Same Trunk - White Lead Tree

Tree species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Sprouted around : Aug 7, 2015
Dual air-layering done on : March 1, 2016


Part 1 of this article : Growth history from a tiny seed !

Amazing growth in just 8 months from a seed ! 7 feet tall from soil surface, main trunk as thick as a finger base.

March 9, 2016

White Lead Tree No. 6

Tree Species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Collected On : Aug 12, 2015

Found like this, uprooted and dry

This pot shows my ignorance at the time. No longer use them like this.

White Lead Tree No. 4

Tree Species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Collected On : Aug 13, 2015

 

Repotting 4 white lead trees (No.7)

Tree species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Collected on : Oct 12, 2015

I simply pulled up these wild saplings from the roadside and managed to get the tap root, which, along with the stem, was pruned and planted into pure cocopeat.

 

White Lead Tree No.3

Tree species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Collected on : Aug 13, 2015

I found a few trees of this weedy species, uprooted and discarded by the gardeners of our residential complex. I cut down the almost 6 ft high trunk with a hacksaw blade. 

 

I would not have bothered digging up such a tall and straight tree for bonsai but this literally fell into my lap. And the other 2 trees were split vertically along the trunk. Perfect for a damaged bonsai tree ! I planted all 3 into one pot in some unfiltered sand (bad, poor drainage) collected from roadside. 

Raft Style

Tree species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Collected on : mid Sept, 2015

I found this sapling growing like a bent coconut tree, with few leaves at the tip and nothing else. It was easily uprooted from a heap of sand, the roots pruned and the leaves at the tip removed completely but slowly over 1-2 weeks. This led to sufficient back branching. A small weight is added at the tip to keep the main trunk horizontal. This will be grown in a raft style. It is not a cascade style, though it might be mistaken for it, at present.

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

White Lead Tree - Dec

Tree species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Collected on : Dec 1, 2015
Season : Early winter, 18-33°C temperature range

This plant was growing new shoots just like springtime and hence, I decided to collect this species despite early winter. 

White Lead Tree cuttings - Nov

Tree species : White Lead Tree (Leucaena Leucocephala / Su-babul)
Collected on : Nov 26, 2015
Season : Early winter, 18-33°C temperature range

I collected these highly ramified and dense tree tops for mini bonsai. They were short (waist high) due to repeated branch breaking by people over the years. I just broke the top section by hand and brought them home for further pruning.