I’ve had the Bottle Tree for five years now. The first 4 years showed fairly weak growth. This turned out to be a lack of nutrients, because when I fertilized it a year ago, it took off. In December I pruned it back to get more ramification in the central branches. Let’s check in.
First question: what happened after the chops in December? By February, it seems there’s been an explosion of branches around each of the chops. I’m assuming the sealant helped this by preventing anything growing at the top.
A few weeks after the pruning, I came to check:
So, strong evidence that adequate fertilizer will cause the bottle tree to aggressively ramify. Which I assume is how we get to the reference style.
Let’s close with a late March update:
Considering how weak the first years were, I’m actually stunned at how much the trunk has thickened. But as a bonsai the tree is far too leggy for the top two thirds. I’m brewing a plan for next year:
- a bare-root repot into pumice and perlite
- fertilizer
- a trunk chop just above the second branching point (where the two weak branches start)
- Maybe a second layer of chop shortly after
- aggressively cutting to shape to grow a thick canopy.
Which admittedly could kill the tree. but if it regrew, then it could really blossom.