Re: Brachychiton indoors

Francisco J. de la Mota wrote:
Hello,
I am working on a project that requires indoor trees and I wonder if any of you has any experience with growing Brachychiton populneus as a container tree indoors (to be more specific, in a mall). I was thinking of a container of at least 1 cubic meter. Will it hold its leaves in the "winter" or it will behave as an evergreen? Any other trees you would use (besides the ubiquitous Ficus benjamina, lyrata, elastica,...)? One of my choices is Howea forsteriana, but I want something else.
Fran

None of my books mention using any of the species of Brachchiton as container plants beyond one reference to them being popularin temperate climates for Bonsai.

All the other information on uses talks of handsome specimen trees for large areas and B populneus is used in Australia on farms as a dry weather emergency stock feed.

Brachytons can apprently be deciduous in dry weather but not usually unless they are preparing to flower, which it seems they do at irregular intervals. Quite likely I should imagine a potted one would never flower at all anyway.

Depending on how much care the trees are likely to receive it would quite likely be possible to grow your Brachytons in your nice big containers provided they got a spring root pruning every few years.

As to any other tree you might try, what about cultivars of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis?. Thr Haiwaian bred-types in particular are quite neat -growing and flower very well in pots indoors if the light levels are not too dim, as I have found myself. I have had a a potted 'Mollie Cummings' in my glasshouse for years (min temp 10 degrees C) and it has grown very satisfactorily.

For an evergreen with interesting foliage one of a variety of fancy-leaved Pittosporums might also be worth considering.

Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our garden at:-
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NEW PICTURES ADDED 4/Feb/2004

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