Rowdy wrote:I started bonsai a year ago and am still eager to learn and experiment. I have a few of the beginner trees like figs and elms but after seeing a few examples of clerodendrum bonsais I have fallen I love with them. They have small leaves and the beautiful old looking bark.
I have since purchased a seedling as it is just exploding with life in just the month I have had it.
However I have found very little information on clerodendrums anywhere, so I thought I would start a thread where people could share there tips or examples.
Any advice people can give on how to grow clerodendrums would be very appreciated. Things such as:
Soil they like
How much watering
How much sun
Fertilisers
When and how often to repot
Pruning
Developing them
Style tips
Etc
Howdy Rowdy,
I've got two light bulb clerodendrum [ CLERODENDRUM SMITHIANUM ]
One bought, another from a cutting.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xtolord/se ... 934764849/Soil they like : Im using a well drained soil mix [ 40% gravel, 40% perlite, 20% organic ] + lots of watering.
The original soil mix it was in was purely organic and had a high water retention.
When I did a repotting I found several dead roots where the old soil was still present.
How much watering:Depends on your soil.
It will like a moist soil not sluggish or dry.
Look up walter pall's youtube video on watering, it pretty much covers it
How much sun:Full sun to partial sun [ in case of recent repotting ]
Fertilisers:I use a liquid NPK, one for growth, to get the leaves growing.
Then when its all green, I switch another liquid NPK for flowering. Usually several weeks before the flowers even start to form.
I'll look up the NPK values when I get home.
When and how often to repot:I've repotted when it gets rootbound or when the growth is reduced [I.e. I see buds already formed but they dont grow at all ]
http://maubonsai.blogspot.com/2012/07/c ... -bulb.htmlPruning:I've removed old excessively large leaves to promote inside leaves during flowering.
And also fully defoliated the tree after flowering to promote new leaves.
It produces buds on old wood and even exposed roots.
Developing them:The one I have needs to be wired when the wood is still young / green.
When the wood grows old it does not bend easily, more like breaks in multiple areas or snaps in two.
Style tips:It will depend on your imagination and the leaves types.
But a broom, literati, slanted, informal upright and upright, rootover rock would be fairly easy
Rowdy wrote:Can clero's be defoliated to promote back budding?
Yeps at least in my case it does