[lackhand] Tecomaria capensis (Cape Honeysuckle)

[lackhand]

I found this one a while ago and posted in another thread. Repotted and cleaned up some dead areas (you can see some cut paste from that in one photo), and it has been sitting there since. Nice fat trunk, but I'm really not sure what to do with it. Should be a fun challenge.

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• Species name: Tecomaria capensis (Cape Honeysuckle)
• Original height of stock: 35 cm
• Where you obtained it from: Lowe's (big box home improvement store)
• Cost of stock: $20 USD

In one photo you can see a little acacia I pulled up in front of a weed spraying crew. Didn't have anywhere else to put it, and it doesn't look so good right now, but I'm hoping it will survive. Would be a really nice little mame.

[Damian79]

Nice one Lackhand.
I have one of these that has reciently been dug but has no foliage whatso ever. It has a number of new shoots pushing through now but I hope its not just stored energy.

mmm I think you have inspired me.

[lackhand]

This thing has turned into a giant bush (for something sitting on a bonsai stand) so I was really happy to cut into it today.

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The last picture is my preferred front - it's hard to tell from the photos, but the tree leans that way and I think the nebari looks pretty good from that side. My daughter was sad about the juniper cutback, but I think she almost cried as I was lopping so much off this one.

Also, the one branch is WAY too long and thick, no doubt about it. But I cut it back as far as I felt prudent for now. I don't want to leave a branch with no foliage, and although these are supposed to back bud really well, it's my first time working with one, so I would rather be a little conservative. If it doesn't back bud, I will probably have to remove the whole thing. Maybe I should anyway. Time will tell I suppose.

Again, you can see the little acacia mame growing in there. Recovering well from it's rude uprooting.

How is yours going Damian?

[Damian79]

Hi lackhand
As much as I hate to say it, I think mine is dead.
It showed a little growth for a bit, but nothing in about a month.
Ill keep feeding it through winter and see what happens in spring
hopefully it can pull through.

[lackhand]

Apologies for the crummy photo, but there really isn't much to see. This thing is growing like a weed, but not backbudding where I want it to. I'm contemplating a thread/approach graft if it continues to be stubborn. The other option I suppose would be to hollow the trunk, but I don't think the compound leaves will reduce well enough to make that convincing. Plus, at the rate it grows I would have to trim it weekly to keep it looking decent. It's too hot here at the moment to do much work on anything (122F/50C today), so it will continue to return to its bushy form for now.

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Damian, sorry to hear yours didn't make it. This species is proving to be a little trickier than I guessed initially.

[lackhand]

It's kind of funny how little this thing has changed. Still no good budding, so I may have to change my plans. Semi cascade may be the go.

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[lackhand]

Starting to build up some foliage here, but it seems a bit moody about where it chooses to grow. I've only had success with clip and grow, and I'm debating a defoliation to increase ramification and decrease leaf size once it warms up here. So far I've had very little backbudding, so I'm a bit wary of removing all the leaves. I'm still thinking about an angle change when it comes time for a pot, which I should start looking for.

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At the moment I'm actually a bit more excited about the ash seedlings growing in the pot, though it will be years before they are anything interesting. Grant's ash workshop has been pretty inspiring.

[lackhand]

Still not much progress on this. I have defoliated it successfully, and it recovered quick enough that I think I could probably do it several more times this year to help get some ramification. It still has some ugly knobs, and it's still stubborn about backbudding - it will bud on old wood, but there doesn't seem to be any logic as to where or why. Definitely not the easiest species to work with, but I think it will look okay in a few years.

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[lackhand]

Final update time. Apologies for the photos, I dearly need a real setup, and I don't even have any display stands. Maybe I'll try making one when I get time.

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Overall, I've been pleased with this tree. It took me a while to get the hang of the species, and it is technically more of a vine but I've finally figured out how to get it developing. I think. It refused to backbud where I thought it surely would, so I had to redesign several times. It heals wounds slowly, but I plan to add some cut paste and hopefully get them healed up. I'm pleased with the pot for as long as it lasts - it's a very nice one, but shattered in shipping and glued back together.

So the overall plan is to just let it grow for a few years, heal the wounds, and build some ramification. Oh, and get rid of the wooly aphids I discovered when taking these photos. I also learned that if you're serious about a competition, pick a species you already know how to work with. Lost a lot of development time on experiments.

[John_M]

Hi lack hand,

I have a Honeysuckle which I am trying to develop. I have tried to wire some of the new growth (loose) to at least get the branches in the correct position. Unfortunately any further growth on these branches appear to stop. Have you tried to wire any of the branches and what was your experience?

Also, after wiring, back budding in another section of the tree was noticed typically from a past wound. I haven't tried defoliation so I might try and give this a go and see what happens.