Babingtonia Virgata 'african' broom style

[hugh grant]

This is one of my favourite trees in my collection. the twisted branches and high foliage on the top of the tree is reminiscent of trees such as the acacias in Africa with flat tops of foliage.

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Hugh

[golgotha]

Funny you post this just now. I just finished watching the lion king with my son and found myself distracted by the sillhouettes of the trees. (i find this happens alot since the bonsai bug bit me ). This tree certainly has the look of a tree on an african plain. Nice work mate.

[matty-j]

i love it hugh!! i have a little one on the way, hopefully it turns out as great as this one

[Andrew Legg]

Looks good Hugh!

[bodhidharma]

Savannah style very nice Hugh.

[Steve Warren]

Inspirational little tree Hugh. I like it alot.

Regards

Steve W

[boom64]

Hi Hugh,
Beautifull tree ,one of my favourite species. Hope you dont mind if i ask a few questions. Keen to know re potting time and what mix do you use. Also how long did it take to fill out the canopy ? Last one , do you have any trouble with summer heat ?
Thanks John. (boom64 )

[hugh grant]

Funny you post this just now. I just finished watching the lion king with my son and found myself distracted by the sillhouettes of the trees. (i find this happens alot since the bonsai bug bit me ). This tree certainly has the look of a tree on an african plain. Nice work mate.

Haha mate thats quite a coincidence.

Thanks guys im glad you all like it

Hi Hugh,
Beautifull tree ,one of my favourite species. Hope you dont mind if i ask a few questions. Keen to know re potting time and what mix do you use. Also how long did it take to fill out the canopy ? Last one , do you have any trouble with summer heat ?
Thanks John. (boom64 )

I usually repot any time from late september to november with out any trouble. i usually try to do it early October but. The last time i repoted it i did into a 3:1 ratio of diatomite and zeolite. its worked really well with great growth on the tree. so i would recommend this, otherwise i used to use Ray Nesci's mix sifted of any really fine particles which worked well too.
I bought this tree as advanced stock and cut it back hard and then grew the canopy from there wiring the new shoots onto position to create the basic foliage placement. from there it was trimmed to create ramification which to totally fill out took about 1 year. that was 4 years ago now and since then i have been letting it grow and then trimming back hard the same way you would a maple to create ramification. i never hedge prune as this causes a clump of dense foliage which dosnt look attractive and causes all the inner buds and branches to die off. i treat it very much like you would a juniper when it comes to trimming out strong shoots and opening up the foliage mass to let light in due to its very compact foliage. to get the canopy to this stage though took me about 4 years of using this pruning technique.
Ive never really had a problem with summer heat, they are thirsty trees during the summer and will get watered every day from october to april and twice a day in summer.

Hugh

[Dario]

Lovely Hugh!
Cheers, Dario.

[Andrew E]

This tree looks great in the bark. Great tree Hugh

Andrew

[boom64]

Hi Hugh ,
Thanks for the detailed information , i will take this on board for my little collection.
Cheers John.

[hugh grant]

Thanks Andrew and Dario

Anytime John, good luck with yours

Hugh