Hong Kong Orchid Tree Advice
Momo V
7 years ago
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Tom
7 years agoMomo V
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Can/Should this Hong Kong Orchid tree be saved?
Comments (14)Aaaaaaand THREE years later, here's the fully rebounded tree - full of purple orchid flowers. (Glad I read my previous post that the tree often loses its leaves in early Spring 'cause I was stressing about why a lot of the leaves were turning yellow and falling off!) The one thing I DISLIKE about this tree is that it has seed pods. I remember asking when I bought it whether it had pods or not and the nursery ASSURED me that it didn't. Sigh.......See MoreRavenous bug eating hong kong orchid tree and loquat
Comments (9)Oh no! I visited your post last night and thought about the Sri Lanka Beetle that has caused significant leaf damage on some of my ornamentals, but I don't have a Loquat or a HKO. Our county extension agent recommended Sevin but said to change pesticides on your next attack because Sri Lanka Beetles quickly grow immune to whatever you spray on them. I called a lawn service to spray because there was no way I could get to the tops of Tibouchinas or Powder Puff. A week later, I'm spotting those critters down low, like on african iris. This year I've squished hundreds of them. Oh, and they're mating now. Thanks for posting the link, Oldflorida. Good luck with your Orchid Tree and Loquat. You stated before that you have a pesticide free yard: that is really great, so I know this has to be heart wrenching for you. Good luck....See MoreHow to trim or train Hong Kong Orchid Trees
Comments (18)There are a lot of half-truths in this thread, and some plain misinformation sprinkled in. First, the idea that certain fertilizer types promote root growth is a fallacy. If anything, fertilizing a new transplant, or one that has been in its permanent home for just a year or two or three, will actually retard root system expansion. One way to think of this is that the roots are "looking" for nutrients, so a heavy-handed approach where too much of these nutrients are placed in the root zone actually causes less growth, not more. Then, there's the staking of young plants: Tree saplings develop something called reaction wood in response to being buffeted by the wind. Stake it tightly to some rod or stick and you've eliminated the opportunity for this to happen. Doesn't mean no stakes ever, but especially any items tied tightly so the trunk can't move around are to be avoided...and anything used must come off after the first year. Then there's the idea that somehow by pruning, we can mold the plant into a shape it's not otherwise genetically programmed to adopt. While there's a dab of truth in this one, it is the wrong road to take. Somebody up above at least stated the obvious-that young plants need all the foliage they can have to produce their food via photosynthesis. And that same process causes chemicals called auxins, developed in growing shoot tips, to send signals to the roots to grow. Constantly messing with this process just confuses things. Very basically stated, if you want a tree that produces mostly an upright growth habit, select a species or cultivar of a species which is genetically programmed to grow in that fashion. Trying to beat a horse into an elephant is bound to cause frustration, and the same applies here in the plant world. Now this is not at all to say one should never prune their trees. I myself have pruned perhaps a half-million plants in my time! But there are proper techniques here, just as one wouldn't try to carve a turkey without a clue what they are doing. Very generally, a moderate program of "raising up", which simply means removing lower branches can be done, but gradually please. If one is impatient and tries to do this all at once, the very likely response by that plant is to sucker like mad. Basically, when plant parts are removed, the plant responds by trying to reestablish those plant parts. So go ahead and take all kinds of branches off your tree....and the tree will simply start a bunch of new branches. We call those new branches suckers, and many of them will grow right straight up through the tree canopy, rubbing against other more well-placed branches, or throwing the crown balance off, or competing with the main leader. These are all undesirable outcomes. Pruning trees is not simpleton stuff. Why anyone would undertake it without knowing what they're doing is beyond me, except for the monkey see-monkey do factor. Let's not do our gardening by that method! +oM...See MoreHong Kong Orchid Tree lost all its leaves - late May Zone 9B
Comments (3)I have a very big Orchid tree; not a Hong Kong Orchid tree. It loses all of its leaves right about now and then the new leaves begin to come out soon. It looks best in August. I think you should just leave your tree alone for a while and see what happens. Needless to say, having new leaves turn brown and die is not a good sign, but I don't think there is much else for you to do other than wait and see what happens in the next month or so....See MoreMomo V
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoMomo V
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoTom
6 years agoMomo V
6 years agoladycnyc
6 years agoMomo V
6 years agoDayna
6 years agoTom
6 years agoCarol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoMomo V
6 years agoDayna
6 years agoBrenda Stevens
5 years ago
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