You have one of the best fat plants.I have grown them for years,the largest being well over five foot tall with calf sized trunk(thick calves!)and including my own a very attractive,old 14-16" plant in a 6" pot. I would guess them to be hardy to the mid twentys F in pots, lower in the ground.Outdoors a 32F did not kill back a single twig.

Wow - 32 degrees! I assume it must have been very dry at the time. How long is yours exposed to those kinds of low temps?

Speaking of Operculicarya pachypus

O.pachypus & decaryi at the nursery where I purchased the plant in the bonsai pot

My pachypus in a 12in bonsai pot

Another pachypus in 6in pot

pachypus flower

I have one more large pachypus and a few other species,
hyphaenoides, borealis, hirsutissima and a couple unidentified ones.

Here is my O. Pachypus:

and O. Decaryi:

Can't seem to find the right bonsai pot for them yet...

Thanks.

I recently purchased 18 seedlings from "Botanic Wonders", and of course they range in size, and stem length. All have a peanut-colored "root" just below the thin wiry, main-stem. What is this? Is this "peanut" part of the root system, and should it be buried...or, is this swollen, "peanut" the part of the plant that will develop into the fat, trunk?

These peanut-shaped portions of the stems, have normal looking roots growing from the bottom. I need to pot these plants. Do I bury everything up to the point where the main-stem begins, and keep everything else under ground, including the "peanut"...or, do I expose the peanut?

More simply...what part of the plant becomes the fat, swollen, bumpy, trunk?

Thanks for the help.

Frank

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To previous posters:

This thread originally started back in '07. QUESTION: Are your plants still alive and thriving? Any new information about culture? New photos?

Just curious.

All are still growing well.

After 3yrs in the raised bed, quarter for size reference

What part of the seedling Opurcs. eventually becomes the fat trunk? I'm so confused.

Good to read that your plants are alive and thriving.

Frank

Mine remain happy as well. I have repotted mine back into nursery pots in an effort to encourage them put on a bit of girth. Of course, they are now heading full steam ahead into dry dormancy:

O. Pachypus - changed the styling on this guy a bit, going for more of a sumo style bonsai:

And my O. decaryi - buried the roots to see if they can get even more interesting:

Frank - I find these to be the most enjoyable of the succulent bonsai - little leaves, tough as nails, great trunk character...jump in!

T

Those cashews are the nuts, man.

;-)...

Please answer/speculate this stupid question that will have no answer:

Assuming good culture, etc. how long does it take to get these plants to start to fatten up? Is it less than 10 years....or, decades. Photos posted on this thread show some very fat plants with short trunks....how old do you think they might be? Did they fatten up, and increase in diameter/length with your culture?

My aim/goal....short, fat trunk...with branches concentrated toward top of stem. Think...Baobab.

I have a feeling that I should look for a plant that shows the characteristics that I like, pay the price, and go from there, rather than start with a young plant and then train it. The waiting game is for a young man with patience...I'm not, and, have none.

The photos are really great...and thanks for all the updated information.

Frank

So you can judge a bit:

Pachy, 2007:

Pachy now:

Decaryi, 2006:

Decaryi now:

It may not be so noticeable in the photos, but they do fatten appreciably over time. As you can see, I did not start from seedlings, however, so I cannot speak to that.

Tom

Frank, I think we all need to move to a place where we can grow these outside year round.

Thanks for the montage of progress. Yes, they do noticeably change, and do look much fatter, but not necessarily taller. The "trees" look great, and the very nice branch ramification adds to the overall illusion of a majestic tree.

Now, I want one too. More money...and the wallet continues to get thinner, and thinner.

These are about as perfect a plant that you could ask for as far as a "bonsai"-type tree...fat, bumpy, trunk with some character, short, ramified branches, and tiny leaves that change with the seasons....and, they can be kept indoors through the Winter months. A high success rate potential.

@ whip 1 ....

How right you are. In another life I would be either in Florida, or, better yet, Southern-California...like Mr. Caudex1...growing my fatties. My NYC climate stinks for the type plants that I want to grow....but in spite of the problems, I've managed to grow some nice plants.

Thanks for all the input.

Frank

Question:

Can O. decaryi be trained to grow as fat and short as O. pachypus....or, is it just not in this species genes to grow fat and wide? If they can be grown short and fat...how? Trunk-chop?...restricted roots, grown hard? What's the cultural secrets.

Frank

Thanks for sharing your observations. I hoped for a different answer but it is what it is...now I will have to look for a O. pachypus, and part with more moolah...or, learn to live with a giant carrot, instead of a pineapple.

Anyway....thanks again.

Frank

A few questions:

- I have raised the root for a few years now without knowing the consequence. Now I want to replant the root back to increase the trunk girth. Can I replant the root back into the soil? Will it make the roots prone to rot since they have been dry for a long time?

- What's the best pot size to increase girth? Bigger pot to give roots enough room, or smaller/tighter pot?

Thanks!

Mine seem to fatten up no matter what kind of pot I put them in. I have had them in shallow bonsai pots, and deep terra cotta pots...seems to make no matter, they just get fatter and fatter.

I see no reason not to be able to bury the roots deeper if you want. Basically, if you have heat and sun, they will take as much water as they can get and I would not expect the roots to rot. Once it cools down in the fall through winter...very little to no water will prevent them from rotting.

I have found pachypus to be a little more sensitive to excessive water...by decaryi is bullet proof.

Hope that helps.

Tom

That's a relief to hear that yours can grow well in any pot. I am going to try difference pots to see.

Btw, mine are decaryii. I haven't had the luck to find a good pachypus.

I have had mine for 2 -3 years. Although they are healthy, I didn't see noticeable girth growth. I gave them sun although not too much since it tends to get above 100 on occasions.

I am going to give them more sun and water now. And keep pruning them. Maybe that will help thickening them up.

Let me know if you have other suggestions.

Thanks!

I wonder why it is stunned. Maybe it has reached it's full potential, and that's the way the plant is on pot? Is it decaryii?

I don't have much knowledge to offer to this forum since you guys are way ahead on the learning curve. But I learn a lot.

Just to clarify, yours get fatten in any pot, is it with the roots kept under the soil all the time, or root mostly exposed?

Stan,

Maybe just enjoy it as much as possible now. Stage it in a nice pot. I don't know what it looks like but I am sure it looks awesome staged.

Tom

Tom

Yours are nice. Mine is decaryii so I am particularly impressed with your decaryii. Let's see if I can achieve something similar.

I don't suppose you use fertilizer? Grown hard?

Thanks!

J.

t