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Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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Posted by
sun_worshiper FL 9b (
My Page) on
Sun, Jan 23, 11 at 17:30
| Not a fruit tree, but thought you might enjoy my first attempt at "pugging" a tree.
Despite the weather being a bit iffy, I couldn't hold my Hong Kong Orchid dormant any longer. It was sending out new shoots all over the place. So I went for a drastic shaping prune. When I bought it, it had been tipped over in the nursery too long and a side branch had become the dominant shoot. Not an ideal specimen, but it was the only one small enough to fit in my car=) So this year I am going to attempt to make a nicely formed tree out of it. So here we go:
The "before" note the side shoot that is bigger than the main trunk, and the very spindly main trunk that is 6+ feet tall:
And the "after" - I made the pruning cut at about 3'. Just below the side shoot that was too dominant, and above a very well placed new sprout that I will train to become the new central leader.
My hope is that I can channel all the growing energy this season into creating a well formed trunk. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| theyre pretty vigorous growers. which color and species Bauhinia is it? I love them, Im planting a silk floss in my front swale when im finished with my front yard. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Hey SunW...best of luck with your tree, I bet it takes off in the Spring. Keep us posted...can't wait to see it once it gets growing! |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| This is a Bauhinia blakeana. It is a grafted tree that I got from Excalibur. The graft is about a 1/3 of the way up the "after picture" of the trunk. I sought out the grafted type so that it wouldn't set seed pods. It flowered this year, but got nipped by frost before I had a chance to find out if any seed pods set. I got it for the flowers - they are so gorgeous! 
There is a big specimen and Disney, so I'm hopeful that if I protect it from frost for a couple years and work on forming a good stout trunk that it can get big enough to survive on its own as a large tree=) |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| That is one gorgeous bloom! I wish you the best with it. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Now that it's been a couple months, figured I'd post an update on this tree. It has taken well to the drastic pruning and is growing vigorously. The new shoot I selected to become the central leader is already 3/4 the diameter of the trunk it is sprouting out from. Here it was when it was just starting to grow:
 And here it is today:
 It is currently around 5' tall and growing rapidly. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Wow, Your tree has really taken off and is really growing quite nicely. Looks like your Pugging paid off. Good Job and a Brave soul. - Jacob |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Hi SunW...I hope you don't mind but I wanted to share some pictures of my Pugged Desert Rose. I've noticed that some plants take very well to this type of pruning...Jades do well with it too! I did this this January...
 Taken today...
 Pugging Its not just for Mango trees anymore,lol... |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Amazing tree pug1vr1 , its just the perfect size and shape. Amr |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| I recently pugged my yellow strawberry guava tree. The trunk was to long and narrow to support a good canopy. It is now looking pretty good. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Wow - that is so cool puglvr! What a beautiful result. I just love the juxtaposition of the massive, knarled trunk and the delicate blooms. Since I started the thread, I'll open up the floor for anyone else who wants to show off pictures of a tree they have pugged=) It is so fun to see other people's results! I'd love to see a picture of your guava nullzero. I don't have an updated pic, but my tree is growing crazy fast. The central leader is up over my head already around 6-7' now! I want that tree to be an "avenue" tree eventually reaching a full grown size of around 25', so the growth is great. Now it has a nice upright trunk to start the scaffolding of the rest of the tree. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| I can update with a picture this weekend. I cut it down to about a 2ft tall trunk, with one primary stem. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| God Pugsly - your pugged desert rose is wicked pretty! Is it going to stay a bonsai type plant....or you going to let it grow - guess it's been in that pot for a few decades, eh???? lol......mangofurball |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Thanks Amr, SunW and Mangodog!! Appreciate it! Looking forward to that picture Nullzero... MD, lol...I've only had that Desert Rose appx. 6 years?? I trim it often because I want to keep it in that same pot for as long as possible...I've trimmed the roots twice since I've had it. I wish I could find a NICE shallow bonsai type pot for it but I live in a pretty small town and the selection just isn't here...and I don't want to pay a lot for shipping...so I'll keep looking. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Puglvr, Here is that picture of the Yellow Strawberry Guava. I cut it down to about a 2ft section, the tree was about 4ft tall originally. |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Great picture nullzero. Looks like it is growing strongly, will be fun to see how much it grows this year! |
RE: Pugged Hong Kong Orchid
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| Thanks for the picture Null...looks like its doing well! Best of luck! |
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