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Indoor Trees
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by Diana Roberts |
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Category:
Indoors
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| It seems that indoor gardening has changed. Rather than having a lot of smaller plants, we are growing a few indoor trees. What happens if we love our smaller plants, but would rather have trees? In some cases you can turn these smaller plants into trees! |
Example
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| Take for example the tree rose. It was once just a regular rose bush now turned tree. What type of plants can become trees? Well, how about that geranium you brought indoors from your garden this fall, or the miniature roses, heliotropes, fuchsias, coleus or lantanas. You can also turn avocados, begonias and ornamental peppers into trees. If you have some plants that you wouldn’t mind losing (let’s face it we do sometimes fail) you can try to turn them into trees. |
Trunk
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| The best time to start training a plant into a tree is in the late winter or early spring. You will need to select a young plant with good tip growth. Be very careful to not harm the tip, as this is where your tree will grow. Remember what you are striving for; a strong trunk with growth on the top. This upper growth may be of any shape, but there will always be a lower trunk. |
Stake
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| The next step is to remove all the side shoots from the trunk, though single leaves can be left until the tree is established. Any shoots which sprout on the lower trunk later should also be removed. Once your tree is a foot high, it will have to be put in an eight-inch pot, which will allow for a stake to be placed beside the tree. This stake should be the same height as your future tree. Once the stake is in, the tree can be attached to it with twist ties (be sure they are not tight around the trunk). |
Light
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| Place your tree in appropriate lighting and heat. The tree will need plenty of light to ensure it grows straight. You should also turn the tree a quarter turn every day so it will not lean toward the light. Once your tree has gotten to the desired height, you should pinch back the growing tip and allow the branches to form at the top of the trunk. |
Fuchsias
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Fuchsias are a great plant for training into a tree. Years ago, I had a fuchsia tree which was the most beautiful tree I had ever seen. It stood about four feet high and bloomed constantly. It thrived for a couple of years until it was accidentally broke in half, which also broke my heart. When starting your tree fuchsia, follow the directions above, then once you have allowed side branches to form, allow them four leaves each, then pinch out each center tip. Continue doing this until the tree gets to the size and shape you would like. |
Blooms
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While training your plants into house trees, you may find your plant starts to bloom. Don’t worry about this, just allow them to bloom, then pinch off the spent blooms and continue on with the process. You may need to look for another centre at this point, though not always.
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Rose
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If you would like to train a miniature rose into a tree rose, you will have to cut out all but one cane, which will be your trunk. Miniature roses are grafted onto hardy root stock, so be sure that your trunk is coming from the upper part of the plant, not the root stock. Allow your ‘trunk’ to grow upright, while pinching out all side growth. Once your trunk is about twenty inches tall, pinch out the centre growth bud and allow branches to grow at the top of the trunk.
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Plump
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Your miniature rose tree will need to rest in a light, 50-degree F room from November until February. Keep it watered lightly and often enough to keep the trunk and branches plump. In February, you can bring it into a warm room and fertilize and water it normally. Keep your rose tree pruned to a nice shape and watch carefully for any insect pests.
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Geranium
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If you have your heart set on a geranium tree, any upright growing geranium can be grown into a tree. Start it just as outlined above then prune it carefully and you may have your tree up to ten years. If you are not sure if you can turn a plant you have into a tree, just give it a try and see what happens. Some plants have specific requirements over the winter, such as roses, so if you treat them the way you would a non-tree specimen, you should have good luck.
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