SPECIES GUIDE : BREYNIA DISTICHA

Family: Euphorbiaceae
Scientific name: Breynia disticha
Common Names:
[EN] Snowbush, Hawaiian Snow Bush, Foliage Flower, Rosy Snow Bush, Snow On The Mountain.
[FR] Buisson des neiges

Overview
Native of the southern Pacific islands.

Location
Outdoor

Position
Full sun to partial sun.
The leaves coloration changes depending on the amount of sunlight the plant receives.

Water requirements
Keep the soil moist to keep this plant happy. Never allow the soil to dry out completely.

Repotting and root pruning
Repot every 6~24 months, depending on growth. Wait for signs of new shoots, but do not allow the new shoots to develop too much before repotting.
Keep root pruning to a minimum, the leaves will wilt if there is inadequate moisture in the substrate.
After repotting or root pruning place in partial shade and keep the substrate moist, mist the leaves daily.

Pruning
New leaves seems give priority to bud on eyes on the branches or trunk.
It can bud on old wood but seems to do so with some difficulty.

A piece of breynia from a cutting that was left in moist soil.
Still in training. 

Propagation
I've managed to make it root on hard wood and soft wood.
Keep in a moist environment.

Insects and Diseases
Generally healthy plant. Caterpillars and mites.

Training:

Wiring should be done on young branches while they are still flexible, and can be bend at odd/extreme angles.

Before wiring

After wiring

Particular Difficulties:
+ Easily creates bulges or reverse taper - the tree often sprouts several branches on the same node when sprouting from the trunk.

Several Branches coming out of  one eye

If left unchecked that can create some severe bulges on the trunk and ultimately can become a reverse taper.

Bulging on the trunk later-on

+ Root pruning should be done with care. The leaves wilt, drop off and/or die after root pruning if the foilage is not misted daily and the substrate kept regularly moist.

Wilted leaves after root pruning

Privet 001 - Working on nebari

Privet [ Ligustrum ] 001 - Working on the nebari

This was one of the first trees it tried to create into a bonsai.
Privet [ Ligustrum ] are really good trees for beginners.
Its a fast grower, it easily roots, it gives off shoots almost anywhere on the tree [ trunk, branches and even exposed roots ] and it readily gives off small leaves.

If you are in the tropics and want to start with a tree to turn into a bonsai, privet [ Ligustrum ] is for you!
An alternative is ficus [ F. Benjamina, F. Retusa, etc ]

This privet was collected in 2010, then after 1 year of stupidity on my part, i.e. I potting the plant into a bonsai pot from the start, Jerry Norbury suggested that I "place it in the ground, to allow it to thicken up and improve the roots". When you are starting up and you get all those youtube vids that just take the plant out, repot them and "presto" you get a "quick" bonsai, hearing someone suggesting that you put your tree back into the ground is really the last thing you want to hear...

It took me some months, but I ended doing just what Jerry suggested.
I placed the tree back into the ground in 2011 to thicken up and improve the nebari.

Some weeks ago, the tree was starting to grow some new shoots.
It was the right time to check on the roots , so I uprooted it to look at how it was doing and do some corrections it was needed.

Normally you would do this type of operation every 2~3 years in a temperate region, but in the tropics you get two to three growth cycles per year.

Back in 2011 - Before placing it into the ground.

Zoom on the roots - The trunk is very thin after 1 year training
and the nebari [ surface roots ] are non existant.

"In the ground"

After 1 year - the main trunk has thickened up
and the primary branches too.

A 15mm diameter

The root mass uncleaned.

Long lateral root - This is bound to happen in the ground.
The lateral root will spread long and wide from the tree, and
the feeder roots will develop at the end.

We want to avoid this when creating a bonsai.
The lateral roots should be cut back closer to the
 trunk to promote denser feeder roots near the trunk.

The root ball cleaned

A long and thick lateral root. This will be
reduced in length.

Identifying potential nebari

Identifying potential nebari

Another long lateral root that will have
to be reduced in length.

The root system underneath - I'm looking for tap root formations.
Tap roots are necessary for anchoring trees into the ground,
but its not necessary inside a bonsai pot.

Found one tap root [ starts from the middle
of the root and moves out towards the bottom left ] that will be removed.

The plant was placed deep into the ground, several roots
occured on the trunk itself.

After removal of the root on the trunk.

Lateral root that needs to be reduced

Same lateral root after it has been reduced

Several roots shooting out of the main trunk

Much better

I was going to keep that root, but most of the nebari
is present much below. I ended up removing it completely.

The root was thick, to avoid any splitting the root was
removed in several stages

Nearly done

Completely removed

Checking the root for any other issues

This root is crossing over one another. When those two
roots thicken this might become an issue.

Seperated roots

Back into the ground.

Cuphea 001 : Attempting aerial roots

Cuphea 001 : Attempting aerial roots

Found this Cuphea hyssopifolia in the local forestry nursery.

Its abundant aerial roots on the trunk kind of attracted my eye.

The "shrub" still in its nursery pot

Close-up on the aerial roots that got my attention

Getting a look at the roots

The root system, needs some untangling
and some tidying up.

Close-up on the root ball and the aerial roots

I played with the tree, viewing it at different angles. I ended
up choosing this slanted angle.

Getting rid of the extra roots. You dont see it well in this pic,
but there still LOTS of feeder roots present.

From this view you can see the root mass still left, even
after the pruning.

Repotted

Close-up

Top view

Got some sphagnum moss ready

Applied the sphagnum moss on the aerial roots. Make sure to
get the sphagnum moss well inside space in-between the aerial roots.

Top view

Side view

Done! I'll have to wait and see how the
aerial roots developped.