Iris,
I agree completely with Carl, Place it in a humidity tent and keep the root
zone as warm as possible. Buttonwoods (Conocarpus erectus) will wilt (the
leaves and new shoots) very quickly if the uptake of the root system is
insufficient. If wilting has not occured and continued you should be in good shape.

Buttonwoods often have very few main root connections and sometimes only one
to the living tissue in a specimen with a lot of deadwood.

Dale is correct aht most collected Buttonwoods are little more than rootless
stumps when collected. They are collected in our South Florida summer for the
high humidity and heat of the season. Some will place them under misters
and/or shade cloth to reduce transpiration. The clear plastic bag will serve this
purpose.

Pot it in the new pot now, in the next few days, since it is already
stressed. Choose a pot that will not dry out too quickly in your climate. If you wait
longer, then do not repot until next summer - let it rest and gather strength
(new roots and foliage.

Good luck!
Luis Fontanills
Miami, Florida USA


In a message dated 6/14/2003 10:53:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:
If this tree lives, it will be a miracle. It came with the driftwood partly
underground at a cockeyed angle & the live part sticking up. I carved the
aboveground part in February. It started to develop dots on the leaves after
all
this rain, so I sprayed it with Orthenex (which contains Triforine). The other
day I took it out of the pot & put the roots in a baggie. I heeded Mary
Madison's advice to watch for the point of root attachment, but I probably
lost quite
a few roots. I wire-brushed the driftwood & treated what I thought would be
the underground part with wood hardener. Sanding it will take too long; that
will have to come later.
Yesterday I wrestled the thing into an oblong pot with Hollow Creek tropical
mix. With my watching the point of attachment & dealing with various
projections, it finally went in at an even more cockeyed angle, with the live
part
sticking out in back at another cockeyed angle. Much of the wood hardener
treated
part is above ground, which will make the color uneven when I try to apply
lime sulfur. I think what it really needs is a rather deep round or square
literati pot, & being potted at a more upright angle, because there is no
comprehensible front.
Right now I have it in a very shady location outside. I will let it recover.
If it should survive, can I repot it again this year in a more suitable pot?
Since the present root system is rather small, what size pot should I look
for?
The tree itself is a little over a foot tall.
Iris

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