gmv wrote:
The tree of interest is called an ORCHID tree better
known as a Bauhinia tree.
Don't know that one, way out of my zone...
The only reason I posted my question here was because
it is about an Orchid thingy.
Sort of, but the 'mick-alarm' didn't go off, so no harm no foul. *grin*
I have received the best results posting in this
particular group because the people here
seem to know more about plants in general.
Simply acidifying the soil is not an option
because it seems in the PH change deadly salts are generated
causing the ends of the leaves to go necrotic.
Changing the soil all together now seems like the
only feasible option. Either that or using a pot.
I have never seen a Bauhinia grown in a pot before.
It would have to be a monster pot.
30 feet in diameter or so.
It looks like oleanders are the only way to go here.
Where there is a will, there is a way... Go to the nursery, buy
several bags of compressed peat (the brown stuff). Put down 6" plus of
peat over the planting area, and till or dig it in. Dig it in pretty
deep. Plant your tree, and mulch it in well with several inches of bark
chips or something else that will rot. Not only is that nice looking,
but good for the plant, regardless of the pH of the soil. What is the
worst that can happen? It dies and you buy another dozen bags of peat
and replant... You will get there eventually.
This might just be the right place. Orchid growers are well known
for being either too stupid or too stubborn to stick to what grows well
under their conditions. If bauhinia was an orchid, you can bet that
somebody in northern Manitoba would have built a $10,000 greenhouse
specifically for it, trucked in 4 dozen yards of premium amazon
rainforest dirt at 1000 bucks a yard, and installed football stadium
lights outside the greenhouse to help with those long nights... Orchid
people are idiots... *grin*
Rob
--
Rob's Rules:
http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a. See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to purchase
more orchids, obtain more credit