Pepper Tree?!

Shambhala

Well I stopped by the Bonsai store and told the man about my ailing Juniper, and he (it was also his last day) sold me a 'Pepper Tree' at a very good deal

I have been looking for information, but can't find any. Does anyone know the genus of this tree, or where I can find info on it?

Thanks!

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TreeBay

I think you are talking about Schinus molle, which is called Brazilian or California Pepper tree, although it is not the source of pepper corns.

http://www.rain-tree.com/peppertree.htm

Watch your watering on this one. Not too wet, but it can't dry out either. This falls in the category of trees I *had*.

(Succumbed to overwatering early in my bonsai career.)

Regards,

Matt

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Geodude

I have a California pepper tree, Schinus molle, that I picked up for free on Arbor Day. It's waiting to tell me what style bonsai it wants to be. Anyways, I was warned by the staff at Arbor Day that the foliage is poisonous. You may want to keep it away from small pets or children, just in case.

In sunny Southern California
Zone 9

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Paul

"Life will be sweet like a rhapsody
When I paint my materpiece"

Shambhala

Thanks for the info! The one I got just arrived from the nursery, so it is a little rough in shape, which is good because I want to practice wiring and pruning. I'll let it grow a bit more and decide on the shape, but it looks like a formal upright.

Shambhala

Just an update...

My Pepper Tree is having the time of it's life in the grow box and has grown a very dense foliage. It is looking pretty good right now, although I wish more branches would develop; right now it looks good from the front and back, but it has an almost 2D appearance.

Matt, I was wondering if you had any practice w/ wiring one of these before your died? The branches feel very brittle (like a dry stick) and I am thinking it may be better off to leave these branches as is and concentrate on styling any new growth.

Thanks

BTW: I saw some 'pink peppercorns' at a store a while ago. They were expensive and after researching, I found out that they come from the pepper true (although they aren't technically peppercorns). Maybe I'll make some extra money by harvesting pink peppercorns (I think I could get 7 per season)

TreeBay

My pepper died in a freeze almost 10 years ago.

A weeping style might lend itself quite nicely, depending on the trunk. John Naka's Bonsai Techniques have some good instructions on creating a weeping style bonsai.

The trick is to wire the branches up and then down in arcs. After they have grown out a bit and thickened, you can cut back to a point just at the bottom of the arc, wire the shoot up in a short arc and down again in a longer arc, making the arcs smaller as you go. At the terminal the foliage hangs down.

The tendency of many beginners is to wire the branches down to create a weeper, and that's not right!

Regards,

Matt

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Shambhala

Thanks for the idea, a weeping style never even crossed my mind, but it seems like it would look good on this type of tree.

Right now it is looking like a broom style; would that look alright with weeping branches?

I am going to see about getting that book this week, everyone seems to recommend it

TreeBay

Well, the branch structure of the Peppertree is oak-like, but the twigs and finer branches are definitely weepers.

Here is a selection of sites with Peppertrees that I found

http://www.championtrees.org/champi...ecalifornia.jpg

http://www.outofthenight.com/guy/miss4.jpg

This one looks unnatural - I think it has been headed back a lot, and IMHO it loses a lot of grace

http://www.digitalseed.com/sandiego...pertreeday.html

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