can anyone id my tree pls

absoluteNovice

I just bought this tree on ebay and was wanting to know if anyone knew what it was,i was told from the seller it was a chinese pepper tree.But i have tried googleing it but to no avail,Can someone also tell me how to get my tree thicker at the base and tapering upwards.i live in the uk and keep my tree indoors how often should i water it?and can anyone give me the ideal time to re-pot as the roots are coming out the bottom and i dont want to kill my first tree already,thanks everyone

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RedPine

Hi,


For your watering it is usally best to only water the tree as the soil is going dry.This takes some time to get the hang of,the goal is to never let the tree go totaly dry or stay wet all the time.I like to use a free draining soil that needs daily watering or else the tree will suffer.The ID looks pretty correct to me,as a tropical tree they wont like frost or freezing weather, repotting would be best in the warm months when temps will stay above 70f.

As for getting a bigger trunk,the thing will have to grow out in a larger container over a few years.As an example;you could shift to a 2 gallon container for 2 years,letting the tree grow freely.Then from there you would shift to like a 5 gallon container for 2-3 more years.A small pot and continued trimming will keep the tree from growing out much larger at all.I'm sure others will help more aswell.Good day.

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andrew lenden

hi, your tree is a zanthoxylum piperitum, known as chinese pepper tree or szechuan pepper. i think the leaves are stunning on these, heres a pic of a closeup of mine, if you google the names here you should get somewhere, please report back with your findings, kindest regards andrew

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absoluteNovice

Thanks alot Andrew ive been looking on the net using"chinese pepper tree"but now i have the proper name i can start looking again.I am a newbie at this and need to repot my tree as the roots are coming out the bottom of the pot,i guess you are the right person to ask when is the best time to do this, as i have never done it before and have been told that if i repot at the wrong time it could kill my tree,i also need advice on pruning ie can i do this at any time of year.any suggestions are more than welcome, oh sorry i meant to say i live in scotland as ive been told climate affects the tree aswell.

andrew lenden

hi A.N. this is what i,ve learnt so far. (if anyone knows better or differently please, please chime in) I first saw this species coming over to the U.K. from holland a couple of years ago via wholesale van sales. They where riddled with aphids of which they are prone so i did not buy at that time. They seem particulary prone to these if kept indoors but are easily treated with the usual sprays or even just soapy water. pepper trees are natives of taiwan and presumably szechuan and come from the same southern chinese growers that specialise in chinese elms, sageretias, ficus retusa and serrisa for in the U.K. indoor market. and as such until more information on cold hardiness has been found I treat mine like the most sensitive of the above (ficus?) that means outside whenever the temperature rises above 50 degrees with winter quarters of a coollish conservatory. this mirrors as close as i can the conditions where these trees are kept once imported at the wholesale nursery/importers heated 50-60 degree ish greenhouses. This type of indoor tree is shipped at any time of year in temperature controlled containers direct from the china and take around a month to arrive. once here they are more often than not bare of leaves but quickly leaf out after the forced dormancy. they are repotted into a more sterile soil a few weeks prior to shipment to obey maff rules so as yours is pot bound i,d hazard a guess its been in the importers greenhouses for quite some time which has got to be a good thing! for my tree which does become dormant over winter i repot just after christmas as the days start getting longer but i would not discount redpines advise on when is best and would welcome further advise off anyone in the know. pinching of soft growth is done as needed with more major pruning being done from spring to mid summer. I gave one of these to my mum in the summer that i,d had for a while. she tried it inside but it rapidly began to look ill. (shes great with plants) once outside again it soon recovered so outside is best and in our climate just aim to maintain and keep alive inside over the winter before returning to the bench late spring, redpines advise on watering and other care sounds bob on, if in doubt err on the side of dry, pepper trees can wilt dramatically and recover without any problem when watered. cheers and let me know how you get on, andrew