Divi Divi

dbz12fan

This is a species that has not yet made its mark in the bonsai community. The divi divi is a tropical that does not respond well to the cold (no less than about 60 degrees or it will drop its leaves). Its branches are brittle, and a trunk takes a long time to grow. Three factors, which keep it contrived in the "unpopuler" species list.

The tree looks much like a texas ebony (now known as ebanosis) regarding leaf style and bark texture, only divi divi leaves are about half of the size of ebanosis leaves.

I believe that it was Jim Moody, who first introduced the divi divi into the United States. I do not know how long ago this happened, but it seems like Jim Smith has been growing them for about 4-5 years (maybe less).

A unique species always seems to spark my interest, so I decided to get one. IMO, this is the best divi divi that Jim Smith had for sale.

Here is how it turned out after the first styling. The wispy trunk of the divi divi lends itself well to the bunjin (literati) style. I was only able to wire one small branch (the back branch); the others were to brittle.

I would be interested to hear comments as well as pot ideas. I am planning on using a shallow oval pot, but there may be a better option that I am forgetting.

Attached Images

pict0341.jpg (16.0 KB, 142 views)

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Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

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ChrisM

charles, divi divi are very common on the beaches of aruba, for this reason, many of my friends have asked me to produce a bonsai for them that looks like the divi tree. i got this picture off line a while back to help me with this task, it seems that the divi's are all very windblown in aruba and the trunks and bark twisty and mangled looking (the best i can describe them from the pictures i have seen).

chris

Attached Images

sm_divi_divi2-small.jpg (19.7 KB, 124 views)

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dbz12fan

Interesting Chris. I wonder if it is possible to collect one.

__________________
"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

Bart Thomas(deceased)

I would suspect that, since they seem to be closely related to Texas Ebony (Am I right on this?), they might have the same problems in being collected, particularly if they are growing on a beach like the one in the photo.

The main problem (with Tex Ebony) is a humungous tap root, which requires a long process of root reduction. It can be done, there are folks in south Texas who do it successfully., but it's a difficult process.