Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Braided??, 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
I don't think this would work for a number of reasons. The first reason is that the root systems of the three plumies would be entwined and competing for nutrients and water, and you would need a huge container to accommodate the root systems of three trees together. I have three-year-old rooted cuttings that are rootbound in 15-gallon containers so you would need a 45-gallon container for three of them in short order. The second reason is that I think, as Hetty said, they would break in the braiding process, and if they didn't break, they would girdle each other, which would lead to eventual breakage. There are some trees that you can do this with, like ficus, and miraculously, they don't girdle each other, but plumerias hold a lot of water in their stems and are more like succulents than like ficus. The third reason is that these are large trees, as Violet said, and they really need their own space to grow and expand. HTH

Here is a tree pic for those in New Orleans. This Celadine is on Poplar Street.