Q. You told someone that a
bottle tree lacked water when its leaves turned brown and fell. I have a large,
Australian bottle tree that was here when I bought this house 12 years
ago. Every summer it blooms and makes
seedpods that eventually fall. It also
loses leaves as the person in your article described. However, it grows new
leaves so it looks eventually much as it did.
bottle tree lacked water when its leaves turned brown and fell. I have a large,
Australian bottle tree that was here when I bought this house 12 years
ago. Every summer it blooms and makes
seedpods that eventually fall. It also
loses leaves as the person in your article described. However, it grows new
leaves so it looks eventually much as it did.
 |
| Bottle tree with one side of the tree leaf drop |
A. Bottle trees from
Australia are “dry deciduous” trees. In other words, during the dry season of
the Australian desert they drop their leaves. When rain returns, they grow
their leaves again.
Australia are “dry deciduous” trees. In other words, during the dry season of
the Australian desert they drop their leaves. When rain returns, they grow
their leaves again.
If
these trees get water stressed in our climate and suffer from a lack of water,
they drop their leaves. They “think” they are going through a dry season so
they drop their leaves to protect themselves from drought.
these trees get water stressed in our climate and suffer from a lack of water,
they drop their leaves. They “think” they are going through a dry season so
they drop their leaves to protect themselves from drought.
During
the summer here, if they are not receiving enough water they will also drop
their leaves. They are conditioned to drop their leaves from millennia of
evolution on the Australian continent.
the summer here, if they are not receiving enough water they will also drop
their leaves. They are conditioned to drop their leaves from millennia of
evolution on the Australian continent.
If
you want them to keep their leaves through the summer, then give them more
water or, possibly, water more often. It is hard to say which is the right
thing to do but my guess is they should be given more water when they are
watered.
you want them to keep their leaves through the summer, then give them more
water or, possibly, water more often. It is hard to say which is the right
thing to do but my guess is they should be given more water when they are
watered.
Plants
use 500 to 800% more water during the months of July and August when compared
to January in our desert climate. When bottle trees mature, they develop a
swollen trunk that they use for storage of water that allows them to survive periods
of drought, thus their name.
use 500 to 800% more water during the months of July and August when compared
to January in our desert climate. When bottle trees mature, they develop a
swollen trunk that they use for storage of water that allows them to survive periods
of drought, thus their name.