Q.
I have several bottle trees that have grown well over the last years and one
that has always had a slight “droop” to the branches. I’m not sure what else to
do as all the other trees are doing great!
If the tree otherwise looks healthy there may be nothing you can do about it. Growers
of bottle trees usually start them from seed. Propagating plants directly from
seed creates a lot of tree variability in their growth habit, flower color, seed
pod as well as the seed itself. The result is that some trees are more upright
than others, some have different leaf color, and some more resistant or
susceptible to disease or insects. Its genetic and nothing much you can do
about it.
Other trees propagated from seed include
southern live oak, and most of our pine trees. So, you see, this variability
can be good, or it can be bad if you don’t like it’s looks or it’s more
susceptible to a disease present in your locale.
When trees are young, they oftentimes grow
more vertically. They want to get taller and get taller than any competitors
nearby. As they get older, vertical limbs become more horizontal. It’s possible
this is what you see. When it has a full canopy of leaves then horizontal limbs
are not a problem. The dense canopy of leaves shade these thin-barked horizontal
branches. But if there is leaf drop from disease, insects, drought or normal
leaf drop then watch for sunburn on these very susceptible limbs.
Because they are native trees, they don’t
need a lot of fertilizer. Native plants are like that. They are not commercial
hybrids that rely on more soil nutrients applied by fertilizer. This means
applying a light application of high nitrogen fertilizer like 16-16-16 or
20-20-20 once a year in the spring just after new growth starts is enough.