By: Norberto G. Betita
Through the years my Molave bonsai trees had multiplied as to become kind of a Molave bonsai mini-forest. Below are pictures of some of my Molave bonsai trees grown at our backyard. Molave (Vitex parviflora of the Verbenaceae family) is a medium sized tree which is very popular in our province of Surigao del Norte, Philippines generally used for timbers and furniture. It is known for its very durable and strong wood. Even the remains of its cuttings in the forest were made into beautiful drift wood furniture.
From my first specimen which I bought from a plant dealer, I have been able to plant more from cuttings. I have not been informed whether my first specimen was a seed tree or a cutting or was I really sure then whether cuttings will survive into beautiful bonsai trees until I tried it myself in the late 1990’s. This specie is one of a rock dweller. In my years of observation with my Molave bonsai, I found that these trees can live on rocks even without the soil, but through the years roots came out from the crevices of coral rocks where I have them planted as tiny specimens to the end that I was constrained to just put these rock dweller trees on a shallow pot with soil. Over the years of their growing some of the coral rocks were broken as a result of their enlarged trunks and roots inside.
The compound leaves of three leaflets can no longer be seen because of continued pruning. However, when I leave its branches to grow, particularly during rainy season, the branches grow taller and leaves become bigger and eventually the compound leaves are shown.
This Molave bonsai mini-forest are generally grown over rocks and some on very shallow pots with plain soil.
From my first specimen which I bought from a plant dealer, I have been able to plant more from cuttings. I have not been informed whether my first specimen was a seed tree or a cutting or was I really sure then whether cuttings will survive into beautiful bonsai trees until I tried it myself in the late 1990’s. This specie is one of a rock dweller. In my years of observation with my Molave bonsai, I found that these trees can live on rocks even without the soil, but through the years roots came out from the crevices of coral rocks where I have them planted as tiny specimens to the end that I was constrained to just put these rock dweller trees on a shallow pot with soil. Over the years of their growing some of the coral rocks were broken as a result of their enlarged trunks and roots inside.
The compound leaves of three leaflets can no longer be seen because of continued pruning. However, when I leave its branches to grow, particularly during rainy season, the branches grow taller and leaves become bigger and eventually the compound leaves are shown.
This Molave bonsai mini-forest are generally grown over rocks and some on very shallow pots with plain soil.
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