UPDATE: Madagascar Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata)

Dec. 11 -Update: "the Dragon" was looking a little scruffy, having been beaten-up by the wind & exposure, over time, so I decided to give him a fresh start by cutting-back his foliage. Winter weather is yet to come & he will handle it better with less foliage to get damaged.

Am also looking ahead to when his brachts won't all be at the same height. I initially trimmed each shoot to 4" from growing base to tip as this photo shows.

  But, in the end, I gave-in & trimmed him evenly, as it may be the last time it will be possible for him to grow a unified "fan"..foliage that looks like a single plume.

What I did was to even-out the 4 shoots, leaving 'the Dragon' with a "flat-top'.(for those of you too young to know what a "flat-top" was, ask your grandpa)

If you want to know more about this tree, you can access his Photos/History page.

A New Project: Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)

I stumbled across this Ficus a couple of days ago, on the "1/2-OFF" table at a major Home & Garden Center, while looking for "a new project"..He didn't look well..but he didn't look sick, either..just neglected

Acquired: Dec 10, 2025 - Home & Garden Center - $7.50 + tax

Once I got him home (the patio), I was able to get a good look & what I saw reinforced my opinion that this was a viable plant & could become a candidate for my collection.  

As I "unpacked" this tree & cleaned him up, it struck me that this had been someone else's project, that had either failed or been abandoned. If you'd like to see the steps in-between, you can see the process & access the Photos/History page here. 

Divide & Double (updated)

 Oct 26, 2025

Here's the challenge..can you divide a tree with 2 trunks & make 2 little trees from one? This one is an out-&-out gamble..I found this HoneySuckle at Home Depot

Nothing special about this plant, but when you take a closer look, you'll see that he has parallel trunks, seemingly growing beside one another or, are they both growing from the same root stock or ??

I won't know until I get it out of it's pot & take a look..

First step is removing soil & trying to see if this is one plant, or two that have grown together & slowly, slowly, start to pull them apart.

The idea is to NOT destroy this little tree, & after a few minutes of pulling & prying & trying not to tear too many roots, I turned to my trusty pruning saw.

The two trunks were indeed joined..looked as if they had both grown out of a large, woody root, but the saw cut cleanly through the root ball.

Now we have 2 specimens, each with root ball intact..now, can I keep them alive...?

I potted both & here they are..will they survive after major surgery? Only time will tell... I will leave them alone for a few days..see what happens.

Oct 30 - Update

Both of these are doing fine..no sign of wilting or die-back. If you want to follow their progress, click on HoneySuckle II

Nov. 8 - Update

Over the last week, these 2 lost some leaves, but otherwise showed little ill-effects to the surgery & re-potting, as separate trees. Now I have to decide if either is a candidate for potting-on &/or development..however, I now have 2 HoneySuckle specimens for the price of one.

Nov. 24 - Update

I think enough time has passed to declare that the "gamble" paid off..this specimen survived what I consider "major surgery" to divide him & make 2 plants. Now, the question is, what can we do with them? I've selected one to work on, pictured here, & started preliminary style pruning.

This is all for now, as I want to see how he reacts to pruning, so soon after being divided & potted.

Dec. 9 - Update

It was not difficult to choose which of these little trees would become a candidate for further attention..we'll differentiate between them, heretofore, as Honeysuckle II(a) & Honeysuckle II(b). I'm going to let Honeysuckle II(b) grow & watch how she develops.

Honseysuckle II(a) will be the focus, in terms of this project, going forward. One of the next things we need to determine is "which side is up".. does the plant have a front, back & side? Sometimes, that's obvious, but often it is not; at times, the choices between front & back might trade places, as the plant matures & presents differently..below is how I see it..what do you think?

SIDE 2

FRONT

SIDE 1

Use the Comments section (below) to record your answer

Back to roots: a brief history of trees-in pictures

Over 120 years ago Henry John Elwes and Dr Augustine Henry embarked on an epic project to create a comprehensive catalogue of British and Irish trees. This monumental work was published in a series of seven volumes containing 2,022 pages and 412 main photographs. It recorded over 500 species of tree. Collotypes by Henry John Elwes and Dr Augustine Henry

The Guardian published a sampling of this fascinating look into the past & printed it in the online US Edition today. 

For those that are interested in either the sociological impact of trees(& nature in general) during the pre-war period or the history of photography during that period should take a look.

Back to roots: a brief history of trees-in pictures