70th Birthday Buttonwood

by Carl L Rosner
(Margate City, NJ - USA)

Ten years ago, this coming August (2010), my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday? I told her, "a Buttonwood." Her answer was, "OK. What's a Buttonwood?"

After my explanation, Mary Madison was contacted, and my Buttonwood arrived a few days before my 70th birthday (see inset).

This may not be a great Buttonwood, but it is mine, and to me it is great for many reasons. The best reason is that I have kept this plant alive for ten years. It has spent the past ten years indoors under fluorescent lights. Our southern NJ spring is usually pretty cool, but I have managed to place it outdoors for a few seasons when the temperatures are warm. I do not see much difference in its growth inside or out. Although I usually defoliate it before putting it outdoors.

Indoors I feed the Buttonwood (as well as most of my non-flowering trees); to a gallon of water, in the third watering Monday through Friday I add one quarter teaspoon of Miracid 30-10-10. Saturday and Sunday I use plain water. This tree gets watered almost every day while indoors.

I can always tell if this tree is happy by the sap that is invariably seeping from the buttons(?) on either side of the base of the leaves.

The above picture was taken February 25, 2010. The inset was taken May 14, 2000.

The tree measures 23 inches wide by 17 inches tall and 12 inches deep. The trunk is a little over 4 inches wide at the soil level.

I have to admit that the only pot that I can afford for this tree is a mica pot which measures 10.5 x 13.5 x 3.