Everything You Need To Know About Growing a SILK FLOSS Tree

[@nd4804]

Great video, thank you SO much. I live in Hawaii and just rescued a silk floss from a 'no light' dense location. The root is extremely minimal yet the tree is 5 or 6 feet tall. Amazing! He's now out in great soil, well draining, supported for now with bamboo stakes, with lots of sun and I'm looking forward to seeing this beautiful tree 'blossom'. You video helped a great deal...

[@leroyrichardson7923]

Excellent Teacher

[@bbhoodsta]

Very informative. Thank you!

[@macaroyo2]

Thank you great information 🤘🤙

[@verrettjared]

Awesome very informative and well put together video bro!!! Even if I can't get it to flower, I'm going to try to grow as bonsai.

[@DaGoonR]

I went from a 5 gal bucket to a 50ft tree in 5 years on an irrigated lot in Phoenix AZ. Amazing specimen tree. No complaints other than pulling a thorn off the dogs from time to time.

[@charleshorseman55]

These conical thorns don't pull off, and don't have burs or anything to keep them embedded. And a smart dog would get a jab once or twice before getting near it again.

[@DaGoonR]

yeah mostly found them in the fur not in the dog so its all good@@charleshorseman55

[@pongop]

Wow, that's amazing! Mine in Central California has gone from 1 foot to 3 feet in 3ish years. I just moved and transplanted it and now it will get more sun, so maybe it'll grow more quickly. Anyway, kudos on your tree! That's exciting.

[@pongop]

Wow, excellent video and your ceiba looks amazing! Thank you for sharing your experience and tips! I'm in Central Valley California, so maybe similar climate to you in Arizona, so this is relevant. This helped explain my tree and how it's doing so far and how to better care for it. It's cool to see yours thriving and looking great! I was gifted a 1 foot tree a few years ago. Now it's about 3 feet. It almost died one summer when I was away, but it came back. I just moved and took it with me. I think it's doing okay so far. It will get a little more more sun, so it may grow more quickly here. I can't wait to see it become a huge, full grown tree one day. It will be one of the taller trees in my neighborhood. Not as tall as the old oaks, but it will be up there among the canopy. Well, yours is getting tall quickly and looks great, so great work! Thank you again!

[@luismeneses2265]

Great video! I have one growing in mexico city. I planted it 6 years ago as a small tree, no taller than 4 feet high, now its about 40+ feet tall and just began to bloom and bear seeds.

[@casafloridanow]

Hi! I have a small silk floss in a pot-grown from seed; it is 2 ft tall now. I want to plant it on the ground now. What is the best way to put it on the ground, in order to give it the best chance? Does it need potting soil? I am in Central Florida.

[@qctropicals]

Just stick it in the ground now. Very easy to grow :). Straight native soil.

[@styrfry]

Plant your silk floss in a spot with full sun for as long as possible and it will do well. Each silk floss is different though, some will get very bushy but hardly grow tall, some will grow tall and leggy, and everything in between despite all of them getting the same amount of sun. Partial sun will slow down the growth of this tree quite a bit. Also, the fruits of the silk floss tree do not start out as "cotton balls" like the video says. At first they look like an unholy combination of a pear and cucumber that hang down individually, and these take months to become mature and dry out before they split open to reveal the cotton balls beneath. If your area gets strong winds the cotton balls will not last long before being dispersed. The dried remains of this fruit, once split open, do create a bit of a mess on the ground around the tree as unlike the 'silk floss' the dried fruit chunks are too heavy for the wind to carry away.

[@Weech.]

I have one in the backyard of the house I'm renting. I'm moving next spring and want to get some seeds before I leave. Mines the white one and the thrones are super thick

[@hnimneyu]

Can you propagate it? Maybe another another video? Is spring ideal for new trees?

[@jonathaninteriano8389]

Are they deciduous?

[@qctropicals]

No, but they do drop their leaves if it gets too cold.

[@pongop]

@@qctropicals Oh, that explains it! Mine drop their leaves in the winter. Thanks!

[@Blackdog1811]

In the tropics with lots of water they are.

[@TheChenny73]

I loved the video. I live in North Central Florida. The lowest temperature we get is occasionally 20 degrees over night once a few years. Normally we might get mid twenties overnight for a few hours and that might happen a handful of days a winter. Some winters we might only get down to 30 a few times. I’ve read so much mixed information on the cold tolerance. Can this tree really survive low temperatures if you protect it the first year? Do you have any experience with the Tipuana Tipu? Is it as cold tolerant as a Tipu? I ask because people said I couldn’t grow one here but I have successfully. They defoliate each year, but each spring they leaf out with very minimal damage.

[@qctropicals]

tipu trees are weeds in my area. Silk floss takes low 20fs every winter in my yard no problem. I've noticed it's becomes more tolerant the longer it's in the ground. It does take frost damage though.

[@TheChenny73]

@@qctropicals thx. Have you tried the Red Silk Cotton tree? (Bombax Ceiba) Supposedly they are the most cold tolerant of the six silk floss species. I haven’t been able to find one locally, I literally just ordered some seeds.

[@TheChenny73]

@@qctropicals oh we have our weeds here. The Golden Rain tree and Mimosa trees have literally taken over native vegetation in some areas here. Love your channel and common sense approach. You also gave me insight into why my Pakistan mulberry trees are my only mulberries not fruiting.

[@qctropicals]

@@TheChenny73 interesting. I saw this silk floss tree in Florida with those types of flowers and I was wondering what it was now I know because of you!. I'm gonna grow me some red silk floss now!.

[@TheChenny73]

@@qctropicals you may find this useful. It’s a flowering tree guide from the university of Florida. Towards the end it breaks down the six silk floss species, how to identify, cold tolerance’s differences between the species etc. the UF campus in Gainesville does a lot of research on plants and has a huge rare tree collection spread across their campus. gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/mastergardener/webinars/mg-stephen-brown-june2017/presentation-stephenbrown-june2017.pdf

[@redeyelugnut6117]

Any germination tips for seed

[@alondramonroy2048]

What state do you grow your tree inn

[@qctropicals]

Arizona

[@ms76m32]

Hello sir i have three questions can you help me why some of them are stumpier than other and i want to put them in a container and cut them from the top for two years then sell them can i leave the top exposed after cutting because in my area average summer degree is 125f or about 50c and general tips because i'm new to this and try to make a living out of those

[@charleshorseman55]

You can knock the thorns off when they are young. Haven't seen them grow back but if they do they will be skinny and can be knocked off again. These thorns are SERIOUS as in if you accidentally ran into one you would be hurt pretty bad. They grow tall roots which emerge from the ground which makes them tough to mow around. The main benefit is their fruit, which aren't edible, but the seeds are enveloped in a whispy, very soft silk-like fibers which are hypoallergenic and very good for stuffing comforters or pillows.

[@paulgawronski1489]

How much are they?

[@qctropicals]

60 bucks on sale from 150

[@charleshorseman55]

For a well-rooted and potted plant with leaves on, they are usually 100-120 usd at about 5 feet. The narrator explained why. They TAKE. So the cost of growing them is in the maintenance of housing them.

[@riccardoscalzo2148]

Super cool and complete video! I myself bought some seeds recently. Could anyone give me some tips about growing this specimen from the seeds? thankss

[@qctropicals]

stick them in soil+heat, done. They sprout easy

[@ScottTheExperimentalist]

Could one bonsai this tree species?

[@aquamatch]

Question, my Ceiba tree in a container outgrown it's roots into the ground soil. Now I need to move it. Can I cut the roots under the container? Thanks

[@qctropicals]

yes. It may wilt a bit but it will get over it.

[@aquamatch]

@qctropicals ...yay! Thanks for the reply. My ceiba is about 30feet tall, 12 inches diameter at the bottom, only on a 20 gallons container, in Los Angeles, California

[@qctropicals]

@@aquamatch bud, that's a full size tree at that point. It will probably die if you dig it up unless you have heavy equipment.

[@aquamatch]

@@qctropicals ...🤗 I'd be kind and will update

[@tracygoodrich5532]

I am in Tucson, AZ (HOT dry summers) and have a silk floss growing from seed indoors in a small pot under lights...it hasn't grown much the last year so I assume it needs to be outside with real sun. I was going to move it to a bigger pot and put outside over winter here until it gets bigger...figured the summer heat would be too much at first...but you say it won't grow at nighttime temps below 60-70, so is this a bad idea? Thanks!

[@qctropicals]

moving it outside in the winter is a sure way to kill it. Most plants love our summer heat.

[@tracygoodrich5532]

Okay, thank you. I was just afraid the intense heat of the last few summers here would be too much for it to adjust to after being inside only. I will plan to start hardening it off in the spring instead. Does it need more shade as a young tree before full sun later, or can it take full sun immediately? Thanks!

[@charleshorseman55]

They love water. AZ is not ideal unless you have large supply adequate irrigation. Well, I can say they won't THRIVE otherwise. They can be hardy under low irrigation/rain but they will drop all their leaves and the stalk (and thorns!) will do the minimal amount of photosynthesis to keep them alive.

[@aquamatch]

...heat it up

[@jayortiz8631]

How can you tell the difference between a male and female silk floss tree?

[@sumendragurjar2032]

What prize of its wood in india or other place 🥉

[@freedomofreligion3248]

Aren't they poisonous?

[@charleshorseman55]

no.