How To Grow An Anacacho Orchid Tree From Seed

[@peglegs-r9k]

Hello question for you ...I live in N.W. San Antonio.....I have had an 8 'Anacacho in the area of my yard that gets sun all day sun for about 10 years now. The problem I am having is I'm trying to make it a tree. Every four years or so we get a storm with high winds and then it splits in half. (Is shaped like a wide Y) My arborist says, "it's never gonna be tree...it's too top heavy" and to leave the top alone and only prune the sides. The thought is the nutrients will go to that area which should make for a more stable base. However, ...I woke up this morning, half of it is on the ground...again. split at the neck side of the Y GRRR!!! I don't want a bush where it is planted plus I want to prove my arborist wrong 😉. Located on a corner lot tree is on a high curve/retaining wall where everyone sees it when they drive by. I guess I'm just not trimming enough from the sides as in maybe it becomes side/top heavy and splits? Also I know these trees/bushes are happier the less fuss u make with them. They just want to be left alone. I pretty much do that..but I don't get blooms every year. Wondering if you have any suggestions that would help ensure some blooms this upcoming year? From what I read they don't even want any kind of fertilizer?

[@AtypicalAnglo]

It's been a minute since I've been in the kind of situation where I'd had to answer a question like this, so forgive me if I don't give as specific or definitive an answer as you want. I'm only familiar with Austin, since I've lived here my whole life, but I'm sure San Antonio is similar up in the hills. I have mostly seen them successfully grow in a tree-form in partial shade in areas protected from wind, like by a wall, in a canyon, or in the woods. If your tree is in an exposed area, the problem may not be able to be helped. My anacacho (the one in the video at about 1:10) is planted near the top of the northern side of a hill, without protection from wind, and it has never had breakage or splitting of any kind. But, I grew mine in a half tree/half shrub kind of form, with the same Y split about 2 feet from the ground. the lowest proper branches probably droop down to 3 feet off of the ground, which probably gives it more protection against the wind. I have fertilized my tree before with an organic fertilizer called Microlife, just the standard 6-2-4, but you're right that it really does not benefit much from that. if what is happening is that you're tree is splitting repeatedly in the same spot, before being repaired by you or your arborist, I would expect that tree to keep splitting in the same spot each year, and I would expect the tree not to put on much of a show in the spring because it will be busy dealing with the trauma of the split. I'm not an arborist, but it it were me, I'd probably just cut the split limb and hope for the best. I do take a pretty merciless and aggressive approach with my plants though. there is a chance removing it causes more damage. the only time I've seen anacachos do well as tree-formed plants exposed to strong winds were when they had a single, thick leader. I've heard people have the same issue with red buds out in Hutto as you described, and they seem to have come to the same conclusion, that they're best grown either near a wall, low to the ground as a multi-trunked tree, or very carefully and intentionally. I have seen one very tall anacacho, probably 13 feet or so, that didn't fit this pattern and seemed to be doing very well in a more open area, but it had at least 4 trunks and the branches were sparse. hopefully some piece of info here was helpful, good luck