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Hello new friends!

I recently germinated a Brazilian rain tree seed (Samanea saman) and it's growing wonderfully right now in a cheap, burlap pot with peat moss. Her name is "Trixie" and i have her on a heat mat set to 75 degrees F run by thermostat. LED grow light bars keep her well lit.

My question is, when do i start fertilizing and when do i repot? I would like to bonsai her, and keep her indoors during the winter. I'm in atlanta, Ga, USA. I've got "organic bonsai soil" on hand from amazon, with some starter bonsai trays for when its time to repot her. However, i dont know if the trays are the way to go right off because i also dont want her to stay too twiggy by not allowing her to grow for a few years in a larger pot. Am i right in thinking this?

Please help me in my seed to bonsai endeavor. Pictures below. Basically, what's the best way to treat seedlings in terms of when to repot, when to start fertilizing etc in preparation to bonsai?

Thanks, in advance!

-Towanda

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Congrats on getting this to grow.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but you do not have a brazilian raintree. It is the asian raintree I think. BRT is pithecellobium tortum.

As for "how to proceed".. This is enough tp be covered in a book. In very short.. You need your tree to grow bulk. THis can go fast, with potential big cuts on the plant, in a big container or full ground. Or slow, with minimal cuts in small ever increasing pots. The route you choose it up to you. All forms and routs are used.

What distinguishing features make you believe that this is an Asian rain tree vs Brazilian? What are your credentials if you don’t mind me asking. You seem very confident in your ID

Towanda1990 wrote: What distinguishing features make you believe that this is an Asian rain tree vs Brazilian? What are your credentials if you don’t mind me asking. You seem very confident in your ID

The name YOU gave. "Samanea saman" is NOT brazilian raintree. The tree with the common name Brazilian Rain Tree is Pithecellobium tortum.

My credentials? What do you mean? Unless you want to hear that I hold a PhD in biology, have done bonsai for a decade and currently owner of 2 varieties of BRT?

I am Brazilian.
I grow Brazilian Rain Trees.
Yours is NOT one of them, if it is called Samanea Samam.
@leatherback is absolutely right.

Whoa, i really didnt mean that the way it came off. reading it again this morning, i sounded like a total jerk. I wholeheartedly apologize.

I wanted to know what distinguishing features made yall ID my tree as what it apparently is (which is not a brazilian rain tree yet was sold to me as such). my fault for not doing any further research.

Again, i meant no offense. That whole "what are your credentials" thing comes from my medical background, it's the first thing that comes to mind to ask when someone provides me with new information. But there was no excuse for how rude it certainly came off.

Thanks so much for the advice. im here to learn, not insult

These are BRT seedlings, a few days after breaking through. Crappy picture, cannot find the original high res image. But one thing you see is how much smaller the leaves are on this than on what you are growing.

But as said, you already gave the latin name of another tree which is known as raintree. It is just not what is commonly referred to as brazilian raintree. As a biologist I have a fair preference for using latin, especially in international fora.

Towanda1990 wrote: Whoa, i really didnt mean that the way it came off. reading it again this morning, i sounded like a total jerk. I wholeheartedly apologize.
...
Again, i meant no offense. That whole "what are your credentials" thing comes from my medical background, it's the first thing that comes to mind to ask when someone provides me with new information. But there was no excuse for how rude it certainly came off.

All good.

In general it is good to keep in mind that there are people from many backgrounds, countries etc on these fora. And everyone communicates in their own way.

i cant pull up the USDA website right now for some reason, and am having trouble finding reputable sources on whatever the hell this tree actually is. From what little im able to find, S. saman is native to central/south america and was introduced to southeast asia.

is that true?

OK, it is not from Brazil and we have no dry forests nor savannahs here.
They are invasive, and are called "rain tree" in Asia (but not in South America).

Take a look:

Samanea saman is an attractive, large, spreading deciduous tree with a low, dense, dome-shaped crown; it usually grows up to 30 metres tall with occasional specimens to 60 metres.

It has a short, usually crooked bole that can be up to 200cm in diameter. Trees can be evergreen in humid climates.
A multipurpose tree, it is often cultivated for its many uses. It is particularly valued for its timber, but also supplies food, medicines and a gum. It is one of the most commonly planted avenue and park trees in the tropics and is also commonly grown as a shade tree for other crops.

Botanical References

Range:
Northern S. America - Colombia, Venezuela; north through Central America to Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Habitat:
Dry lowland grassland, coastal bushland and forest. Dry forest and grass savannah.
Prefers a position in full sun.
A fairly easy tree to grow, tolerant of a range of conditions, it grows on light or heavy soils.
Samanea saman possesses some of the characters of other species known to have become invasive - these include. prolific seeding; livestock as effective dispersers of seed; nitrogen fixation; and adaptation to a variety of soil types. However, reference sources are somewhat conflicting as to the degree of naturalization and invasion, especially where it spreads on disturbed sites often in Pacific and Caribbean islands.?

FYI, two years old seedlings of BRT: