Snapping a 5ft branch off a kratom tree that had died back
In the Southern United States. :)
Where is this Kratom tree growing? I live in zone 8a, will they grow in the ground here?
@LovingProjector1. If your planning on growing in 8a outdoors you are going to need to adapt to your environment. If the temp outside goes lower then 35 degrees I wouldn't recommend putting it in the ground. If temps drop below 35 they will develop root rot even if its just a night outside. There are a few things you can do however. 1. Look into a space heater. This should warm your trees up. They use them alot for Orange groves and they work well. 2. Outdoor or indoor green house. These can be built cheap and with PVC and planstic sheets. 3. Try adding hay to the roots. This will help keep the roots moist in winter.
It drops below 35 for about 4 - 5 nights out of the year. But it's spread out. The rest of winter it's about 45-50 degrees. I have a space heater I use for out doors It has been growing outdoors since Feb - March of this year in a pot. ![alt text](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b1/3f/2d/b13f2d64d497e3abf3d065a21296f4bb.jpg) I have organic compost I get a truck load every year. I also use my own compost from a composting bin that I have for fertilizer. And to keep it outside, I did leave it outside in 24 degrees in a pot overnight by accident one, she did really well.
last edited by guywithtrees
@LovingProjector1 wow looks great! I'm guessing it's about a year old? Something that you could try is changing how you water. this winter that passed we watered the trees more often and longer then during summer. This helped keep the roots warm as the temperature of the water was warmer then the outside temperature. Although I would caution using sprinkles in winter. All of the leaf the sprinklers touched got brown, stressed, and fell off the tree faster then strong winds. We were able to keep the majority of the leaf on the tree this winter compared to last winter where the trees were bare.
I rarely get the leaves wet unless it rains. I usually just water the roots.
@LovingProjector1 I own a Kratom nursery. And it can take a hour each time you want to water all of the plants. So we use sprinklers and love the rain when it comes. But in winter we are only going to use garden hoses. Something we are working on is setting them all up to a drip system. But there is only so many hours in the day.
last edited by guywithtrees
I'm trying to grow an edible forest. I've got all kinds of fruit trees and berries and bushes. I've got two types of Kratom, I'll have 4 by the end of the summer. I was going to plant them relatively close together, so the can also keep each other warm. How close together should I plant them? We've got approx 5-6 months of growing season left here To answer your question my tree is approx 1 year old.
@LovingProjector1 I'd do at least 10ft in between each. I did six on a few trees and they have completely filled in. I totally respect what your edible forest thinking. We are working on that too!
So once they're established in the ground, how often do they need watering?
I water my Kratom in the 15 gallon pot everyday
@LovingProjector1 we made changes to the nursery I was watering the trees at least once to twice a day. I was normally watering with the garden hose for 1 to 4 min. But you're taking to account most of my trees are well established. Watering Kratom Nursery: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1hWIjYFQCZYkewd0yZHgk6O6ANO8-FMT We've recently changed to permaculture or what's known as the root stoute method. We went from watering the trees daily to only meeting to water them once or twice a week. Permaculture: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1hWIjYFQCZYH7gtRFfTzTrhYzIpK9wEV if you're able to get your hands on some I highly recommend you put it around the base of the trees even if they're in pots.
@LovingProjector1 something to take into a count is these are rainforest trees so they require a lot of water so if you do give them extra water it's definitely not going to hurt them. obviously don't stick a garden hose under there and running for 30 minutes is that way too much but anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes you're going to be all right. if you want to give him a little bit in the morning a little bit in the afternoon that's all right too they'll probably enjoy it. But still with that hay method you are able to cut back watering as often.
I am going to use organic tree and pumpkin mulch. It seems to like the rotting squash pieces in the pot. It's mulched in the pot as well. I'm going to plant it on the South side of the house to keep the north wind off of it. Also the natural heat from the house will keep it above freezing in the winter.