Massively cool.

Planted Uncarina peltata/decaryi? in the ground, in south Florida, 2-1/2 yrs. ago. It started out as a 1" thick single-trunk "tree" in a 1 gallon pot. Now, the base of the fat trunk must be 6" diameter, having massive roots, and plenty of blooming, sprawling branches.

Growing far out-of-bounds, I hacked back the plant severely, last year, to establish a basic framework of branches, but plant grows like a wild fire! Actually, the plant really needs to be chopped back again....but it's no longer my plant.

Plant is growing in very hot, but humid weather, sandy soil, and in a climate having a "rainy season", then climate changes to dryish for remainder of year. Sand has little nutrition, but plant is doing well. Go figure.

I read that Uncarina can be propagated by cuttings. I'll try some, but caudex grows wide and fat from seed-produced plants.

If I could have done so, I would have trained this tree as a single-stem, upright, standard, instead of a sprawling, sloppy, prostrate, low bush. It would have been pinched back or pruned to retain a compact shape.

Grow it in the ground, train it, prune it, until it's the size, and shape that you want, trim roots, and stick the tree into a big, 25 gallon pot for an effective, and exotic-looking, "patio tree".

Frank

NYC/7b