I have it (image on request). I grow it in full sun, in the gritty mix, and water sparingly. I overwinter in my basement under fluorescent LEDs which are 6000K color temperature where it just sort of sits there for the winter with very little growth (likely due to the 67-68* temp). I fertilize about every 5th watering with Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 while in active growth. It's a slow grower. The leaves aren't particularly fragile, but then I'm not growing on the roof of a building in 'the windy city'. I haven't noticed any insect or disease issues.

Al

Thank you for this information Tapla!

Sounds like I really should give this one a try. Could you please comment on what the foliage fragrance is like? Is it barely there or actually strong?

You mentioned it's a slow grower: are the roots slow growing too? Wondering how often root pruning would be necessary.

And yes please, a photo of your Bursera Fagaroides would be wonderful!

It (above) came as a started bare-root cutting in June of 21, and was about as thick as a pencil. It's in the same pot I originally potted it in, but needs to be repotted this summer. It's lost most of it's foliage over winter and is just now starting to wake up. By repot time (around Father's Day or the summer solstice) it will have put on a flush of new leaves and will be pushing new branches.

Thanks to you, I now know the plant has 'somewhat' fragrant foliage. I could barely detect a slightly 'floral' scent when I sniffed the leaves, but these are all old leaves and the plant has less than 10% of the foliage it will have in summer. I'm reluctant to crush the leaves because I'm sensitive to the sap of many plants. I can't tell you anything about the roots because it barely had any roots when it arrived, and I haven't yet repotted it. If I remember, or you remind me, I can share what I find when I repot it. I am not sure, but I think I remember the roots as being rather fine/thin.

Two other plants you might be interested in are Operculicarya decaryi (commonly - elephant tree), which naturally produces zig-zaggy branches and takes on a tree shape with little help. The plant can be deciduous at temps below 70* or evergreen at warmer temps. This one is still sleeping but just starting to wake up. It has an abundance of new buds. I'll prune once it leafs out. In full rooftop sun the leaves should be green to bronze.

Gerrardanthus macrorhizus (commonly Bigfoot) is an extremely hardy (30-95*F) evergreen with a fast-growing caudex. It produces lots of sprawling vines. If you like things tidy, regular pinching will produce a plant like the one shown, with tight foliage. After pinching, the plant will produce usually 2 leaves with short internodes, After that, the internodes will be quite long, which is why I like to keep it pinched. The caudex grows rapidly and the vines eventually become woody, so you CAN train it to grow in a tree form if you like. The plant below had a caudex about the size of a regular marble when It arrived in June '21.

All three plants demand excellent drainage, which can be achieved by way of soil choice or by tricks that will limit the amount of excess water a planting can hold. i hope you found the info/images useful.

Al

Thanks so much Tapla!

I really appreciate the pictures, thank you for sharing!

Wow, I guess they really are very slow growing trees. I had considered growing it from seed but I'll try to get a decent sized seedling instead.

Good to know the foliage fragrance is not all that, I'm not really surprised; vendors often exaggerate plant fragrance claims.

I've never grown caudex plants, but they do seem like a good option in my hot and mostly rainless climate. I'll look into the Gerrardanthus, I like the overall look of that one a lot .

Thanks again for your insight!