Neolamarckia CADAMBA

Neolamarckia CADAMBA - Kadam, Kadamba, Neolamarckia, Anthocephalus, Krishna's tree, Anthocephalus, Kadam, Burflower Tree.

Neolamarckia is a very small genus in the Rubiaceae family, comprising just two species of fast-growing trees distributed from southern and southeastern China through tropical Asia to northern Australia, where it grows in moist tropical forests and readily colonizes disturbed, well-lit sites.

Representatives of the genus are large evergreen trees with a straight cylindrical trunk and a broad spreading crown. The bark is gray and smooth, cracking into longitudinal fissures on old specimens. The leaves are opposite, simple, ovate, glossy, with pronounced venation.

The flowers are small, fragrant, and gathered in dense spherical heads at the tips of shoots. After flowering, an aggregate fleshy infructescence forms, consisting of numerous small capsules with tiny seeds.

Burflower tree is a large fast-growing tree, reaching 45 meters (148 feet) in height in nature, though specimens of 15-20 meters (49-66 feet) are more commonly encountered. The trunk is straight, cylindrical, with a diameter of up to 100-160 cm (39-63 in). The crown is broad, spreading, umbrella-like. During the first 6-8 years of life, the tree grows particularly fast, adding on average about 3 meters (10 feet) in height per year, after which growth gradually slows down. The leaves are simple, ovate, glossy, 13-32 cm (5.1-12.6 in) long.

Flowering usually begins in the 4th-5th year of life. Fragrant orange-red flowers are gathered in dense spherical heads about 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in diameter, resembling pompons. The infructescences are globose, fleshy, with juicy aromatic pulp, edible when ripe.

Kadamba seeds are exceptionally tiny and lightweight - there can be over a thousand of them in a single gram (0.035 oz), so soaking, rinsing, or treating them in potassium permanganate is physically inconvenient and unnecessary: such seeds are easily lost and damaged when in contact with liquid.

The seeds are immediately sown on the surface without covering into a light breathable substrate and moistened from a spray bottle with a growth stimulant solution: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon. The sowing is covered with film or placed in a mini-greenhouse and kept in warmth (25-30 °C / 77-86 °F) in bright diffused light, with daily ventilation - direct sun and drying out of the sowing are not allowed.

Under favorable conditions, the first sprouts appear within 7-10 days; the main germination is usually completed within 2-4 weeks, while individual seeds can take longer. Seedlings exhibit slow initial growth and are pricked out into separate pots only after they strengthen and form several true leaves.

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Kadamba is light-loving and grows best in bright light, but at a young age tolerates light partial shade - for an adult plant, the brightest spot in the house is chosen.

The plant is warmth-loving and does not tolerate frost - in winter, the temperature should not drop below 5 °C (41 °F). Seasonality is weakly expressed: with sufficient warmth and light, kadamba is capable of growing virtually year-round.

Watering in spring and summer is abundant and regular; in winter it is reduced, but the substrate is not dried out completely. Adult plants tolerate short-term root inundation quite well. Elevated air humidity is desirable, although the plant tolerates dry indoor air as well.

The substrate is selected to be fertile, loose, and well-drained. Drainage is laid at the bottom of the pot, and repotting is carried out as the pot is filled, into a more spacious container.

Fertilization is carried out approximately once a month in spring and early summer, alternating mineral and organic fertilizers; during the non-growing season it is not required.

In industrial forestry, the tree is additionally propagated by tissue culture techniques to clone selected fast-growing specimens - in indoor culture, seed sowing remains the primary and most reliable method.