Brachychiton populneus
Common names: braquito, bottle tree or kurrajong
Flowering: early summer.
Main Usage: ornamental tree.
 
main care
Climatology
Brachichito supports a wide range of temperatures and its cultivation in sun exposure or semi-shade is indifferent. Its growth is more vertiginous in areas with hot summers and mild winters (Mediterranean area).
It does not need ambient humidity and resists cold conditions and less severe frosts.
 
Earth
It develops in a wide range of soils and not necessarily in fertile soils, although it conditions its growth and the thickness of its trunk.
It usually grows in calcareous soils with a variety of textures (loamy, clayey-loamy or sandy), although it prefers soils with a high percentage of sand.
Brachichito should not be planted in heavy soils, with high water table and high salinity.
 
water needs
Resistant to summer drought conditions. In the garden, 1 or 2 drippers of 4 L/h are placed.
Irrigation in winter: zero (depending on precipitation) or 1 irrigation per week of 30 minutes.
Irrigation in summer:  2 to 3 irrigations per week of 40-60 minutes duration.
 
fertilizers
For a medium soil, it does not require fertilizers , although its growth can be favored by adding granulated fertilizer around the main trunk. An NPK fertilizer ratio of 1-0.5-1.3 is suitable for the development of this type of ornamental trees.
Recommended fertilizer: NPK 12 + 8 + 16 (+3 +25) + trace elements
 
pruning
The brachichito is not usually pruned, except for the branches broken by the action of the wind or intertwined, carrying out this operation in autumn.