Nothing on the bench right now·Written at the bench·Updated 2026-09-16
Al has not recorded the Brachychiton guide yet. These are the notes for caudiciforms as a family, which cover most of what matters; the Brachychiton guide will replace them here when it lands.
Fat-stemmed, fat-rooted plants that store water for the dry season and grow in bursts. The rule at the bench: read the plant, not the calendar. Water when it is in leaf, stop when it is not.
Bright light with several hours of direct sun on the foliage. Shade the caudex itself if it sits in afternoon sun; a sunburned caudex scars for good.
Water
Water thoroughly when in active growth and the mix has dried through, then nothing until it dries again. In dormancy, a light drink once a month at most, and only if the caudex softens.
Soil
Sharp-draining mineral mix: at least half pumice or scoria, the rest screened bark or coarse coir. Terracotta or an unglazed pot with one big drainage hole.
Dormancy
Most drop their leaves and stop for part of the year: winter for the summer-growers, summer for the winter-growers. Leaf drop is the signal to cut water, not a problem to fix.
Hardiness
Frost-tender as a group. Keep above 40°F, and keep the roots dry whenever nights fall below 50°F.
Feeding
Balanced fertilizer at quarter strength with every third or fourth watering while in leaf. Nothing while dormant.
Repotting
Every two to four years at the start of the growing season. Keep the caudex at the height it was; burying it deeper invites rot.
Watch for
A soft or wrinkled caudex in growth means thirst; the same in dormancy means rot, and the answer is dry air, not water. Mealybugs hide in the crown and under the lip of the caudex.
Brachychiton · Caudiciforms · family notes · botanicwonders.com/care/brachychiton · Botanic Wonders, 2705 Sarver Ln, San Marcos, CA 92069 · (760) 519-9987