Hi from Belgium,
There is a very interesting post in the forum "General discussion" about canopy trees. (now on page 3 or 4 of the forum)
I have post some answers about it but one, I beleive, was occulted by the mass of the answers.
The "Super Trees" armature we use for making very realistic trees are in fact the flower of a plant; a very nice one which is blauw or a deep red sometimes. It's naturally growth in the north of Europe and I beleive in the north of USA and Canada.
The scientific name of this plant is "TELOXYS ARISTATA".
Here in Europe we call it "Ecume de Mer" or "Zeeschuim".
If you go to google and put a research about "Ecume de Mer plante"( sorry I didn't known the english name of the plant) you will find a lot of information about this plant.
The best is here; you can find "SEEDS" for this plant
We all know the Super Trees armature are quite expensive if you need a lot. Take a look on the offered google link; even on Ebay seeds are offer!! The price is very cheap.
These plant growth easily and produce a lot, very lot flowers ore "trees". They will be back next year!
When the flowers are dry, just cut them and dry them completely in the basement of your house.
When completely dry, take away the little blade and give of each branches a bad in a 60/40 water matte medium solution to protect them.
When dry the final step is usual, paint them if necessary and cover with foam and plant on your layout.
Now we are Model Railroader and Farmer
Marc
Here's what Marc is talking about. Good looking stuff.
Matt
Marc,
Thanks for the info. about the "Super Tree" armatures. Did a little Google research on Teloxys aristata also known as Sea Foam. Seeds for this plant are available from several commercial sources. One source, Chiltern Seeds in the UK at www.chilternseeds.co.uk says that initially the plant is a very slow grower, but as flowering time approaches, it grows "explosively" Its height is approximately 14 inches. On the Atlas Railroad Forum website (www.forum.atlasrr.com) I also found a reference by George Picyk to growing Teloxys aristata in Maryland. It needs full sun exposure. He used an artificial soil mix that he kept damp, but not wet to start the seeds. The plant will not tolerate wet soil. Deer love the plant so you'll have to protect the plants with a fence cage. He also said that the bags in which "Super Trees" are shipped contain a large number of viable seeds that can be used to start your own backyard plants.
Have you grown these plants? If so, what has been your experience with the best culture conditions for growth and how long does it take for the plant to get large enough to produce the flower heads that we need for the tree armatures?
Bob