I want to know if we can grow balsa plant in India, will indian climate suit balsa or not? Also what i have gather so much from web, we can grow balsa using seeds not its branches. Any help in this is really appreciated
Contact Mr.Shobhit. He has grown one at his home.
Balsa is native to South and Central america...
I may grow well in some humid places...
VIjayawada is very humid so, it might not be a problem growing here...
Problem is I don't have enough patience to wait for a plant to grow into a tree,
harvest it and use it for model making...
Quality may also be an issue...
Mr Eshwar of ENR Models Bangalore had a balsa tree in his house in Shivajinagar, Bangalore though the last time I went there the tree had been felled and a commercial building had come up. Mr Eshwar, however, told me that he still grows them, though I do not know the location. I have seen a block of balsa lying with him which he says was grown in his yard. According to him the tree takes 4 to 5years to grow to the required maturity. Lesson: balsa can grow in a climate similar to that in Bangalore and you need to wait for 5 years to make your first model. Further, you need to have facility for slicing the wood into thin sheets and then sanding the cut sheets - machines need to be of very good quality to give consistent results. The project appears viable if the balsa requirement is on a commercial scale. For building a few models, it appears to be lot of trouble/cost specially the slicing and finishing.
Thanks everyone for sharing information.
I do not have any commercial intention behind this neither I want use them to build planes, I just simply want to try and check if they can be grown around Pune area.
Any idea where can I get balsa seeds?