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There are some other species of trees
that are “perennial” favorites
among bonsai growers.
Beech Trees
Beech make excellent Bonsai, there
are types of Beech spread throughout
the world's temperate zones.
They tend to be grown in informal
styles, and leaf trimming every other
year will reduce the size of leaves
on the larger types. It is important
that leaf trimming is carried out
as early as possible, as beech may
not come back into leaf that year
if it is left to late.
The Southern Beeches are closely related
to beeches from the Northern hemisphere,
differing in that they have both deciduous
and evergreen species. From a bonsai
viewpoint the can be treated as their
Northern counterparts, except that
you should not leaf trim the evergreen
species.
They have no special needs but tend
to do better in an alkaline (lime)
soil rather than a peat based compost.
Cedar
There are throughout the world many
species termed 'Cedar'. Probably the
first thing that springs to mind about
cedars is that they have, when in
a pot, quite weak root systems. The
roots themselves being rather fleshy,
are prone to damage by frost, so the
trees must be sheltered when conditions
demand it.
As with all conifers they will do
better in a more open, grittier soil
than their deciduous counterparts.
Cherry
The Cherry is a member of one of the
largest family of plants on the planet,
the ‘Rosaceous’, The Rose
family is really diverse, with the
Cherry family at one end, apples and
pears, then Quinces, Cotoneasters,
through the Raspberry/Blackberry group,
past Roses themselves and on to Strawberries.
The Cherry family itself includes
Apricots, Peaches, Plums Damsons and
Gages, all of which will make good
Bonsai. The Apricot or ‘Mume’,
as it’s called in Japan is the
earliest flowering of the group.
The Cherry family propagates easily
from seed, sown in the autumn. The
seeds need a cold winter to germinate.
They will take from cuttings but can
prove difficult. Plants grown from
seed or cutting can take ten to fifteen
years to flower.
They have no particular needs, as
far as their cultivation is concerned.
Pruning should be carried out in mid
summer, allowing time for next year’s
flower buds to develop.
Allowing them to set fruit may stress
the tree beyond its ability to survive.
Elm
The elm family is a group of trees
that will forgive you almost anything,
will grow in a range of soils and
are easy to obtain, with species native
to most of the Northern hemisphere.
Zelcova and Chinese Elm are the two
species you are likely to come across
on a supplier’s benches. Both
are excellent trees although the Chinese
Elm is generally not as hardy when
there is frost about, but try what
grows in your area as all elms are
capable of making good bonsai.
The Chinese Elm is a very easy tree
to grow. Deciduous in temperate areas,
it may retain its leaves in tropical
and sub tropical regions. The Chinese
elm is often wrongly sold as an indoor
tree.
This type of tree is one that many
agree can be grown from seed, although
be warned that doing this will not
produce immediate results.
They are easy to propagate. The seed
germinates readily should you wish
to try growing them this way; however
cuttings and layering are the best
methods to increase your stock.
Elms respond well to leaf trimming,
and on a vigorous tree this may be
carried out twice in one season, but
not every year.
Gingko
Ginkgo Biloba (a.k.a the Maidenhair
tree), together with Larch, Swamp
Cypress and Dawn Redwood is a conifer
that sheds its leaves over winter.
Until the 1940's, it was known only
from fossilized leaves and assumed
to be extinct; however living specimens
were discovered in China. The tree
is sexual, that is to say a tree is
either male or female.
Ginkgo makes a good Bonsai, but due
to its growth patterns tends to be
difficult to style, and hence should
be allowed to take on its own shape.
This tends to be that of the flame
of a candle. The tree does not like
to be wired and any changes are best
made by pruning to a bud pointing
in the desired direction.
It can in all other respects be treated
as any other bonsai, having no unusual
needs as far as feeding or watering.
It will however need winter protection
as it has very soft roots.
The soft, new foliage of the Ginkgo
can be pruned by either pinching out,
or with tools. Cuts made into old
wood however, will take a long time
to heal over.
Camellia
Camellias are favored for their flowers
that appear in profusion. When cultivated,
these trees are probably among some
of the most beautiful bonsai. Camellias
require partial shade and protection
from frost. They can tolerate hard
pruning in the winter or after flowering.
Camellias can be styled into Informal
upright forms with single or multiple
trunks and Cascades in large and extra-large
sizes.
Cedar Elm
Cedar elms are a wonderful species
choice for bonsai and like most elms,
can survive quite a bit of neglect.
One of its desirable features is its
rough, fissured bark. Most specimens
are collected from the wild and will
invariably have an aged appearance.
The branches ramify easily with normal
pinching of shoots and the leaves
are not over large. This species is
a good one for beginners and collecting
them is rather easy as well.
These trees will do well in almost
any type of soil. Their natural environment
is rather hot and arid and they do
well to being kept on the dry side
of moist. Like most trees, they use
more water in the spring.
They can be kept in full sun to dappled
sun. They have an interesting, if
annoying habit when they are getting
too much sun. They will rotate their
leaves to be edge-up, so as to limit
the exposure of the leaves to the
sun's rays. If they get too much sun,
they tend to go a bit yellow.
Chinese Elm
This type of tree can be both and
indoor and outdoor bonsai. Chinese
elm are quite good plants to choose
for beginners at bonsai - with a predictable
growth pattern and being quite forgiving
when pruned.
The bark of Chinese elms can be quite
interesting, some varieties with smooth
bark and the others with rough, cork-like
bark which cracks and becomes deeply
fissured with age - adding character
to the bonsai. Generally, the smoother
bark varieties will be less hardy
than those with rough bark and care
should be taken.
Being quite versatile plants, they
can be kept in a position of shade
to full sun, but make sure that the
plant receives some shade during the
hotter months and does not dry out.
Dwarf Pomegranate
This type of tree is becoming very
popular among bonsai enthusiasts.
This is mostly because of its fruiting
and flowering qualities.
Apart from the pomegranate's stunning
seasonal yellow-orange 'trumpet style'
flowers, the dwarf pomegranate presents
so many other notable characteristics.
It has a marvelous naturally-twisting
style trunk that very easily adopts
a gnarled, ancient appearance - something
widely sought in bonsai. Its leaves
are a dark green with shades of bronze
and after flowering, the plant fruits,
producing attractive spherical-like
red golf-ball sized pomegranates.
Suited to bonsai styles such as informal
upright, forest, cascade, literati,
tree on rock, root over rock, twin
trunk, windswept, group and twisting
trunk style, this plant responds well
to hot, sunny conditions, such as
that which would be found in the Mediterranean.
Ficus
Many people have “fake”
ficus trees in their house. These
are the larger species. However, a
miniature ficus can make a beautiful
bonsai addition to the larger ones.
The Ficus - or rainforest fig is a
plant which is highly suited to bonsai
treatment. Figs are mostly tropical
plants, naturally growing wild in
south-east Asian jungles. Many hundreds
of species make up this large tree
family.
The tiny flowers are completely enclosed
in the developing fruits which are
borne in the leaf axils and are produced
each year. You may find that as a
bonsai, however, fruiting is not very
common. Figs prefer full sun to part-shade
and humus-rich, moist, but well drained
soil and shelter from cold winds.
Most rainforest figs produce aerial
roots from the branches and trunk.
Whether to leave these on or not and
incorporate them into the design is
a controversial issue for bonsai enthusiasts,
although it does matter on the overall
design of the tree.
The roots are brittle at first, but
strengthen and turn into a very strong
part of the tree once they reach nutrients.
The striking aerial roots of the banyan
fig are often featured in clasped-to-rock
styles. The striking aerial roots
of the banyan fig are often featured
in clasped-to-rock styles.
Japanese Black Pine
Japanese black pine is the epitome
of bonsai. Few trees can convey the
stoic power or the subtle profundity
of bonsai to the degree that a black
pine can. Black pine is a tree that
takes many years to achieve the mature
look of a superior specimen bonsai.
For this reason, it is important that
those who would choose to grow them
be steadfast in their attentive and
uncompromising care of the tree. Growing
black pine for bonsai carries with
it a healthy responsibility to prepare
and maintain good material for future
generations to work with.
Black pine is a strong tree that responds
well to the techniques used in the
creation of bonsai. Working with black
pine is a balancing act and its growth
characteristic is such that it needs
ongoing and careful maintenance in
order to stay in bonsai trim.
Left on its own, a black pine will
develop long, leggy branches that
emerge in whorls from a leggy trunk.
The branches will have lollypops of
foliage at the branch tips. As pines
are atypically dominant like most
trees, the upper branches will get
most of the tree's energy, leaving
the lower branches weaker in comparison.
All of these characteristics run counter
to the bonsai aesthetic.
There are, of course, other varieties
of trees that would work well with
bonsai, but this list gives you a
starting point. It is important that
your trees have certain qualities
to make a good bonsai.
To
be continue ...
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