Convince me otherwise: Rosaceae family makes the best bonsai!

[JonW]

Just meant to stir up discussion! I'm not sure if I agree with the statement myself. I'm a big fan of broadleaf deciduous and love my maples. I also like my rhodies and boxwoods. But I noticed I'm developing a collection of beautiful flowering, fruiting plants from the rosaceae family:

• Chojubai Red Quince
• Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn
• Cranberry Cotoneaster Apiculatus

They all have small leaves, twiggy ramification, potential for bark that has a lot of character, small attractive fruit and flowers, and might even be edible! If only they had the spring and fall colors of a maple...

I really like the contrast between the potentially craggy bark, like an old weathered apple tree, and the flowers. Sometimes hard to decide between a rounded or bold pot.

Do you agree? Why?
If not, what's your favorite and why?

 

[HorseloverFat]

They are great, agreed!

“Best” is relative, however.

Each person would have their own unique set of “prerequisites” for their own “Personal Best/Favorite”...

 

[penumbra]

Could never have a favorite but if I kept only one of my bonsai it would be one of my Korean Hornbeams.
I love all your choices but anything in the 'rose' family requires a little extra care in my clime. Susceptibilty to disease and insect pests is pretty high, but generally worth the extra effort.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

One person's "twiggy" is another person's "brittle" It is such a broad family that it is hard to comment - it has over 3800 species that range from plants to shrubs to trees

I probably have more junipers than anything, though now that I am in NC I am loading up on JWP and JM cultivars. I can't say that I have a favorite genus... pretty much any tree can be inspirational if well-done.

 

[JonW]

Could never have a favorite but if I kept only one of my bonsai it would be one of my Korean Hornbeams.
I love all your choices but anything in the 'rose' family requires a little extra care in my clime. Susceptibilty to disease and insect pests is pretty high, but generally worth the extra effort.

Yeah, I know some people who own bonsai nurseries won't grown them for those reasons. I haven't had an issue yet

 

[JonW]

One person's "twiggy" is another person's "brittle" It is such a broad family that it is hard to comment - it has over 3800 species that range from plants to shrubs to trees

I probably have more junipers than anything, though now that I am in NC I am loading up on JWP and JM cultivars. I can't say that I have a favorite genus... pretty much any tree can be inspirational if well-done.

I anticipated getting a lot of responses about conifers. Growing up and living in the Northeast, my inspiration - and tree in my mind's eye - is broadleaf deciduous. I grew up with a huge red oak in my yard. My urges to buy conifer bonsai are usually short lived (I planted my juniper bonsai in the ground as landscaping!)

Brittle can be an issue. I mostly do clip and grow, but I'm noticing I did damage a couple cotoneaster branches in my wiring last year. I think wiring just has to be done at the right time and I use more guy-wires than I used to.

 

[Mayank]

Just meant to stir up discussion! I'm not sure if I agree with the statement myself. I'm a big fan of broadleaf deciduous and love my maples. I also like my rhodies and boxwoods. But I noticed I'm developing a collection of beautiful flowering, fruiting plants from the rosaceae family:

• Chojubai Red Quince
• Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn
• Cranberry Cotoneaster Apiculatus

They all have small leaves, twiggy ramification, potential for bark that has a lot of character, small attractive fruit and flowers, and might even be edible! If only they had the spring and fall colors of a maple...

I really like the contrast between the potentially craggy bark, like an old weathered apple tree, and the flowers. Sometimes hard to decide between a rounded or bold pot.

Do you agree? Why?
If not, what's your favorite and why?

Hey, not number one but your cotoneaster did make # 3.

Top 10: Greatest Bonsai trees - Bonsai Empire

We have put together a list of ten stunning trees that are unique in their beauty, balance and realism. These trees will help you appreciate this ancient and fa...

www.bonsaiempire.com

Walter Pall is on the list at # 9!
Me personally would first think of a juniper with great deadwood etc as the quintessential bonsai when I close my eyes and try to think of just one kind.

 

[JonW]

Hey, not number one but your cotoneaster did make # 3.

Top 10: Greatest Bonsai trees - Bonsai Empire

We have put together a list of ten stunning trees that are unique in their beauty, balance and realism. These trees will help you appreciate this ancient and fa...

www.bonsaiempire.com

Walter Pall is on the list at # 9!
Me personally would first think of a juniper with great deadwood etc as the quintessential bonsai when I close my eyes and try to think of just one kind.

Ha! It might be hard to argue the cotoneaster is more impressive than Walter's Maple.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I should add I also really like JBP... but the care required to maintain them prevents me from having more than a few...

 

[Dav4]

I love pretty much every bonsai subject in the rose genus… Hawthorne, Quince, Apricot, cherry, etc.… But they are the magnet of the bonsai kingdom when it comes to disease and pestilence.

 

[Cadillactaste]

They all can made decent bonsai. A favorite. I can't say I have a favorite. Species, verses characteristics and style for bonsai is what I'm about. Flowering Are short lived...so I'm more about style such as neagari, or bark...or even fall colors.

I do own a white chojubai as well as a Paul's Scarlett. That particular cultivar in the states (Hawthorn) is mistaken for Crimson Cloud a lot of times. I got a cutting from Brent at Evergreen Gardenworks...he's reputable. Actually I think about it...chojubai cuttings came from him as well.

But give me exposed roots any day. From Martin aka @thumblessprimate1



My favorite ... often tends to be what I'm working at the time.

 

[Rivian]

I like eudicots.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

For flowers, I still love my Kurume and Satsuki azaleas.
For fruit, cotoneaster & Malus are hard to beat. Diospyros do rank high

Conifers, love my cork bark JBP. also love Pinus banksiana, the Jack pine. Spruce, love the black hills spruce, and the oriental spruce - Picea orientalis. The P. orientalis have very short needles, dark green color and is heat and drought tolerant.

Nobody can just have one favorite. The minute I try to limit myself to just one or two, I get bored and suddenly branch out again.

 

[PA_Penjing]

Malus are in that family and make pretty darn cool bonsai. I love sargent's crab, it's got everything. Spring flowers, vigorous growth, orange/yellow fall color and winter interest with the bright red fruits. If I could only have one single tree it would probably be malus sargenti (family rosaceae).

 

[JonW]

They all can made decent bonsai. A favorite. I can't say I have a favorite. Species, verses characteristics and style for bonsai is what I'm about. Flowering Are short lived...so I'm more about style such as neagari, or bark...or even fall colors.

I do own a white chojubai as well as a Paul's Scarlett. That particular cultivar in the states (Hawthorn) is mistaken for Crimson Cloud a lot of times. I got a cutting from Brent at Evergreen Gardenworks...he's reputable. Actually I think about it...chojubai cuttings came from him as well.
View attachment 366844
View attachment 366845But give me exposed roots any day. From Martin aka @thumblessprimate1

View attachment 366846

My favorite ... often tends to be what I'm working at the time.

My Paul's Scarlet came from Brent. It is still a stick-in-a-pot, but I put it in a big air-pruning pot for the next few years.

Chojubai came from Frank Mihalic

 

[JonW]

Malus are in that family and make pretty darn cool bonsai. I love sargent's crab, it's got everything. Spring flowers, vigorous growth, orange/yellow fall color and winter interest with the bright red fruits. If I could only have one single tree it would probably be malus sargenti (family rosaceae).

Yes, those are great too! Its sometimes hard to find examples of Malus with good taper. The house next door used to have a clump crabapple with beautiful pink flowers. Our bedroom would have a pink glow just from the sun reflecting off of it in the spring. It came to be a clump when they pruned off some major branches, and as was typical for that family, rather than finishing the job and throwing away the branches, they left them leaning against the original trunk. The branches rooted and grew into new trees. My wife's cousin bought the house this year and cut it down because it was a bit of a mess (massive and messy).

 

[Carol 83]

Nobody can just have one favorite.

It would be like trying to eat just one potato chip.

 

[namnhi]

If I have to pick one - Japanese Maple. I love them many years ago but only a couple seedlings survive due to my lack of knowledge and the summer heat in our area. I still have some the die on my with no apparent reason but I managed to keep most of them 'fairly' healthy now. Majority of trees I own now are JM.

 

[Cadillactaste]

My Paul's Scarlet came from Brent. It is still a stick-in-a-pot, but I put it in a big air-pruning pot for the next few years.

Chojubai came from Frank

My Paul's Scarlet came from Brent. It is still a stick-in-a-pot, but I put it in a big air-pruning pot for the next few years.

Chojubai came from Frank Mihalic

Mine came looking like this. If I recall, he didn't want me to work it much that year. But spring the next year I wired movement. While I could still offer it.

 

[JonW]

Mine came looking like this. If I recall, he didn't want me to work it much that year. But spring the next year I wired movement. While I could still offer it.
View attachment 366882

Mine was a little bigger. I ordered a gallon size, but he said a couple died and he ran out before he could ship mine. He sent me one-size smaller plus a green-leaf dwarf maple from Heritage farms. The Hawthorn he sent me had slight, natural movement and a low branch that I'm going to grow as a twin-trunk. I repotted and trunk-chopped it in the fall and it is bouncing back nicely. I didn't do any wiring so far, and the branches seem to be growing in a nice, slightly upward direction. I thought I'd have to wire them down a bit, but maybe not. Hoping to see at least a couple flowers this year.