Good flowering bonsai for Zone 4-5

[karen82]

I was admiring some azalea and apricot bonsai and it got me wondering if there were any flowering bonsai suitable for colder areas, besides crabapple.
I have a Japanese crabapple seedling I'm going to grow in ground for a few years, but I'm not sure if crabapples are a good choice here (literally in the middle of a white-cedar forest, just asking for cedar apple rust).

 

[karen82]

Also I was wondering if any Northern Lights rhododendrons would be suitable for bonsai. In most photos, they look a little coarse/large leafed for good bonsai, but they would be hardy enough anyway.

 

[skyrat]

Maybe try a Hawthorn?

Mountain ash/Rowan also came to mind, although you don't see them used for bonsai nearly as commonly. They prefer colder climates and flower. But may also be susceptible to cedar/apple rust since they're in the Rosaceae family.

 

[Cadillactaste]

What's your winter set up like? Before I offer suggestions.

 

[Djtommy]

Rhododendron dauricum, though maybe not available where you are

 

[M. Frary]

Hawthorn

 

[karen82]

What's your winter set up like? Before I offer suggestions.

Not much of a winter set up, as I'm moving to a new house (may add a small insulated unheated shed later on). It is zone 5b, but I'm looking for plants that are a little hardier than that if possible.
What I plan to do is just bury the pots near the house, mulch well, and put a wooden box (or maybe a rose cone with the top cut off) over all the bonsai for wind protection. There should be plenty of snow cover, but I will throw snow over them if needed.

 

[skyrat]

You might want to contact the owner of Miniature-Bonsai.com. He specializes in azaleas that can survive in upstate New York and might be able to help you find an extra cold-hardy variety. There aren't any plants listed on the website currently, but I think they have plants available offline.

 

[M. Frary]

Not much of a winter set up, as I'm moving to a new house (may add a small insulated unheated shed later on). It is zone 5b, but I'm looking for plants that are a little hardier than that if possible.
What I plan to do is just bury the pots near the house, mulch well, and put a wooden box (or maybe a rose cone with the top cut off) over all the bonsai for wind protection. There should be plenty of snow cover, but I will throw snow over them if needed.

Hawthorn for sure.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Just realize on a warm day you may need to open the door to the shed. I keep mine in an enclosed gazebo that I added a farm thermostat to it. So I can keep it set on 30F. But I still need to open windows and the door on warm summer days. More so with thsee warm winters of late. If you look into azaleas...look for the cold hardy as suggested. Neither of my two Satsuki could handle the temps without protection and heat of some sort. Hawthorn sounds like a good species. But one will need to be proactive with a fungal ode treatment. They too can get cedar Hawthorn rust.

Now a bougainvillea...can be housed indoors come winter...their bracts stunning in bloom. Just something to chew over. They tend to get longer internodes without additional lighting. But a prune when they come back outside will remove that issue of leggy growth and it can resume growing tighter internodes outside come spring when night temps are warmer.

 

[Cadillactaste]

*WARM WINTER DAYS. Must have had a brain fart above I either typed summer. Or spell check added it. Who knows...

 

[JudyB]

You might want to try some of the hardier flowering shrubs, like spirea or cotoneaster. There are lots of shrubs that have good potential for flowering bonsai. As far as Hawthorn, they are loath to bloom I've found in pots. At least the varieties that I've had.

 

[CasAH]

Look into prairie fire or little princess varieties of crab apple they are supposed to be resistant to many crabapple diseases.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Amelanchier, known as service berry, Saskatoon, Juneberry, shadblow, and a dozen other common names.

I winter mine by just leaving it where it grew all summer. Mine are in plastic Anderson flats. Pretty flowers before leaves in spring. Smooth beech like grey bark, edible berries. Very disease free.

Low bush Blueberries, Vaccinium angustifolia, they are more winter hardy than high bush blueberries.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I really like Amelanchier as a zone 4 hardy bonsai. I started with 2 in 5 gallon nursery pots, they were the landscape variety x grandiflora, a hybrid bred for more tree like growth, less suckering. They were both about 4 feet tall when purchased. One was chopped to 6 inches and repotted to an Anderson flat, second just moved to Anderson flat with the serious root work, wanted to see which method better. The one left tall keeps blooming. The chopped one did not bloom 2016, 2017 nor 2018. Autumn colors are nice, fruit ripens late June, early July. Also great landscape tree.