Help ID species from bark only .

[oranjeaap]

The bud didn't look too great from the start but seemed to be holding on. But today it suddenly went black and shriveled. Will update this tread should it survive and grow some new leaves.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Hope it pulls through for you.

 

[shohin_branches]

I got a B in my tree identification final (which was at a time of the year where deciduous trees had no leaves) but I don't have a lot of confidence in identifying this one. This just doesn't look like a young river birch to me.
Here is a photo of young river birch for comparison:

 

[oranjeaap]

I got a B in my tree identification final (which was at a time of the year where deciduous trees had no leaves) but I don't have a lot of confidence in identifying this one. This just doesn't look like a young river birch to me.
Here is a photo of young river birch for comparison:
View attachment 601799

River Birch seems unlikely because they're not native to my area (but my profile didnt show location so they couldn't know)
My area has 2 native species of Birch.
Betula pendula, commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch.
Betula pubescens (syn. Betula alba), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch.
(wiki)
They look similar and get easily confused hence even wiki calls them both white birch. Lets call them Silver Birch and White Birch.
Silver Birch actualy gets white bark while White Birch has a more greyish bark judging from pictures.

There are also 2 species of Poplar that are fairly common in my area and have bark similar to Birch species mentioned above.

I don't know the slightest thing about fruit / flowering trees like Prunus species so can't judge on that.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

After looking at your first picture and not reading the comments my first thought was some kind of Birch (ruwe berk).

 

[oranjeaap]

I think the bud that died was part of a cluster of 3 buds and the other 2 seem to be showing signs of life. A bit to early to tell but it's given me some hope.

 

[oranjeaap]

Looks like we'll know before the year is over.

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

I find it difficult to understand and it does not make sense to me. You have a trunk like this without knowing the species? Why get it then?

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Have you considered bagging it to retain humidity?
I've personally not done it but a lot of folks do on bare collected trunks.

 

[oranjeaap]

I find it difficult to understand and it does not make sense to me. You have a trunk like this without knowing the species? Why get it then?

I keep only a few bonsai and they are trees that are meaningful to me in some way.
This tree started growing between an Hibiscus bush my mother planted over 25 years ago, I did not want it to damage that bush further so it had to go.
I did not not intend to keep it at all, but because it was much more diffucult to remove than anticipated it was like the tree said "im not ready to die".
So who am I to disrespect this tree's will to live? I gave it a pot untill we figure out what we have here. If it's a bonsai worthy species, I'll keep it as a Bonsai. If it's not, I will plant it somewhere nice and it can grow into an actual tree.
If I keep it, it will forever be "that bonsai tree I painstakingly collected from between the roots of that Hibiscus my mother planted"

If it's the same species as the tree that grew in that same corner of my garden untill 20 years ago that would be even more interesting. That tree nearly fell on our house when we were having christmas dinner. It was big enough it would surely have killed some of us. One big branch knocked of the chimney and by some miracle the rest of the tree missed the house by inches. It crushed a beautiful and massive Japanese Maple. It also completely blocked the street and because it was christmas it took quite a while before some chainsaw wielding municipal workers showed up to chop it up and free the street.

For me this is an important aspect of Bonsai. I would never pay for a bonsai tree because it will never really feel like "my tree".

 

[oranjeaap]

Have you considered bagging it to retain humidity?
I've personally not done it but a lot of folks do on bare collected trunks.

Except a Ficus and a Schefflera I inherited unsolicited, I purposefully keep only species that are endemic to my country. This one was capable to back bud only a few weeks after a complete trunk chop so I guess it will be fine without additional help. My country has low humidity so if it's endimic I doubt it will do it any good anyway.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I keep only a few bonsai and they are trees that are meaningful to me in some way.
This tree started growing between an Hibiscus bush my mother planted over 25 years ago, I did not want it to damage that bush further so it had to go.
I did not not intend to keep it at all, but because it was much more diffucult to remove than anticipated it was like the tree said "im not ready to die".
So who am I to disrespect this tree's will to live? I gave it a pot untill we figure out what we have here. If it's a bonsai worthy species, I'll keep it as a Bonsai. If it's not, I will plant it somewhere nice and it can grow into an actual tree.
If I keep it, it will forever be "that bonsai tree I painstakingly collected from between the roots of that Hibiscus my mother planted"

If it's the same species as the tree that grew in that same corner of my garden untill 20 years ago that would be even more interesting. That tree nearly fell on our house when we were having christmas dinner. It was big enough it would surely have killed some of us. One big branch knocked of the chimney and by some miracle the rest of the tree missed the house by inches. It crushed a beautiful and massive Japanese Maple. It also completely blocked the street and because it was christmas it took quite a while before some chainsaw wielding municipal workers showed up to chop it up and free the street.

For me this is an important aspect of Bonsai. I would never pay for a bonsai tree because it will never really feel like "my tree".

Great stories.