List of possible bonsai' s suited for zone 8 (USDA hardiness)

[EverydayDiesel]

Does anyone have a list of trees that will grow in north texas (zone 8)?

So far I like these trees
1. Japanese red maple
2. Larch
3. Trident Benjamin ficus
4. Lemon tree
5. Dawn Redwood

I am looking for trees that will grow in my area. I am currently working on electronics that will monitor the conditions and water the plants when needed.

I also have 2 areas, one that gets partial sun (about 4 hours a day) and another spot that will be full sun.

Any advice on alternatives is greatly appreciated.

 

[JoeR]

Im in 8a and have japanese red maples and lemons both of which do well here. You (obviously) need to bring lemons inside during the winter or you can grow it year round inside.

I also LOVE larch but the only larch I was told you can grow here is the pseudo larch.

Dawn Redwoods do good here too.

 

[Txhorticulture]

Scratch larch off your list they need cool summers. Japanese maples are OK but need shade.

Cedrus looks a little like larch

 

[aml1014]

I think you meant a ficus benjamina which is a fun tree bit would need to be inside song with the lemon during winter time

 

[jk_lewis]

Look at what grows in your neighborhood's yards. Look at what is sold in REAL nurseries (not box store nurseries). Those that have smaller leaves will do fine for bonsai. Look at native trees and shrubs in your area. Don't start off with preconceived ideas; dare to improvise.

 

[Kandoloh]

Bald cypress, cedar elm, red cedar, juniper, live oak, my boxwood is doing great, bougainvillea is LOVING this weather right now, potentilla, Chinese fringe flower, pyracantha angustifolia (fire thorn), satsuki azalea, wisteria, hackberry, orange, lemon, crassula, ficus, fuchsia, gardenia, Japanese holly, there's probably more... I don't have personal experience with most of these yet but I bought a book and dog eared all the plants that are hearty in my zone (8a, Austin, TX) and that was my list. I have a bougainvillea that I haven't worked yet because of the time of year, I have a boxwood I am going to work next spring, and a couple Walmart specials that have survived my repot/root pruning (one is a Fukien tea, would not recommend, it's been a pain in my tail, the other is a juniper little whippet that my wife brought home). Try your hand at inexpensive stuff first, I killed my first two boxwood and it broke my heart but try it until you get it! Welcome to the nuthouse! -Tex

 

[Kandoloh]

Scratch larch off your list they need cool summers. Japanese maples are OK but need shade.

Cedrus looks a little like larch

See I was told not to even try acer's I have a covered patio that gets shade most of the day as well as a bamboo shade curtain the allows dappled sun if necessary too. I might give one a go this coming year, those are what attracted me to bonsai and I want one!

 

[barrosinc]

usda hardiness only means how cold it gets... not all zone 8 are equal. It does not consider strength of sun, lenght of season, humidity etc...

 

[Kandoloh]

Of course the individual plant will need certain things to help it thrive, but I've seen 99% of those at nurseries here, are you closer to Dallas, or the pan handle? Humidities will be very different there, even compared to here. This was just a list of things that were hearty to zone 8--9 mostly, some even into zone 11 according to this book, just thought I would share to give you some ideas. The book is called choosing and growing bonsai by Peter chan. I picked it up for $2 at half priced books just to give it a look, seems like it had good information in it, it goes into more detail about what they need but I'm not up for typing all that out.

 

[Txhorticulture]

usda hardiness only means how cold it gets... not all zone 8 are equal. It does not consider strength of sun, lenght of season, humidity etc...

Thank you I didn't want to be the one to say that again. And it is one if the most misunderstood pieces of information for average gardeners trying to determine what plants they can grow. USDA hardiness zone is an almost entirely worthless description of climate and a plants suitability to a particular region. All it is is an average of the lowest temperature recorded annually in a region.

The original poster in texas has the same usda zone as much of the pnw. That doesn't mean he can plant redwoods and Noble firs. Lol

Try a sunset gardening book. They have a more comprehensive zone system and lists of suitable plants for a region

 

[Txhorticulture]

satsuki azalea

Ill disagree with my texas buddy here. While not impossible, azaleas are difficult in most parts of texas.

 

[Kandoloh]

When it comes to finally choosing I would research the specifics and then ask questions about that specific plant, there's a lot of knowledgable people here and most are helpful in some way lol anyhow, good luck!

 

[barrosinc]

go check out a bonsai nursery and see what trees they have had for years.

 

[Txhorticulture]

See I was told not to even try acer's I have a covered patio that gets shade most of the day as well as a bamboo shade curtain the allows dappled sun if necessary too. I might give one a go this coming year, those are what attracted me to bonsai and I want one!

Well in a container, with some shade at the right time of day it's not hard at all onCE you know what you're doing. A. Palmatum was one of the first collector type plants I started accumulating in my plant zoo years ago. I've killed a few over the years but I have it down now.

http://www.bonsainut.com/index.php?attachments/image-jpg.81041/

Here's my kashima

 

[rockm]

Ill disagree with my texas buddy here. While not impossible, azaleas are difficult in most parts of texas.

Define "most" ;-) They do really well east of Dallas
http://www.visittyler.com/azaleahistory/

 

[Txhorticulture]

Define "most" ;-) They do really well east of Dallas
http://www.visittyler.com/azaleahistory/

Well most means more than half east of Dallas is definitely less than half of texas. They are ericaceous plants so fine in higher rainfall areas with acidic Sandy soil. Even in containers, if you have hard water with a lot of lime stone you're watering with a high pH solution. It can be done, not easy

 

[aml1014]

I live in zone 7 new mexico so a similar climate and I've successfully had acer species for 2 years now, the palmatum are of course the hardest to do and I've had my struggles but I'm finally getting it down. My word of advise, if you want a certain tree just do it, if it dies oh well figure out what you did wrong and try again.

 

[jk_lewis]

[QUOTE="Txhorticulture, post: 287012, member: 17806"T]ry a sunset gardening book. They have a more comprehensive zone system and lists of suitable plants for a region[/QUOTE]

Also look at th American Horticultural Society's Heat zone map.

 

[EverydayDiesel]

Of course the individual plant will need certain things to help it thrive, but I've seen 99% of those at nurseries here, are you closer to Dallas, or the pan handle? Humidities will be very different there, even compared to here. This was just a list of things that were hearty to zone 8--9 mostly, some even into zone 11 according to this book, just thought I would share to give you some ideas. The book is called choosing and growing bonsai by Peter chan. I picked it up for $2 at half priced books just to give it a look, seems like it had good information in it, it goes into more detail about what they need but I'm not up for typing all that out.

I live in north dallas actually

 

[rockm]

If I had to start my collection over again and I lived in the Dallas area, I would go out an collect/buy cedar elm with substantial trunk and as many live oaks as I could afford. I'd also get my hands on some decent bald cypress. All of those are pretty bulletproof in Texas. Cedar elm is about the best deciduous species to work on for bonsai hands down, even Japanese and Chinese species, forgiving of mistakes, hardy and long lived. Same for Bald Cypress.

Same for live oak, if you can find one established in a container off the bat (it takes a bit of a knack and some experience to collect them from the wild). They are literally farmed in containers, however, for the landscaping market.
http://www.treetownusa.com/gallery/farm/index.php