styrax

dick benbow

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In keeping with my interest of trees with little info,i have recently been mesmerized by the japanese snow bell. I went into advanced search and found, well, nothing. surely someone has some personal experience with this beauty. I'd appreciate knowing where i might find one of some age and what it took to care for it. certainly I can't be the only one attracted to this tree?
Anything you can pass along appreciated.
 

coh

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You're not the only one attracted to them. After seeing a few photos of styrax bonsai in an older issue of International Bonsai, I picked up a young specimen (from Forest Farm, I think) and planted it in my grow bed. It's growing well but not particularly fast. Gonna be a while...I'm thinking about looking for a larger specimen. There's a local nursery that lists them in a variety of sizes...

Chris
 

PaulH

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I have some California Styrax yamadori that I have collected on my property. The flowers and fruit are very similar to the japanese variety. I have one Japanese Styrex that I bought last year as a nursery tree. I choppped it and it is exploding with new shoots which will become branches. All of my styrax are still a few years from becoming bonsai though.
 

Dav4

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Great small landscape tree with good form and copious fragrant small white flowers every spring. There is a large styrax bonsai at the Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw, GA where I volunteer. As far as I can tell, we treat it like all the other trees as far as soil, watering, and fertilizing. I pruned it back 2 months ago, right after it flowered, but haven't been back since:(.
 

wlambeth

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Did you see the specimen at the Japanese garden in Seattle?
Beautiful tree, however it is extremely slow growing.
On the upside it thrives in your area.
 

mcpesq817

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Funny you should ask this. I bought a small styrax seedling off eBay four years or so ago and planted it in my front yard on a tile to grow it out for bonsai potential (I saw pictures of them in an old bonsai magazine and thought for a couple of dollars, why not try it). It's now a good 8' in height with a 3" base and my wife has been yelling at me to cut it back or dig it out. I'm trying to play dumb (easy for me) and delay to get a little more caliper out of it :rolleyes:

The flowers are really cool on them - they are like white bells, complete with those things in the middle of the bell that you use to ring it (just found out it is called the "clapper"). They are fragrant and are all over the tree. They don't seem to last too long though (like a week if that), but it could be because of all the rain we've had here.

They seem to have the potential for good bonsai material. The leaves aren't very large, and they are a nice roundish oval shape and a pretty medium green, with close internodes. The bark is brown and fairly smooth, like a hornbeam. It actually sorta reminds me of a hornbeam or maybe a crape myrtle.

Aside for some minor pruning to stay in my wife's good graces, I haven't done much with it so can't really say how it would take chops, wire, etc. I probably have a couple more years of ground development with mine (chop next season to new leader, give it a year or two of the next flush, and then dig it out), but I'd be interested if others have experience with it.
 

dick benbow

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I did pick up a small snow bell that I could learn from. I'm keeping it well watered and ferilized.
I snipped it back quite agressively to see where and how it responded. Within two weeks it began pushing buds up and down it's length. Where i snipped off a sizeable branch, 2-3 buds
appeared along the edge of the cut. I have this sense that this tree is gonna be OK to work with.
I did learn that like a larch it will decide to drop an established branch on it's own but think I could live with that.
 

Dan W.

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After this post I have run in to two very impressive specimens in Kokufu books. They make some seriously awesome bonsai. Unfortunately there isn't any horticultural info in those books.
 

marc206

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topic change

Does anyone have expertise in styrax seed germination?
 

dick benbow

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Since i posted my request for information, I have added two to my collection. One that was germinated under the mother tree and the other that was an air layered top.

The one from seed I've kept in strong sunlight that has prospered with strong growth with heavy fertilization.
Very impressed how it took off.

The other I took to a kathy Shaner workshop and had her style. I've since kept it in only morning sun and minimumly fertilized and it is coming back nicely.
Where branches were removed it easily replaces them with buds.
very encouraged. kathy said put the one she styled in a very deep dark blue pot, which I have found and will use next spring.

excited to see them bloom. So far they seem to respond positively to everything they've been subsegated to....
 
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dick benbow

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Dan, I could shoot some pictures and post, but there is nothing really to see. I'm pushing max growth and health so there is just blobs of green. let me get them thru winter. One I'll pot and the other I will leave in the anderson pot and style. Then I may have something for you to see.
Maybe April would be good as a time when they bloom around here.
 

Smoke

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Bill Valavanis has extensive work with Styrax. In fact when he comes to California for the Shohin Seminar, which there is one in Feb. 2014, Bill will do a workshop with these type plants. Usually a small group in a tray. He sells them bare root each year.
 

dick benbow

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good to know. Bill's one of my favorites. I have many friends that tell me stories of the shohin convention. Event sounds cool but I get the feeling the premises/facilities may leave a lot to be desired.
 

Dan W.

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I think this one is absolutely stunning! They certainly have the potential to make phenomenal bonsai. :)


20130822_000801_zps83118c5f.jpg
 

Dan W.

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Hey Dick, you might also try asking some of the guys who apprenticed over there. Michael and Owen are two that may have worked with styrax. (I think Ryan was exclusively working on conifer.) I'll bet that Bill has some articles in past magazine's as well.
 

dick benbow

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Thanks to all who have contributed. In a coupla short months, I hope to be repotting the 3, I have aquired. If anyone has run across anything more since last year, let us know here.
 
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