The "Will It Bonsai" Thread

[ShadyStump]

We run into this question allot: Will <insert totally random and/or ridiculous tree species here> make "good" bonsai?
Figured why not make a thread for relevant discussion.

Can't find a good example on Google? Does the best I could do "count" as bonsai? Why aren't there more examples of this as bonsai?
Whatever. This is the thread for the questions we're afraid to ask about taking whatever tree and making bonsai.

 

[ShadyStump]

I'll start.
China doll; Radermachera sinica
Seems like these would make interesting trees. Large compound leaves on the varieties I'm most familiar with would not take well to the sort of treatment we'd normally give to other trees with this characteristic (e.g. BRT, honey locust, etc.) but also look more like individual branches. Wood and bark comparable to many ficus should mean it's easy enough to work.

I imagine making it look like "good" bonsai would require some size, but that's not a deal breaker for most.
I know @Fidur has some, if he wouldn't mind sharing his experience with them. I recently killed my first one when I accidentally over treated for mealybugs, then promptly replaced it with 2 more, lesson learned. I love the foliage on these things.

 

[Fidur]

I'll start.
China doll; Radermachera sinica
Seems like these would make interesting trees. Large compound leaves on the varieties I'm most familiar with would not take well to the sort of treatment we'd normally give to other trees with this characteristic (e.g. BRT, honey locust, etc.) but also look more like individual branches. Wood and bark comparable to many ficus should mean it's easy enough to work.

I imagine making it look like "good" bonsai would require some size, but that's not a deal breaker for most.
I know @Fidur has some, if he wouldn't mind sharing his experience with them. I recently killed my first one when I accidentally over treated for mealybugs, then promptly replaced it with 2 more, lesson learned. I love the foliage on these things.

I had It, but It went to my ex-wife 6 months ago, under a collection downsize. It was fine then, but It went south under her care....Today It looked like this, anda I think It will not make It as bonsai.

 

[penumbra]

I had a rather absurd take on the title of this thread and wondered who I will "Will" all my bonsai to.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

I'll start.
China doll; Radermachera sinica
Seems like these would make interesting trees. Large compound leaves on the varieties I'm most familiar with would not take well to the sort of treatment we'd normally give to other trees with this characteristic (e.g. BRT, honey locust, etc.) but also look more like individual branches. Wood and bark comparable to many ficus should mean it's easy enough to work.

I imagine making it look like "good" bonsai would require some size, but that's not a deal breaker for most.
I know @Fidur has some, if he wouldn't mind sharing his experience with them. I recently killed my first one when I accidentally over treated for mealybugs, then promptly replaced it with 2 more, lesson learned. I love the foliage on these things.

Yes why not, is very similar to ming aralia, here they are very common as ornamental trees

 

[jszg]

Azara spp. in particular Azara microphylla seems well-suited. Only problem for me is that it's a bit winter tender. But it looks like boxwood but better: smaller leaves, more fragrant, alternate buds vs opposite, and a fast grower.

 

[Srt8madness]

I know one plant that doesn't bonsai but I wish it did - Roses. I have one that has the most gorgeous natural nebari.

 

[rockm]

I know one plant that doesn't bonsai but I wish it did - Roses. I have one that has the most gorgeous natural nebari.

Rose Bonsai

Learn everything there is to know about Rose Bonsai, their origin, care information, where you can purchase one of your own, and more.

bonsaimirai.com

I've also had some "success" (Which is a relative term for it) with old rose plants that have gone wild over the years. I had a multiflora rose collected from a cow pasture where it was growing up a support cable for a telephone pole. It was old, trunk was 8-9 inches at the nebari. Grew like a weed (and attracted all manner of bugs, including Japanese beetles), which is why I got rid of it. Every summer its thorny extension growth would actually grab you as you walked by. It also spread that growth over everything with 15 feet of it. It was almost as bad as wisteria.

 

[It's Kev]

I promise i will do this only once, i wanna add a bit of a subtopic.

Will It Shohin?

There are one or two people on here who are great at growing baobabs, but my lifestyle dictates that i stick to shohin sized trees. Every now and then i want to, and other times i think it's an unpractical idea.
So with spring fast approaching, and seed suppliers already sourced, please help me to answer once and for all:
Will a baobab make good, or at least adequate shohin sized bonsai?

 

[Cajunrider]

I promise i will do this only once, i wanna add a bit of a subtopic.

Will It Shohin?

There are one or two people on here who are great at growing baobabs, but my lifestyle dictates that i stick to shohin sized trees. Every now and then i want to, and other times i think it's an unpractical idea.
So with spring fast approaching, and seed suppliers already sourced, please help me to answer once and for all:
Will a baobab make good, or at least adequate shohin sized bonsai?

Speaking from experience. Rainbow eucalyptus and Royal poinciana will NOT shohin. I dunno nuttin' 'bout Baobabs.

 

[ShadyStump]

I had It, but It went to my ex-wife 6 months ago, under a collection downsize. It was fine then, but It went south under her care....Today It looked like this, anda I think It will not make It as bonsai.View attachment 467189

Ouch. Sorry to hear about this, Fidur. I was looking forward to swapping notes with you.

Yes why not, is very similar to ming aralia, here they are very common as ornamental trees

I'm unfamiliar with ming aralia. I'll have to look into it.
I haven't been able to find a single decent "bonsai" example of China doll, but I have come across pics of some with excellent neagari, which often also means excellent ROR potential. I don't have high expectations for dense, twiggy ramification though. Don't think it'd work out well with the big compound leaves anyway.

I guess I'm just surprised that bonsai examples aren't more common. Schefflera seems less suited to bonsai in my opinion, but it's everywhere.

 

[Matt B]

Speaking from experience. Rainbow eucalyptus and Royal poinciana will NOT shohin. I dunno nuttin' 'bout Baobabs.

Will a royal poinciana kifu sho? (under 16")

 

[Dav4]

I know one plant that doesn't bonsai but I wish it did - Roses. I have one that has the most gorgeous natural nebari.

Hmmmmm... there are apparently a few decent ones out there. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/eijitsu-rose.37602/

 

[jszg]

On roses, I suspect with a lot of effort, the very twiggy chinensis "minima" varieties could work, maybe some of the finer-twigged polyantha varieties.

Otherwise, all the roses I know of throw "canes" instead of "branches". I don't know if there's an actual botanic truth to this, but roses seem to prefer to send up fresh shoots from their crown, which then branches a little bit, throwing either flowering spurs on 2-year growth (spring-bloomers) or blooming at shoot tips, rather than anything like a trunk.

My "Cineraria" (I think: forgot the name!) is one of the dwarf chinensis types, and it's growth habit instead is like a normal shrub, just 6" tall.

 

[Cajunrider]

Will a royal poinciana kifu sho? (under 16")

I have seen a few excellent kifu but they all have the compound leaves disguised as branches.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Anyone work with Acacia Robusta?

 

[Kievnstavick]

I promise i will do this only once, i wanna add a bit of a subtopic.

Will It Shohin?

There are one or two people on here who are great at growing baobabs, but my lifestyle dictates that i stick to shohin sized trees. Every now and then i want to, and other times i think it's an unpractical idea.
So with spring fast approaching, and seed suppliers already sourced, please help me to answer once and for all:
Will a baobab make good, or at least adequate shohin sized bonsai?

I am currently in my first year of growing some Boababs and no way a subject matter expert. I think A. Rubrostipa might be your best shot. The A. Digitata that I am growing have fairly large leaves in their grow containers and I am uncertain how much the leaves will reduce once they are in a more restricted container with ramified branches.

What I can say is that they can probably be shohin bonsai with a winter (dry season) silhouette as you don't have to worry about the leaf size. Controlling the growth of the main branches might be a challenge in regards to maintaining proper portions.

 

[August]

Ficus elastica. I've been working on two, both are some of my oldest houseplants, from well before I was interested in bonsai, and some of my earliest victims when the bug bit. I think in 5 or 6 years I will really appreciate them, should they be alive, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to advertise them as being "bonsai". Those freaking leaves are huge. I love them. I have seen some really cool trees in progress ala Mr. Saunders and a dude on r/Bonsai.

On that note, Ficus lyrata. The fiddleleaf fig. Talk about a challenge. Saunders has one and it's ugly as sin but cool to watch.

I took this in Idaho Springs, CO. That's a mature Ficus elastica in a greenhouse / pool at Indian Springs. Extremely cool stuff

 

[ShadyStump]

Ficus elastica. I've been working on two, both are some of my oldest houseplants, from well before I was interested in bonsai, and some of my earliest victims when the bug bit. I think in 5 or 6 years I will really appreciate them, should they be alive, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to advertise them as being "bonsai". Those freaking leaves are huge. I love them. I have seen some really cool trees in progress ala Mr. Saunders and a dude on r/Bonsai.

On that note, Ficus lyrata. The fiddleleaf fig. Talk about a challenge. Saunders has one and it's ugly as sin but cool to watch.

I took this in Idaho Springs, CO. That's a mature Ficus elastica in a greenhouse / pool at Indian Springs. Extremely cool stuffView attachment 469300

So, cool trees, but not necessarily "bonsai."
Lyrata I don't even enjoy as house plant, though, but more power power to anyone willing to try.

Elastica seems like it might do ok structure wise, it's just the leaf size. Would your experience agree?

 

[August]

So, cool trees, but not necessarily "bonsai."
Lyrata I don't even enjoy as house plant, though, but more power power to anyone willing to try.

Elastica seems like it might do ok structure wise, it's just the leaf size. Would your experience agree?

Bonsai in my eyes, certainly. They already are in that regard, but to tell people a thing is a bonsai, can lead to debate

They tend to grow like a typical ficus' beefier older brother. Very vigorous growers. I'm trying to fuse them both right now, think I'm having some success. Good backbudders, you could hack them to a stub and get a branch, like the rest of the genus. The leaves are capable of reducing, my 'Tineke' variety has many small leaves. I'm nowhere near that point of development, but I'm sure there's an applicable method to reduce them in time. Usually the first leaf after a chop is considerably small. If you defoliate,they are reduced for long enough to put in a show. I think the real problem is thick branches and internodes.

Below; my Tineke compared to 'Burgundy', then a tiny hardened off leaf on the burgundy. Probably the smallest I've seen.