Thanks Leo, will do it this weekend when it warms up a bit.
I've been reading up on a-lot of older threads and the sharing of knowledge here on this site is remarkable, thank you all. Its also taught me to stop buying the first tree I stumble upon at the store. Im already using the knowledge acquired here to save time and effort on a species that is difficult for a beginner. Is it spring yet?
There is a reason so many of us work on Junipers. They are the silly putty of the conifer world. You can mimic most any tree design with a Juniper, some time, pruning, & wire. All species of Juniper except J. virginiana, ERC, eastern red cedar, this species is problematic, much like EWP, you work on it thinking you are getting somewhere, and then 20 years of work later you realize it will never quite get to the goal, and quit in frustration.
For Iowa, the best leave them outdoors all winter pines are Scott's pine, P. sylvestris, and mugo pine, Pinus mugo. If you can find them on their own roots, or EWP roots, Japanese white pines. Though JWP is much slower growing and a little tricky to work with. JBP Is not reliably hardy outdoors in all parts of Iowa. While books say it is hardy into zone 5, in reality zone 7 it is reliably hardy. It is reliably hardy in zone 6b, but somewhere in the colder side of zone 6a you run into the limit for JBP. I know in my zone 5b backyard, JBP will be fine 2 or 3 winters in a row, then we will have a bad winter, and it will die. Longest a JBP ever lasted through my winters was 4 winters, the 5th killed it. So while JBP works very well for bonsai, if you don't have a good place to winter it with protection, do not try them.
So Juniper, Scott's pine, Mugo, elm of any species, Malus, really focusing on crap apples, all these are very reliable as bonsai. Cotoneaster is another good one especially for the smaller size trees.
lol
