Bonsai any tree

[willjones]

Was sat at home wondering if anyone knew if any tree could be bonsai'd?.

[Gnome]

Certain species lend themselves to certain styles of bonsai. I would think you could grow most trees in pots, some will need a lot more care than others which would determine if this was a viable option or not.

 

Have you got any species in mind?

[Kenty]

I know a fella who has an English Oak, Ash & Hazel among other more exotic trees which he grew from seed. All around twenty years old & he reckons you can bonsai most species. Apparently its all about pruning the correct roots as a sapling & continuing root pruning on a regular basis.

[peatff]

You sometimes find them growing naturally in crevices in walls, I've found Mountain Ash and Birch tend to do this a lot.

[agg221]

Severe root restriction and pruning will keep any tree small, however the leaves don't scale in proportion to the tree (although they are reduced) so species with smaller leaves usually look more in proportion, hence horse chestnut, pawlonia etc are less successful and conifers are particularly popular.

 

Alec

[RobArb]

I've got a couple of horse chestnut doing nicely.

 

Also got growing as bonsai's; couple of sweet chestnuts, couple of Oaks, couple of birches, a sycy, and an avocado and grand fir

[MWArb]

I've got a couple of horse chestnut doing nicely.

 

Also got growing as bonsai's; couple of sweet chestnuts, couple of Oaks, couple of birches, a sycy, and an avocado and grand fir

mind me asking how often you root prune? And do you cut the classic fan shape or are you more selective as with branch work?

[Landscape Hub]

Many can but as already mentioned, a smaller leaf is preferable. Easy starting species might include Hawthorn, Beech, Hornbeam, Larch. Don't forget many woody shrubs work well such as Cotoneaster, Potentilla, etc. Sticking with native / temperate varieties means they can / should be kept outdoors most of the time avoiding the trickier to look after indoor / tropical, sub-tropical species that so many people had years ago and let die.

 

Once you get into it, Japanese Maples are a very good species because of their leaf colour, size and growing habits. Growing from seed is for the seriously patient, I'd suggest getting suitable material from your garden or the garden centre, (as in a small shrub / tree meant for general garden use). Then prune and train the tree from there, the methods being to numerous to add to this reply.

[mistahbenn]

We need pics here lads! Rob, what are you waiting for? Im growing the hottest chillis in the world, and prune them hard so they survive winter (called Bonchi). So lets see yours....

[TreePuncher]

We need pics here lads! Rob, what are you waiting for? Im growing the hottest chillis in the world, and prune them hard so they survive winter (called Bonchi). So lets see yours....

 

you should check out the thread i started a while back "anyone into bonsai?"

 

Some good advice and lots of pictures on there...

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/54034-anyone-into-bonsai.html

Edited January 2, 2014 by TreePuncher
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