I'm starting this controversial thread so that we can compile a list of good and less-than-desireable bonsai species that beginners might want to have available when starting a bonsai collection. "Bad trees" might be bad for beginners, or they might just make bad bonsai.
We all know that in concept, any woody plant can make a good bonsai, (and there have been cases made for various grasses and weeds and even cactus being displayed as bonsai too, but I'll leave that subject for another thread.)
Which trees have you found that just don't make good bonsai, and why? Feel free to provide counterexamples, and I am not saying if you have a great example of one of these "bad bonsai" you should chuck it. More power to you! But I am looking for plants that the average beginner might have some difficulty maintaining.
DIFFICULT FOR BEGINNERS- PINES - Require perfect drainage and some advanced cultivation.
- AZALEA - Need acid soil and will die if they dry out a little. Too wet and they rot.
- OAK - They hate overwatering.
BAD CHOICES IN GENERAL- TRUE CYPRESS - Leylandi & Italian Cypress. No real cultivation problems, I just don't think these make good bonsai in general.
- WILLOW - I'm sure someone out there has a nice willow tree. I'd like to see it
- WALNUT - Ditto.
- Any other "nut tree" with big compound leaves, with the possible exception of a Chinese Pistache, which is the only tree around here with reliable fall color - Double Ditto.
- PALMS - With the exception of Sago Palm, which is kind of cute actually, it's a lost cause. You might as well display a pineapple as an accent planting. I've been battling a Mexican Fan Palm for 10 years or so. Leaf size reduced to about 1/2 their normal size, but at about a foot across ,they still look funny to me.
EASY FOR BEGINNERS- Chinese Elm - Very good in many ways
- Juniper - the "perfect" bonsai conifer. Stays green even when it's dead. On the downside, it stays green even when it's dead! This is a high light tree and will usually not do well inside.
- Hornbeam - these are slow growing and tend to be a bit more expensive.
- Trident Maple
- Ficus - popular "indoor" bonsai
SOME RELATIVELY EASY FLOWERING BONSAI:- Crabapple
- Hawthorn
- Cotoneaster
Where would you put Japanese Maple on the list? How about Serissa?