Hydrangea Tree Bonsai?

andrewh

Has anyone ever heard of using a Hydrangea Tree for bonsai?

I found some great stock on the internet, but wanted to see if this type of tree was possible for bonsai or if these trees are not bonsai material.

Thanks in advance.

bonsaiboy

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salix

I have never heard of this being done, but any tree is, theoretically, bonsai-able, in my humble opinion. If it were me, I would be looking for Hydrangea paniculata "Grandiflora" , which is a hydrangea specifically bred to take on a tree form instead of a shrub form. Here's a picture:

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/ca...nt/5/11/11.html

I'm curious to know how this turns out for you. I think this tree might be a challenging subject, and I think you'd be on your own, since I could find no information about these plants as bonsai.

andrewh

Thanks for the response Salix!

I was not able to find any info on this tree for bonsai either, which is why I posted the question here with the experts.

Here is the link that I found for purchasing this tree:
http://www.cometobuy.com/directgard...6857&cc=g&dn=75

Any and All comments welcome and appreciated!

salix

Hey, for $2, I say give it a whirl. It might turn out great. I think the picture they have to go along with that description is on the silly side of imaginitive, BTW. From what I've seen, these plants tend to go leggy, and they need some attention to end up with a single trunk. That page I linked to had some more in-depth information on it, I would recommend looking it over carefully.

andrewh

I agree with you that thier description is silly...not even just silly, but horrible...

but I felt the same way...for $2, why not?

Thanks for all your responses.

ZBryan2

just some advice on peegee hydrangea...

They prefer shady conditions but will take the sun as well and are pretty hardy. They work well as bonsai in that their leaves can be shortened from the usual 3 to 4 inches down to 1 to 1.5 inches. They go from softwood to hardwood in a matter of weeks so its easy to create a branch structure. They do not take well to wiring, and the branches become tough to bend once they thicken, and they thicken quickly. They do, however, respond well to clip & grow. This can be good or bad depending on how you look at it, in that they have to be trimmed back constantly. In doing this, you'll never get to see the tree flower either b/c of its growth rate. Although they develop branches quickly and readily sprout from old wood when cut back, they do not develop a trunk very easily. Their natural tendency is to grow as a shrub, with many stems coming right from the ground up. Your best bet in making one into a bonsai would be to go to a local garden nursery and find a neglected one with the thickest trunk you can, then cut back the branches/trunk to make a fast shohin. Although they're not popular as bonsai, they're extremely easy to grow and lend nicely into a broom style. It just goes to show that most any tree, regardless of variety, can be made into a bonsai with some work.

Hope this helps you out

andrewh

Thanks for the excellent information ZBryan!

This is exactly the type of stuff I was looking for.

Have you created a bonsai with peegee Hydrangea? If yes, and you have pictures that you can share, I would love to see what it could look like...I have only seen the "full size" version of this tree.