Good & Bad Species for Beginners

TreeBay

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?

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

Advertisement

Carl_Bergstrom

Well, I'll take a crack at this one.

To the "good" list I'd add Cryptomeria. Nice-looking tree, easy to style. Relatively forgiving.

Japanese maples would be on the good list here in Seattle; on the bad list in Pheonix.

Serissa and Fukien Tea should be on the bad list everywhere simply because they are so fickle. Though some people manage to get the damned things to grow without ever a problem. Go figure.

Eucalyptus and especially manzanita should probably be on the "hard as the devil to grow" list. They're both so tempting...and so difficult to raise in pots.

I'm sure others will come to me. I'll post them when they do.

Shambhala

Glad you pointed out that part about Junipers. Yes they are easy for beginners, but they don't tell you when they aren't doing well until it is too late

Adam

Another bad tree for a beginner is the ginko. They are real touchy to watering and tend to throw away shoots for no apparent reason. Junipers,the bonsai christamas tree. LoL

Your Friend,
Adam

__________________
[Adam]
"Cass Bonsai Gardens"
"Bonsai Knowledge"
"DaGhostCrew"

Jose_Alberto

Here I go with the tropical trees' list...

Well, I live in a tropical country, but I don't find Azaleas so exigent... well, maybe, because I use 100% organic soil for them (don't ask me why...) but, they do fine... well, if you allow me to add a tropical tree that is hard and easy at the same time... here I go

The bahuina's species... they grow like weed... they grow so fast that I had troubles of root bound in about 3 months... well, but they are forgiving trees... they will grow from nothing, but the other con, is that they will hardly make it in a different style than cascade...

If I should add a slow grower, well, CEIBA PENTANDRA, and this is a headache tree... it won't develop small leaves, so well, it won't make it different than blooming style. But it can live for centuries... (eventhough I can't)

Well, two nice trees, I'm trying to get from seeds are Tecoma stants and Tabebuia rosea... Let's see if they are good for that... well, they are easy to water, but hard to fertilize I had troubles with 2 Tecoma stants... because of the fertilizer...

Then, how about Jacaranda ? Jules told me they won't make good bonsai...

well, bye

__________________
Jose Alberto Franco
Guatemala
Central America
http://www.doschivos.com

juliet-of-oz

Hey Jose

Thats only, in my opinion about the Jacaranda, i would love to be proven wrong on that one...

Its a big big tree and doesnt flower till its quite old, i have never seen a container grown one in flower.

By all means give it a go and let us know how you do. Maybe in your climate they will do very well.

I would like to add OLIVE to the easy list. I dont know how they cope in the snow, but nothing else seems to worry them....

Happy Growing

Jules

Jose_Alberto

Well, I have like 10 jacarandas waiting to be done like bonsai's well, I'll try to prove you wrong... (in a good way)

__________________
Jose Alberto Franco
Guatemala
Central America
http://www.doschivos.com

Levon

I would put the Serissa on the Bad choices list. The Japanese Maple isn't hard to start with, but remember not to give it to much fertilizer. And the Zelkova should be on the Easy For Beginners list.

__________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonsai Pot Signatures - http://www.yamadori.nl/Bonsai_Schalen.htm

NEW BOOK 'Bonsai Potters' - http://www.yamadori.nl/Bonsai_Potters.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ripsgreentree

For central California on the good or easy list I put European olive on the top, saju elm is one that wants to play, catlin and contorted love full sun and heat as well as the Zelcova. Bald cypress and montazuma cypress also do well in the heat but are kept in water.
Trident maple and Celtis will tollerate the heat as well but can be a little fussy about water and fertalizer.
For the central California dificult list J-white pine. I only have three that will tollerate the heat and only with shade. J-black pine will servive and tollerate the heat but will not have the vigor of one grown on the coast or at higher elevations.
J-mountain maple requires shade and protection from dry winds.
Well that's enough of my two cents I will add more later.
ripsgreentree

__________________
ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.