Hello! ...and A Question...

Tony

Hi boredguy,

It's good to see another Okie around here, I think you're the first one since I've been posting here. I live close to Midwest City. This town used to be peppered with mimosa trees, like one in every other yard but they only live 25-30 years before the lower trunk rots out on them. The trees are mostly gone now but every spring I see little ones sprouting all over town. I have to pluck them from the flower beds and garden all the time. It's like the seed viability outlasts the trees life. Must be 15 years at least. That's a sneaky way to promote the species. I've got a few of them in pots but haven't really done any bonsai training with them. As someone mentioned, it's the big compound leaves that is the drawback. I'm bull headed though so I'll give it a try just for the heck of it.

Tropical trees like to come outside for the summer but there aren't many temperate trees that would like coming inside for the winter. I agree with the others, your best bet would be to grow trees that can stay outside all year round. Chinese or most any kind of elm would be fine. Trident and Japanese maple would be good, although they will need some shade on hot summer afternoons. Boxwood, many types of holly or junipers would be good evergreens. It's not a big deal wintering these trees around here. Just put them in a location where they will be be sheltered from the north wind and mulch over the pots.

You're right, there isn't much in the way of bonsai nurseries or clubs here in OK. There used to be a club in OKC but I think they are now defunct. At least I can't reach them from the contact info and their website has been down for years. If you ask regular nurserys about bonsai you'll get that look like you were asking for a pair of size 14, pink, fairy slippers! There is one guy in Norman that's trying to get into the bonsai business but he doesn't have much to sell at ths time.

We are pretty much on our own around here. Good trees can be had if you look through enough nursery stock, collecting from the wild is another option and then there's always seeds and cuttings. You can buy bonsai online too but I shy away from that myself. I like to see a tree up close and personal before I plunk the money down.

Good luck and happy growing.
Tony

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TheBoredGuy

Hi Tony! Thanks for the reply.



I think that would be the right thing to do as well, but shouldn't a mimosa tree be able to stay outside all year around if it had to? I know that kind of contradicts my first post, but all of the mimosa's that I've ever seen had no problem with Oklahoma winters. I have seen the trunk rot you were talking about though...

Maybe I'll start two trees in the spring. A mimosa, and an elm maybe...

FredL

Hi BG, My feel for Mimosas is that they not only can but should stay outside in the Winter. Over here to the East in Arkansas, we see them very frequently by the roadside where they have gone native. They are maintaining their population here and actually seem to be extending it fairly rapidly. They are pretty in bloom but, as you point out, do not seem to be a very long lived species. From what I've seen in the bonsai books and magazines, lots of atypical species of bushes and vines are given the bonsai treatment in Japan and alot of very appealing and unusual examples are created. I don't see anything wrong with going with Mimosa. It it were me, I think I'd try slanting style, which seems to minimize the distraction of the big compound leaves of Mimosa and maximize the impact of the big showy flowers. I hadn't really thought to try Mimosa here; I'm doing enough off-beat things already!

As for Elms, we have alot of Winged Elms (Ulmus alata) over here that can be collected by the roadside. I picked up 3 about 18 months ago and have found that they adapt to pots very quickly and easily. I've been reading that they are excellent subjects for bonsai training. I'm not sure whether you have these trees as far West as you are, but, if you do, I'd recommend them highly. I have found that collecting natives is really fun and that you can quickly acquire a good assortment of material this way at little expense. It also pretty much guarantees that whatever you have will be well adapted to your climate. You might look around where you live for maples, hornbeams, hawthorns Crab Apples Hackberries and other natives or ornamentals that have reproduced themselves by the roadside or in peoples yards or woodlots. You will probably be surprized at what you see once you start to notice what's available.

Good luck, Fred

Tony

"I think that would be the right thing to do as well, but shouldn't a mimosa tree be able to stay outside all year around if it had to?"

Yes they can stay outside in the winter. They're not quite as cold hardy as the others I mentioned. It would be a good idea to dig these into the ground and set them on bricks to keep them out of any water that collects. Then you can place mulch over the pot and all, up to the first branch. The ground will keep the roots a bit warmer than otherwise. Even though a certain tree may be hardy to your area when grown in the ground it may not be when grown in a pot. It's a whole bunch colder above ground. Any questionable trees should be given added protection like above.

Tony

TheBoredGuy

Awesome! Thanks!

Carp

sure is , i have a cootamundra wattle that i am training as we speak, unfortunately they dont have very long lives and the best i could hope for with this one is 15 - 20 years .

i remember reading somewhere that trees with segregated leaves generally do not make good bonsai, but i am also trying it with pionsiana and jacaranda seedlings.

good luck.

__________________
"The aim of life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!"

FredL

From what I have seen, there are numerous species that are pretty marginal for "classic bonsai" that nevertheless make interesting and attractive specimens when potted and trained using bonsai techniques. Such species as Forsythia, Virginia Creeper, various wild roses, Sumac and many others fall into this catagory. I'm working with a Virginia Creeper now that is still small but is very attractive. I would not want to focus my work on these species, but I think they make very worthwhile additions to even the most serious collection.

Fred