The Limber Pine, Pinus flexilis, is a pine native to the Northwest USA. It is a 5-needle pine easily misidentified in a bonsai collection as Pinus parviflora, the Japanese 5 needle pine. The Limber pine grows at high elevations on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. It is adapted to intense solar radiation, high…

This Buttonwood tree, Conocarpus erectus, was purchased in 1992 but originally was collected in Florida. It is 22 inches tall and with a main tunk diameter of 4.5 inches. It has been very happily growing in my greenhouse, and tolerates very high heat, up to 120 Fahrenheit, which occasionally occurs when my greenhouse ventilation quits.…

Schefflera arboricola – Dwarf Schefflera This Dwarf Schefflera was purchased as three seedlings. They were planted over the stone and allowed to root over and around the rock. After growing for about one year, the grouping was placed into a shallower pot and the roots were exposed. Root over rock designs are easy to create.…

When purchased in 1990 this Ficus benjamina was a ten foot tall, potted indoor landscape tree. It was used for years as a rental tree for parties. I aquired the tree because of its lovely base. Prior to shortening the tree down to 23 inches, I air-layered the top 8 feet of the tree and…

Acer rubrum is a tree that is found growing from Canada to Florida. The material is used for bonsai relatively infrequently due its large leaves and long internodes. This tree was collected in 1991 in northern Michigan and was reduced from a 12 foot tall tree to about 15". No branches were usable and the…

This Ficus salicaria (F. salicifolia, nerifolia, neriifolia, Willow Leaf Ficus, etc.) is in the banyan style. The tree is approximately 40 years of age, and was grown and trained by the famous Ficus grower Jim Smith of Vero Beach Florida. I acquired the tree from Jim in 1999. The banyan style is one in which…

This apple was collected from a friend's pasture where it had been deer and cattle grazed for over 40 years. Much of the tree was dead but a living strip on its left side provided enough vascular supply to keep the foliage happy. Many apple trees were collected from the same pasture during the summer…

This Ficus was purchased from a nursery in Taiwan and imported into the USA. It has a very powerful trunk and root flare. Much work has been done on this tree over many years to improve its form. There are signs of multiple grafts to improve the branch structure and grafts done to heal over…

This Euonymus alatus was salvaged from our yard where it was a neglected landscape shrub. The tree responded very nicely to pot culture and developed well ramified branches in several years. It even blooms and sets fruit most years. The fruit is a hanging orange berry. It must be repotted yearly as the fine hair…

Fortunella hindsii or Hong Kong Kumquat is in the citrus family of plants. It tolerates pot culture better than many of the other plants in the citrus family. I purchased this tree as a seedling about 18 years ago from a Florida grower. The species is seen frequently in the Kokufu Ten Japanese picture books…