Flowering bonsai trees with some that produce fruit

Bonsai trees and plants that produce flowers and blossoms are so stunning and unique that they will attract attention to any area in your home or yard. They are an excellent decorative accessory for in a living room, family room or patio.  One of the better ideas I have seen is a friend of mine has a flowering bonsai tree that they have placed on their dining room table as a center piece. Indoor trees can be kept outside if the temperature stays above 50 degrees f.

There are many different kinds of flowering bonsai trees, so each will have its own care instructions and descriptions some of these small trees also produce fruit. Generally, flowering trees require more light than non-flowering trees in order to generate flowers and or fruit. If you like plants and flowers, you will love these flowering bonsai trees. Lasting longer than cut bouquets, and blooming continually. The flowering Brazilian rain tree or the andromeda tree are the most popular indoor trees to grow in a pot.

Shimpaku Juniper, Juniperus chininses var. shimpaku

This bonsai is very large standing more than 36 inches high.  It is a "tanuki" or "Phoenix graft" bonsai which means that it is a younger juniper which has been attached to an old and interesting piece of deadwood.  The tanuki was made more than 15 years ago when the trunk diameter was about the size of your index finger.  Today the trunk base is more than 2 inches thick.  Stone has been used to give the base a more stable appearance and it is planted into an unglazed Chinese ceramic container.  For this photo the trunk was treated with mineral oil to increase the contrast with the deadwood. Near the soil line the deadwood has also been treated with a preservative to slow the woods decomposition.  The deadwood was a California juniper collected from the Montana desert.  We have done a little carving to it... but not much.  This bonsai  received the Peoples Choice award at the 2005 Carolina Bonsai Expo held in Asheville, NC.  

Chinese Corkbark Elm 
Ulmus  parvifolia
We bought these two elms partially trained from an importer almost 30 years ago.  They were developed as individual trees for many years, but we were never really happy with either one.  Then one spring we decided to combine them together and make a "mother and daughter" planting on top of a piece of granite we had liberated from a mountain top in Colorado.   We are happy to report that the final product seems to be more than the sum of its parts.  The main tree stands about 12 inches high.  (Move your mouse over the photo to see a shot in winter without the leaves.)

Satsuki Azalea 

 Rhododendron  indictum

Satsuki azalea (Rhododendron indictum). This specimen has a trunk diameter which measures 5 inches wide at the base. It stands 19 inches tall and has been planted at the extreme right side of a wide rectangular container. The negative space on the left side of the container serves to emphasize the mass and movement of the tree. The shallow container make a handsome "frame" for the tree, but requires careful attention be paid to the tree's water needs. It is a cultivar known as "Kaho (floral treasure)" and will produce flowers which are solid pink, solid white and a mix of pink and white all on the same plant.  

Satsuki Azalea 

 Rhododendron  indictum

This is a shohin size tree. which measures only about 8 inches high.  The variety is known as "hakurei  (white excellence)."   In the springtime it is spectacular with tiny lily like cream colored flowers.   It was acquired about 5 years ago as an import and is developing nicely.  The container is an unglazed red clay rectangle with lotus flower corners imported from China.  Move your mouse over the photo to see a detail of the flowers.

Kingsville Boxwood,

Buxus microphilla compacta var. "kingsville"

This particular variety of boxwood is popular among bonsai growers because of the plant's exceptionally small leaves and its tight, slow growing patters.  This shohin class plant is planted into an oval tokoname ware container.  

Willowleaf Ficus - Ficus nerifolia

Of all the trees in our collection, this one gets the most "ohhhs" and "ahhhs" when its at a show. It is a Willow leaved ficus (Ficus nerifolia) and stands more than 24 inches in height. It was field grown in Florida and then cut back. The result is a massive trunk which is hard to ignore. When people ask us how old it is we tell them that it is 800 years old and that we grew it from a seed. The truth is that the tree is probably pretty young considering how fast it grows... especially in its native Florida. It is one of the most satisfying tropicals which can be used for the art of bonsai. We have since move this tree to a large white oval tray and are working on getting a better photo of it.  For now this will have to do. 

Shimpaku Juniper

Juniperus chinensis sargentii "shimpaku"

This is a "raft" style planting in which all trees share an interconnected root system.  It contains seven trees and is planted in a 26 inch wide tokoname ware container.  The tallest tree stands 14 inches high.  The black bear is a family pet and is not dangerous.  

Trident Maple 
 Acer buergerianum
This is a nine tree forest of Trident maples which we planted onto a limestone slab we collected from a river bed near St. Louis, Mo.  We have to fight the local robins to keep moss on the planting, but it has grown and developed well over the years.  The tallest tree is about 18 inches and the rock is about 3 foot wide.  It requires root pruning every other year.  

There is a moose which sometimes can be seen resting in the shade of the Trident forest pictured above.  We happened to snap this shot of him one afternoon when he was in residence. 

Satsuki Azalea  Rhododendron  indictum

This is a an especially small leaved cascade style  satsuki azalea  which develops  tiny, hot pink flowers in the spring. The variety is known as "kazan" in Japan and "rukizon" in most of the west.    It was created about 4 years ago from 3 gallon nursery stock and planted into this container about 3 years ago.  Azaleas do especially well for us here in North Carolina and have become one of my favorite species to work with. (Move your mouse over the photo to see a detail of the flowers.)

Korean Hornbeam, Carpinus coreana

This hornbeam stands 23 inches high and has a branch spread of 16 inches.  The trunk is 6 inches wide at the base and it is planted in a cream colored Chinese container.  This tree was acquired as an import from China about 10 years ago.  A rock has been added at the right side of the base to improve the appearance of the nebari.  It is show in fall color.  

Trident Maple 

Acer buergeranum

Trident maple (Acer buergeranum) is a popular bonsai variety. Not only does the tree produce a lush abundance of small three lobed "trident" shaped leaves in summer, but offers a spectacular show of red, yellow and orange color in the fall. No less impressive are the fine lace like branches which can be seen in the winter when the tree is devoid of leaves or the tiny reddish green bud leaves which burst forth with the first warm days of spring. (Move you mouse over the photo to see a picture of the tree taken two years ago.)  This specimen has a trunk base which measurers more than 7 inches wide. It was achieved by first growing the tree in the ground for a number of years to develop trunk girth and then cutting the tree back to about its present 26 inches of height and placing it in a container to begin its "training" as a bonsai. The brown and yellow earth toned container into which it is planted is not Japanese, but created in England by noted bonsai potter Derrick Aspinal.

Corkbark Chinese Elms

Ulmus parvifolia

This seven tree group planting is one of our oldest bonsai.  It was created from a group of pencil sized plants in one gallon growing containers approximately 20 to 25 years ago.  It is shown in winter, so that the delicate branch ramification can be seen.  The forest stands 29 inches high and 28 inches wide and is planted into a gray unglazed tokoname ware container.  

Scots Pine  

Pinus sylvestris

This Scots pine was obtained as one gallon nursery specimen about 20 years ago.  We're not sure about its exact variety, but suspect it might be a "beauforensis" because of its exceptionally short needles.  It was transplanted into this eggshell pot created by American potter Dave Loeman two years ago.  In 2000 it won the best in show award at the Carolina Bonsai Expo held in Asheville, North Carolina  each October.  The tree stands about 12 high. The background was created using Adobe photoshop.  Move your mouse over the photo to see another "artificial" background of clouds.

Flowering Apricot

 Prunus mume

This specimen was obtained from California field grown stock about 14 years ago.  The tree flowers in late winter and produces fruit in early and mid summer.  It stands 17inches high and 16 inches wide and is planted into a red unglazed Chinese container which is a copy of an old Japanese design.  The trees butress and nebari measures about 5 inches.  Between the birds, the hot Carolina weather and the garden visitors, it is almost impossible to keep fruit on the tree any later than early June.  

Crabapple - Malus

Bonsai is an artform which changes with the seasons. This Crabapple (Malus) is relatively young, having been started from a cutting many years ago. The beauty and grace of this bonsai is obscured for most of the year by large green leaves, but in the springtime it demands attention with a spectacular show of tiny whitish pink blossoms and again in the fall, as the leaves begin to drop with a showy display of tiny red apples. The tree is 18 inches high  and is planted in an unglazed, red clay, tokoname ware container with a bamboo band around the outside. I have had the tree for about 15 years.  It was originally  created by my friend Gen Thompson from St. Paul, Minnesota.  Gen  has since passed away.  She was a lovely lady and I miss her.  I picture myself as the little figurine seated below the branches and  I think of her whenever I look at this bonsai as he is doing.  (Move your mouse over the photo to see a detail shot of the tree.)

Satsuki Azalea

  Rhododendron  indictum  var. chinsan (we think)

This specimen has actually been sold, but because it has such striking flowers, we include it here for your enjoyment.  The tree stands about  14 inches high and is planted into a Korean mica container.   

This is a detail of the flowers

Japanese Coral 

Bark Maple

Acer palmatum,

 "sango kaku"

A lovely delicate maple with reddish bark, particularly in the wintertime.  We have been training this tree for about 12 years.  It was obtained as 3 gallon nursery stock from a grower in Oregon.  It stands about 28 inches high and is planted in a unglazed, brown, tokoname ware container.  Nebari and base measure about  3 inches. 

Chinese Elm, 

Ulmus parvifolia.  

This Chinese elm is of the corkbark variety and was acquired as 3 gallon nursery stock.  It has been in training by us for at least 15 years, the last 5 of which have been in this very low brown tokoname ware tray.  Because of the shallow tray, it tends to dry out a bit quicker than we would like, but otherwise has done well in such a low pot.  The tree stands 22 inches high and has a 2 inch trunk base.    

Red Maple 

 Acer rubrum

This is a shohin class tree and stands only about 5 or 6 inches high.  Although its starting to develop a pretty good trunk buttress it has much too large a leaf for a shohin tree.  Most of the year, even though we defoliate it once each year, it sits on our bench with leaves that are still too big and obstruct the view of trunk and  branches.... Then fall comes and all is forgiven. The pot is a dull glazed oval by American potter Sara Raynor. 

Photo at right is a detail of the maple above in fall color.

Firethorn

 Pyracantha coccinea "mojave"

Firethorns of almost any variety make excellent subjects for bonsai.  While it is true that they don't "trunk" up quickly, they almost always offer interesting line and movement.  In addition, springtime flowers and  (as you can see here) a multitude of red/orange berries in the fall.  This is one we are training as literati.  The photo does not do it justice, but we include it because we couldn't resist showing off the fall berries.  This bunjin style bonsai stands 21 inches high and is planted into a round mica container.  

Maidenhair Tree 

 Ginkgo biloba

Every bonsai collection seems to contain a Ginko  and ours is no exception.  This specimen has been with us for about 20 years and is planted into a cream colored, American made pot based on traditional Japanese designs.  The tree's height measures about 17 inches and it has a base about 4 inches wide.  Ginko don't really lay out as traditional bonsai very well and most specimens, including this one, are trimmed into a "flame" shape.  The leaves are most interesting to view and as you can see here, the fall color is brilliant a yellow.  Beileve it or not, when the leaves do fall off, they do it all at once.  This is virtually the only tree of which we have fossil records.  It dates back to the time of the dinosaur... Not this one of course. Without leaves in the winter, it looks like a candle with wax dripping down the sides.  

Dwarf Horsetail

Equisedum scirpoides

This is just a small accent planting of dwarf horsetail which we couldn't resist including.  Note the water buffalo resting near the rock please.  

Japanese Garden Juniper

Juniperus procumbens

This is one of a couple of procumbens which we have that are not the dwarf or "nana" variety.  We've had them for awhile.  This one was a foundation planting near our first home in Minneapolis almost 35 years ago.  It stands about 25 inches high and has a 2 and one half inch trunk base with lots of jin, shari and after all these years, still no decent nebari to speak of.  Junipers are just that way.  It is planted into an unglazed, red clay tokoname ware container.  

Japanese Kamagata  Maple

Acer palmatum var. kamagata

This tree graced our nursery for many years with its soft delicate leaves which form in small clusters and turn a wonderful red orange in fall.  It was sold a couple of years ago, but we got this shot before it left.  The tree stood about 28 inches high and is potted into an unglazed tokoname ware container.  

Trident Maple

Acer buergerianum

We always wanted a big trident maple and this one we acquired from an importer about 8 years ago.  It's a monster and takes two people to move the pot.  When we got it, there were virtually no branches whatsoever.  This photo was taken in 2003 and really doesn't do it justice. Today the branching is filling in much better and the container has been changed to a slightly larger pot of the same cream color.  We will try to provide a new photo this year.  The tree measures 35 inches high, 25 inches wide and has a 12 inch trunk base.  As with most tridents, if you leaf prune in June, the fall color is spectacular.  

Kingsville Boxwood

Buxus microphilla compacta var. kingsville

From the huge trident pictured above we go to this mame kingsville.  The tree sold in 2004, but was (and still is) one of our favorite bonsai.  The tree was less than 3 inches high and planted into an unglazed red tokoname ware container.  We cut most of our kingsvilles to a  silhouette shape rather than attempting to layer the branches as is the custom with most bonsai.  

Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum

This is a nine tree group planting which was made from seedlings that were all obtained from the same tree.  The planting was about 20 years old at the time that it was sold.  The container is a tokoname ware pot with a cream colored glaze.  The stones used in this arrangement were collected in North Carolina.  Height of the planting was about 17 inches.  

Flowering Quince, Chanomeles speciosa japonica

Quinces generally come in two flavors for bonsai... Japanese and Chinese.  The Chinese (Pseudocydonia senensis) tends to take more of a tree like shape and trunks up fairly quickly.  This one is the Japanese variety and tends to produce multiple shoots from the base.  We keep dinking around with it, but stylistically it doesn't amount to much.  All that pales into insignificance when the blooms emerge in early March.  By mid April the blooms are all gone and the tree is well on its way to developing a truly ugly set of large oblate shaped leaves... which will shortly earn it a spot at the back of the garden.  We keep it fed and happy however, because we know that early March will come around next year the same way it did this year and it will do this again. 

Here is a detail of the flower on the Japanese Flowering Quince pictured above.  There are many varieties you can try.  There is an American variety called "Texas scarlet" which looks almost identical to this one.  

California Juniper

Juniperus californica

This very large bonsai's name is "Sampson" and he belongs to our good friend Art Cook. It is a collected specimen as are most California  junipers...  primarily from the Mojave desert. They can also be found growing in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and throughout the southwestern US.  This one is very old.  Conservative estimates put it at 500 years, but it could be much older.  It stands 43 inches high and is planted into a 40 inch wide oval unglazed gray tokoname ware containers which could also serve as a baby's bathtub.  

Chinese Elm  Ulmus parvifolia  var. "seiju"

It would be difficult to find a serious bonsai student who does not have at least one Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) in his or her collection. This specimen is of the "seiju" variety and has especially tiny leaves even for a Chinese elm. The tree stands about 12 inches high and has been styled as an informal upright. Stones have been used in the container to give the appearance that the tree is growing in a rocky landscape. The container was created by the late Max Braverman of Seattle, Washington.  Max was one of America's great bonsai potters.  Its oval shape complements the soft feminine lines of the tree.  This photo was taken in late fall as the green leaves turned a soft golden color before falling off. 

Shimpaku Juniper

Juniperus chinensis sargentii var. shimpaku

This shimpaku was created from a one gallon plant about 15 years ago.  It is planted on a piece of collected rock from southeastern Pennsylvania known as "bog iron."  We always had problems getting our junipers to tighten up when we lived in Minnesota.  After our move to North Carolina we quickly discovered that junipers tighten up nicely in the warm southern sunshine... not as nicely as southern California... but pretty good.  This planting stands about 15 inches high.  

Trident Maple

Acer buergerianum

We included this little trident so that you could enjoy the pot it is planted in.  Normally a color such as yellow would be too bright for display of a bonsai, but this muted, egg yoke yellow is subdued and complements the color of the trunk well.  It is especially when the fall leaves begin to turn color.  The tree is less than a foot high and was field grown for most of its life.  It has been in training as bonsai for only two years.  

Satsuki Azalea,

Rhodendron indictum

We know its a satsuki and we know its a twin trunk, but that's about all we do know.  It's presented here so that you might enjoy the spectacular hot pink flowers. We admit that it is in bad need of a haircut... but we thought we would let the flowers finish up first.   The container is unglazed Chinese manufacture and is a copy of an  antique pot design.  The finished planting stands about 14 inches tall.   

Chinese Wisteria,
Wisteria florabunda
This particular wisteria was is imported stock and has had very little shaping done to it.  Each spring it produces this wonderful flush of blooms which seem to fade away all too quickly.  The blooms will be replaced by rather ugly compound leaves which will earn it a place at the back of the garden until next spring.  The 19 inch high plant has a 4 inche base and is planted into a 9 inch square blue glaze tokoname ware pot.  

Chinese Wisteria

Wisteria florabunda

This is the other Chinese wisteria in our collection.  It too was obtained as imported material, but began life as an informal upright.  When the central trunk died out one spring, we did a bit of carving followed by a bit of wiring and turned it into a cascade bonsai.  This photo was taken a little late and you can see the large leaves which will shortly obstruct the view of most of the bonsai.  Wisteria is a beautiful bonsai to have in the springtime, but is not the easiest to work with nor the most beautiful during the balance of the year.  

Dwarf Japanese Holly  Ilex crenata, var. yaupon

This bonsai stands about 25 inches tall and has a massive root base.  It is planted into an oval, blue glazed tokoname ware container.  Yaupon holly can be a tough bonsai subject because the branches are very brittle and resist wiring.  It was obtained as a foundation planting without much in the way of branching about 10 years ago and has developed very well.  Its another good example of a shrub which develops well as bonsai.  It has tiny leaves which remain all year around if it doesn't get too cold. The stone in the container seems to harmonize well and has the same color and texture as the trees bark. 

http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4427106_various-types-bonsai.html