American Bonsai Society

By Roger Snipes 

Botanical Name – Forsythia x intermedia

Common Name – Forsythia

Description

Native to –  China, Japan and South Eastern Europe

Botanical Information – First described by Martin Vhal of Denmark in 1804, but named after William Forsyth a prominent English horticulturist.. Generally there are 4 species of forsythia with the hybrid “x intermedia” being the most used in the nursery industry.  This is a hybrid between F. suspensa and F. viridissima.  A large deciduous shrub, with opposite “simple:” leaves with serrated edges.  Forsythia flowers in the early spring before the leaves appear with bright golden yellow flowers along the branches.  A member of the oleaceae (Olive) family.

General  - Forsythia has been a widely cultivated plant for general use in larger landscape plantings because of it’s large size, 8-10 feet tall and often wider. Forsythia prefers moist well drained soil for best performance but will survive in rough rocky terrain but will be limited in growth.  The general habit is a large shrub with arching branches often weeping to the ground. 

American Bonsai Society

Cryptomeria japonica Care

Common Name – Japanese cedar

Description

Native to – Japan and to some extent China

Botanical Information –Tree is monoecious (male and female organs present on the same tree), evergreen, up to 100 feet tall in its native habitat but usually much smaller in cultivation,  with a conical crown and a straight trunk. The bark is reddish brown, peeling off in strips. Branches are whorled, horizontally spreading or slightly pendulous. Leaves persist 4 or 5 years, are needle-like, pale green and spirally arranged around the branch. Flowering occurs in the spring, with cones present all summer and maturing in the fall at the end of the growing season.