American Bonsai Society

Early deciduous flowering trees of the Mid-West and North East

By Randy Davis

It’s mid-April here in Western Kentucky and I was out on a drive up through Southern Illinois to a Doctors appointment the other day and the forest trees were just beginning to bud out but you could still see through the forest deep into the woods.  Every where I looked I saw splotches of white from the Serviceberry trees (Amelanchier laevis) and American Plum (Prunus angustifolia) and  different shades of pink from the Redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) in all  their spring splendor.

I have never understood why American bonsai artists have so long neglected the early flowering trees that put on such a wonderful flower display as the harbingers of spring. For decades, if not centuries these types of trees have been revered in Japan, and in particular, the Japanese flowering Apricot (Prunus mume). In Japan early spring shows have been organized to display them as the kick off of the forthcoming bonsai season..   I thought it might be nice to write about some of these trees to maybe gather more interest in them in our locality.  While the trees in our native habitat are relatively limited in number they are all good candidates for bonsai, but they are not the only species from which to choose.  Most of the trees used in this category of bonsai are the flowering fruit trees but not all of them.  A short list of Mid-Western native and non-native tress is as follows;

Mid-Western Native Species

Amelanchier laevis          Cercis canadensis      Prunus angustifolia        Pyrus communis

Non-Native species

Cercis siliquastrum     Prunus campanulata       Prunus cerasifera          Prunus mume

Prunus persica          Prunus subhirtilla                       Pyrus calleryana