What would you look for in a native tree for bonsai?

[subnetrx]

Are there traits that I should be looking for when looking for native candidates to try in bonsai? Branching, opposite/alternate, compound/simple? At what size are the leaves simply too big?

[lewisjk]

Branching, opposite/alternate, compound/simple? At what size are the leaves simply too big?

You look for the exact same things you'd want in a non-native species like Japanese maples or Chinese junipers.

Branching doesn't matter, although alternate is a tad easier. Compound leaves usually end up looking too large. And, leaves are too large when they no longer give you a "natural" feel -- and that is in the eye of the beholder.

Run through the list of natives here on the ABS site that one or the other of us have used as bonsai, and you will find that the characteristics can vary widely. But if you look at a plant and immediately think, "Wow! That would make a nice bonsai", those are the characteristics you want.

[mboatman]

I look for nebari, and trunk....or something along the lines of a happy median of the two. i dont worry about leaf size since that comes later. Do consider what size the tree will need to be in proportion to the leaves tho. Alternate is my preference(elms, hornbeams, sycamores, ect) Believe it or not, the sycamore has been pretty cooperative on leaf size this year since it was put in a very shallow pot. Its not perfect sized but thats fine since i now plan for it to be bigger girthed and taller so i will put it into the ground and grow it unhindered for a few years while trunk chopping maybe every 2 years. It already has white flakey bark since it was collected.

[Dwight]

1) gotta be a juniper ( there , my preduice is revealed )
2) trunk , decent propoetions between length and width , shape
3) ease of collecting. If 1 and 2 are satisfied then 3 becomes paramont
4) if one can find a yamadori juniper with a good nebari wonderful. Probably won't happen though

[dbrock]

What to look for while collecting? I think the first thing is to learn what is in your area. Go out and look around. Take your phone and take pictures if you can't identify it. I have a good horticulture friend that I send photos to with the caption "what is it" all the time. Including the one he text back and said, "poison summack, don't touch!"
Second step is research it. You can find all kinds of information on every species out there. I live near some swamps and the trees I collect from there are all water loving and like their feet wet all the time, which means more organic material in the soil and less river sand to my soil mix. If you know what you are collecting you can keep it happy much easier. Like mboatman mentioned his Sycamore. I collected a large Sycamore trunk this spring and have let it grow wild. It has leaves bigger than my head right now, but I know they will reduce (I have done my research). If that doesn't answer everything, simply throw the tree name up on one of these forum pages and these guys and gals will tell you everything they know (maybe even things you don't want to know, lol). Some of might greatest fun is learning about each and every species. I would also point out that collect native trees in your area will give you the best chances for success. I have bought many a tree that was to far out of its normal zone only to watch them die. I have pictures on several forum pages of trees that I have collect and am now developing. It is a lot of fun. Good luck and happy digging (oh, by the way research on how to collect your trees because some are easier than others).

[subnetrx]

Thanks for the responses. It's not so much the collecting as much as identifying species that could be used for bonsai. I was just wondering about any factors to consider beforehand. Sounds like a lot of it is just experimentation and research. I've been surprised by some trees that I thought would be terrible for bonsai like Sweetgum have a spot in the National Arboretum, while others that I thought might have some potential turn out to be bad candidates. Glad this forum exists to compile some of that knowledge.

[jpaulhamus]

Collecting native trees is something I'm starting to get more into. It's fun to go out and look around in the woods and see what all you can find. My thinking is if you see something that looks like it would make a good bonsai dig it. If you don't know what it is do some research or ask around and find out then see what info you can find about it, how it takes to being a bonsai, etc. Like one of the previous posters said if you are digging stuff in your area you have a much better chance of success. Collecting trees is fun and rewarding, plus it's a great chance to get some nice material. Even digging seedlings and real young trees is fun if you have somewhere to ground grow them for a while. You can work on them early on and get them going the way you want them to go. In a number of years you may have some real dynamite material. As far as what species work best or are more desirable I think there is a lot to learn in that area yet. For years and years people have been working with material from elsewhere (how many times have you heard that the Japanese version of whatever species is the best one to work with). Of course it's starting to get harder to get foreign material so people are starting to give the native species a try. So I think people just need to experiment and try different things and see what happens. Hey if it doesn't work out and you can't get the kind of results you want with the tree just take it back out in the woods and replant it. Happy hunting!