NABF Newsletter #6

Feature #12

Native Trees as Bonsai

By John Biel

All bonsai people living in Canada have access to native material which is suitable for creating bonsai. The material will vary from East Coast to West coast and in between. For example, the pines available in Ontario are quite different from those of Western Canada. Of course, acquiring plant material from the wild is not for everyone. But for those of us who use native shrubs and trees, the diversity of material available makes for some unique and stunning bonsai.

So, speaking for Eastern Canada only (east of the Manitoba-Ontario border), and acknowledging the fact that many of the trees also grow west of this demarcation and also in the Eastern United States, here is a listing of trees and shrubs with which satisfactory bonsai have been created. Pictures of sample bonsai are provided.

Conifers

Eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis); American larch (Larix laricina); Jack pine (Pinus banksiana); Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus); Red and Black spruce (Picea spp.); Pitch pine (Pinus rigida).

Deciduous

Apples and Crab apples (Malus ssp.); Potentilla (Potentilla fruiticosa); Buckthorn (Rhamnus ssp.); Red maple (Acer rubrum); Hawthorn (Crateagus spp.)

Larix Laricina

Crab apple

Pinus Banksiana

Picea ssp.

Potentilla