Flowering Deciduous in No-Chill Regions (Zone 10b and Up)

[zeejet]

[This was also posted on Reddit]

I want to start a climate-related deciduous flowering discussion for virtually no-chill regions like coastal SoCal (Zone 10b/11a with less than 100 hours under 45F).

To start, I've been trying to identify flowering species for bonsai (e.g. prunus, malus, and pyrus). The options are slim but so far I have found only a few candidates:

• Callery Pear (Pyrus calleryana)
• Evergreen Pear (Pyrus kawakamii)
• Taiwan Cherry (Prunus campanulata)

These varieties all purportedly thrive in warm environments without notable chill hours. I have yet to see a Taiwan cherry, but I see ornamental pears here in San Diego all the time.

What bothers me however, is that all three supposedly have short lifespans and are prone to disease - some sources cite only around 20 years total lifespan. Does this apply only to landscape trees? Or are bonsai a bit different?

From another angle, I visited a nursery in my area selling apple and stone fruit trees that require 100-200 hours of chill (e.g. Tropic Snow, Desert Delight, Eva's Pride), which is still above what we get - however the employees said that the chill hours only apply to reliable fruiting and that they will still leaf and flower without the chill.

Is this true? If so, would airlayering a branch from one of these varieties (they are always grated to other rootstock) be suitable for a bonsai project? Or are they just trying to sell me product?

 

[Gabler]

Whatever they tell you on Reddit, do the opposite, and it should work out just fine.

Jokes aside, is evergreen pear deciduous?

 

[zeejet]

Jokes aside, is evergreen pear deciduous?

It is but is listed as a Zone 7-10 tree with some semi-deciduous tendencies. I don't know the distinctions between evergreen and callery pears so I'm not sure which I'm seeing on the streets here in SD. Again, my concern is about longevity as bonsai.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Prunus dulcis should be able to do well in warmer climates. Nowadays they come in all sorts of colors.

 

[rockm]

callery pear is basically what a Bradford pear is. Bradfords are extremely basics and extremely hardy. The callery pear should do well in your area

Stop reading Reddit for bonsai. I have yet to see any info there that is accurate. I have seen is extremely wrong stuff being passed off by Experts.

The longevity thing is silly. The tree will live as long as you care for it. Bradford pears in the landscape here generally don’t really die. Their branching patterns make large trees prone to splitting and breaking up. After catastrophic damage like that they’re cut down. Don’t really have to worry about that in a 20” tree in a pot
If you’re after flowering broadleaf trees try kinzu or calamondin orange or plain old citrus trees. They would all work very well in your area

 

[zeejet]

If I see certain deciduous trees in my local landscape, is that a good sign that it might be suitable for bonsai horticulture? I see prunus cerasifera (purple-leaf plum) varieties in my area and they flower each spring (no fruit though - might just be ornamental).

 

[Vince Sartain]

Bougainvillea, mostly deciduous for at least a short amount of time. Not a true tree but definitely a show stopper when it comes to a magnificent gnarley trunk with tons of flowers!

 

[Wulfskaar]

I also see lots of pear trees all along the roads here.

I have 3 Bradford pears that are now 2 years old, and they are doing great. They do lose their leaves in fall for me.

Another popular tree in these parts is the Crape Myrtle. They burst into brilliant flowers around August or so. I've got several 1 year old seedlings of those.

 

[jason biggs]

i got 1 flower on my coral tree last year...haven't cut back branches, so hopefully there will be a few in July...