Help please - List 5 trees native to your area [ say 50 miles ] usable for Bonsai

[BrianBay9]

My next question would have been, using a native do you find life easier or getting the same
problems [ if any ] as with the imports....

Anthony

The thread seems to have blown past this question, so I'll take a stab. Using natives in the Colorado and the midwest gave me much greater success when over wintering the trees. I eventually learned what I needed to do for the non-natives, but the learning curve resulted in some very disappointing failures.

 

[Arcto]

Pacific NW east side. Higher, drier, colder.
Ponderosa Pine
Lodgepole Pine
Englemann Spruce
White Fir
Mt Hemlock

Of note, with the exception of a few toughies like Amur Maple and Spruce, my non-native trees are being phased out. Natives seem to be the way to go here. The challenge of discovering new material to work with is enjoyable too.

 

[pandacular]

This is a fun thread, so I’m giving it a necro-bump.

The ones that I’m most interested in when I think about collecting are:

Mountain hemlock - Tsuga mertensiana
Shore pine - Pinus contorta contorta
Red alder - Alnus rubra
Subalpine fir - Abies lasiocarpa
Nootka cypress or Alaska yellow cedar - C. nootkatensis

(what genus the C represents, take your pick, it seems no one is sure)

 

[Deleted member 47471]

Privet, crape myrtle, amur maple, hornbeam, azalea.

Sunshine privet

 

[RJG2]

Beach plum

Have you made any attempts with these yet @Paradox? Or seen any?

I just planted one in my yard to grow out and take air layers from.

 

[Cajunrider]

Bald cypress, Mayhaws, live oaks, Ilex vomitoria, button bush

 

[WinstonWolfe]

Canadian Hemlock, American Larch, Black Spruce, Pin Oak, Cedar

 

[PerryB]

Nice bump @pandacular !
I hadn't seen this thread.

Tsuga canadensis---Eastern hemlock
Cornus florida---dogwood
Carpinus caroliniana---Hornbeam
Fagus grandifolia---American beech
Pinus pungens---Table Mountain pine

 

[rockm]

Nice bump @pandacular !
I hadn't seen this thread.

Tsuga canadensis---Eastern hemlock
Cornus florida---dogwood
Carpinus caroliniana---Hornbeam
Fagus grandifolia---American beech
Pinus pungens---Table Mountain pine

Good luck on the Table Mountain Pine (pinus pungens) unless you have land near or inside the Shenandoah, George Washington or Jefferson National Forests. It mostly grows on the tops of ridges in those areas and is protected by State and Federal parks.

This one has been on Raven's Roost overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway since I was in high school roughly a billion years ago. It's become something of an iconic tree to locals and even beyond. Have seen the species only rarely in nurseries

 

[PerryB]

Good luck on the Table Mountain Pine (pinus pungens) unless you have land near or inside the Shenandoah, George Washington or Jefferson National Forests. It mostly grows on the tops of ridges in those areas and is protected by State and Federal parks.

This one has been on Raven's Roost overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway since I was in high school roughly a billion years ago. It's become something of an iconic tree to locals and even beyond. Have seen the species only rarely in nurseries

View attachment 562765

I know that tree!

I collected mine high on a ridge near Old Rag Mountain and overlooking Sperryville, Virginia. Collected in March '23 and it's been growing very well in pumice/coco coir in a colander ever since.

 

[rockm]

I know that tree!

I collected mine high on a ridge near Old Rag Mountain and overlooking Sperryville, Virginia. Collected in March '23 and it's been growing very well in pumice/coco coir in a colander ever since.

Hope it wasn't in the Shenandoah National Park...

I grew up with the example on Ravens Roost. It's been used repeatedly as an anchor point for the Wintergreen Fire and Rescue to attach ropes to rescue mountain and rock climbers off of the 200 ft rock face to its left. The rope scar/callus at the bottom of the tree are pretty thick.

 

[PerryB]

Hope it wasn't in the Shenandoah National Park...

I grew up with the example on Ravens Roost. It's been used repeatedly as an anchor point for the Wintergreen Fire and Rescue to attach ropes to rescue mountain and rock climbers off of the 200 ft rock face to its left. The rope scar/callus at the bottom of the tree are pretty thick.

Nope, this was on private property. 300+ acres where my friends are building a house.

 

[TomP]

Northern Alabama
Pinus taeda-loblolly pine
Acer rubrum - red maple
Taxodium distichum - bald cypress
Carpinus caroliniania - American hornbeam
Cornus florida - dogwood

I have personally grown the first four-still learning on loblolly pines. I have been decandling twice a year and it seems to be working very well--they are vey aggressive growers and are very adaptable to bunjin style
Acer rubrums adapt to bonsai culture well but you cannot shorten the petioles so they look much better on large trees as well as in winter
Bald cypress I think everyone is aware of their merits
I have grown American hornbeams and they make nice larger specimens though Korean hornbeams in my opinion are superior
I have not grown dogwoods, but a good friend of mine has great success with collecting them and they can mike striking specimens

 

[rockm]

Nope, this was on private property. 300+ acres where my friends are building a house.

It's an interesting species, It's not endangered, but is becoming a "species of concern" because it is fire dependent (cones have to be opened by fire) -- and is becoming a bit scarce because of fire suppression efforts.

Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens): Genetic diversity and conservation of an imperiled conifer | US Forest Service Research and Development

research.fs.usda.gov

Table Mountain Pine (Pinus pungens): Genetic Diversity and Conservation of an Imperiled Conifer

Abstract. Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens Lamb.) is an imperiled tree species endemic to the southern and central Appalachian Mountains. Generally relia

academic.oup.com

 

[Paradox]

Have you made any attempts with these yet @Paradox? Or seen any?

I just planted one in my yard to grow out and take air layers from.

No I havent found one I could collect yet or one at a landscape nursery that was worth trying when I did find them at one

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

oh this is fun

from around me:

western redcedar- thuja plicata
douglas fir- pseudotsuga menziesii
oregon white oak- quercus garryana
shore pine- pinus contorta v contorta
vine maple- acer circinatum

 

[BrianBay9]

valley oak - Q lobata
canyon live oak - Q chrysolepsis
Sierra juniper - Juniperis occidentalis
California juniper - Juniperis californica
Ponderosa pine - Pinus ponderosa

 

[misfit11]

CA Bay Area and Northern CA

Coastal Redwood Sequoia sempervirens
Coastal Live Oak Quercus agrifolia
Shore Pine Pinus contorta var contorta
Mendocino Pigmy Cypress Hesperocyparis pigmaea
Wild Plum Prunus sp.

 

[dancing with butterflies]

Nannyberry viburnum lentago


Blue beech carpunuis Carolina


High Bush cranberry

Eastern wahoo


And fringetree

 

[BrianBay9]

An interesting thread would be, "Here's five bonsai species native to my area. Guess where I am?" But we all already have locations in our profiles.