I just looked in my photo files, and to my embarrassment, of my many trees, I only took pictures of the non-native introduced or nursery species. Shows just how deep the built in bias against local species is in the bonsai hobby. Even myself, I think of myself as a champion of using local species, or at least encouraging others to do so, and I took lots of pictures of my JWP, my JBP, but not a single one of my Thuja, or hornbeams, or any others. Well I do have pictures of the elm I collected at the family farm in Michigan, and a jack pine grafted cultivar - so it is not exactly a "wild collectible form", but jack pine is native to the area of Michigan the farm is in, though it is from more than 50 miles away from my home in Illinois.
So my list:
Elm - the local native elms - in my area that can be Ulmus americana, Ulmus rubra (various names - Cedar Elm or Red Elm or Rock Elm), Ulmus pumila (Siberian elm foreign invasive), and perhaps Ulmus minor (field elm - foreign invasive) - currently have one I collected from the family farm in Michigan. Not sure which of the 4 species it is, leaning toward Siberian elm, but it could be any of them, at least 3 of 4 had matures specimens within seed dispersal range of where I collected it. Virtually all elms have good potential to become good quality bonsai.
Thuja occidentalis - White cedar - native throughout the entire area. Makes a decent bonsai with time, I have one young one that is a volunteer seedling truly counts as locally native. Also picked up a nursery cultivar that is of dwarf habit. Just picked it up, but has nice trunk for a relatively compact tree. Will start a thread for it eventually. Training techniques, I'm planning to treat it pretty much like its relative, the Hinoki cypress. They don't back bud on old wood. so you plan your branches and pruning with that in mind. Definitely a species that can become a quality bonsai.
Jack Pine - like Vance Wood, I think Jack Pine has real potential to become good bonsai, and should prove to be an excellent choice for those living in colder climates. Books suggest this pine won't tolerate the heat of zone 7 or warmer, but it is listed as hardy to zone 3, so it is excellent for my zone 5b or 6a area, it won't need extra protection in winter.
American persimmon - Diospyros virginiana - native to the part of Michigan where the family farm is, native to Illinois with its range starting about 200 miles south of my home there. I think it has great potential as bonsai. Develops a thick, hard, checkered black bark, with an alligator pattern, and at an early age, Bark starts at about 7 years and is pretty well developed by 25, at least on trees in the field. The asian species of Diospyros all have a smooth bark that matures to a slightly rough pebbled texture. For its bark alone, it is worth trying out. Its fruit is bigger than D. rhombifolia, about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. It is much smaller than D. kaki, the culinary persimmon. Personally I think the fruit of the American persimmon is superior in flavor, if its fully ripe. Unripe fruit is incredibly astringent and will put you off food for a while. Soft ripe is best, when the calyx twists easily free of the fruit. Trees are dioecious, being either male or female, only a rare specimen will have both sexes of flowers. Over the last 5 years I have started several batches of seedlings, none are old enough yet to look like much. But I have high hopes.
Hop flowered hornbeam - Ostrya virginiana - native to my Illinois and Michigan locations. - I have a batch of seedlings in their second & third growing seasons. They are still young, but eventually they should turn out nice. Ostrya don't need as much moisture as Carpinus, and tolerate more sun and exposure to wind and low humidity. Carpinus can be touchy about getting dry, Ostrya seem to bounce back better. Though they are not like pomegranate or olives, they definitely need more water than those trees. If they dry past the first few hours of wilt, they will dry.
the elm collected in Michigan March 2016, photo May 2016
no pictures of my Thujas
Jack Pine 'Chippewa' grafted onto Scot's pine understock - nursery stock purchased Aug 2016, Blue Horizon Nursery, Michigan.
Since I just got this tree, the only thing I did was transplant it to a 15 x 15 x 5 Anderson tray, and wire down the lower branches to let light in to encourage back budding. I will leave it alone at least 12 to 24 months, let it recover strength. I'm going to follow Vance Wood's mugo schedule for repotting and pruning, So I repotted in August, and now will treat it like a mugo, only work on it after Farther's Day, while it is in active growth. Wire will normally be done in winter. We'll see if it works. Others in the past have said that jack pines don't transplant well. So far this October photo, shows good color after the August repot. Maybe the secret to jack pines is the same as mugo - summer repotting. Time will tell, next repot won't be for 5 or more years. Soil is pumice, red lava, about 80%, the rest is charcoal, pine bark and akadama in equal parts. The mix is pretty open, should hold its structure for 4 or 5 years.
American Persimmon - Diospyros virginian
didn't take many photos, one is a batch of seedlings. the second is a tree displayed at the Milwaukee Bonsai Society Show 2016, The tree is not mine, belongs to Rita L. and is about 12 inches tall.
That is it for ones I have pictures of.
