Please help me select some appropriate species from the native nursery

[cornfed]

I got a list of trees and shrubs available at the local native-tree nursery. They've all been grown from seed in air pruning containers. Most are available in 1 gallon pots, I think they would be whips, some are older and in 3, 5 or 7 gallon pots.

Please! Glance at this list! Warn me if you see anything particularly good or particularly bad for bonsai!

You could save me years of heartache with a quick warning!

Thank you!

CRIMSON SENTRY NORWAY MAPLE
RED MAPLE
SILVER MAPLE
HOTWINGS TATARIAN MAPLE
OHIO BUCKEYE
SHADBLOW SERVICEBERRY - SINGLE
AUTUMN BRILLIANCE SERVICEBERRY (SINGLE)
PAW PAW
BITTERNUT HICKORY
NORTHERN PECAN
AMERICAN CHESTNUT
CHINESE CHESTNUT
NORTHERN CATALPA
COMMON HACKBERRY
EASTERN REDBUD
MAIDENHAIR TREE
THORNLESS HONEYLOCUST
SHADEMASTER HONEYLOCUST
SKYLINE HONEYLOCUST
KENTUCKY COFFEETREE
LITTLE WALNUT
BLACK WALNUT
TULIPTREE
PRAIRIEFIRE CRABAPPLE
SPRING SNOW CRABAPPLE
IRONWOOD
EXCLAMATION! LONDON PLANETREE
EASTERN COTTONWOOD
COTTONWOOD - MALE
PRAIRIE GOLD QUAKING ASPEN
CANADA RED SELECT CHERRY
SAWTOOTH OAK
WHITE OAK
SWAMP WHITE OAK
BUCKLEY OAK - JCPHC
BUCKLEY OAK
COLLINS BUCKLEY OAK
HILL'S OAK
SHINGLE OAK
LEFLER OAK
OVERCUP OAK
BUR OAK - BUTLER CO.
BUR OAK - COZAD
BUR OAK - KEYA PAHA CO.
BUR OAK - LANCASTER CO.
RELICT BUR OAK
BUR X GAMBEL OAK
BUR X LIVE OAK
CHINKAPIN OAK
DWARF CHINKAPIN OAK
ENGLISH OAK
RED OAK - DOUGLAS CO.
RED OAK - LANCASTER CO.
BLACK OAK
BLACK LOCUST
PEACHLEAF WILLOW
SANDBAR WILLOW
BALDCYPRESS
ENDURANCE AMER. ELM
PRINCETON AMERICAN ELM
NEW HORIZON ELM
RED ELM
REGENT SERVICEBERRY
LEADPLANT
RED CHOKEBERRY
AUTUMN MAGIC BLACK CHOKEBERRY
GROUND HOG BLACK CHOKEBERRY
IROQUOIS BEAUTY BLACK CHOKEBERRY
HEDGER BLACK CHOKEBERRY
LOWSCAPE MOUND CHOKEBERRY
BUTTONBUSH
SUGAR SHACK BUTTONBUSH
SILKY DOGWOOD
ROUGHLEAF DOGWOOD
GRAY DOGWOOD
HURON GRAY DOGWOOD
MUSKINGUM GRAY DOGWOOD
RED OSIER DOGWOOD
FIREDANCE™ DOGWOOD
ISANTI REDOSIER DOGWOOD
ARCTIC FIRE® YELLOW RED-OSIER DOGWOOD
GRAND TRAVERSE HYBRID HAZELNUT
WITCH HAZEL
SEVEN SON FLOWER
LITTLE HENRY SWEETSPIRE
CREEPING MAHONIA
TINY WINE NINEBARK
AMERICAN PLUM
GRO-LOW FRAGRANT SUMAC
SMOOTH SUMAC
SKUNKBUSH SUMAC
STAGHORN SUMAC
ALPINE CURRANT
AMER. BLACK CURRANT
CLOVE CURRANT
PRAIRIE WILLOW
SNOWBERRY
CORALBERRY
BLOOMERANG® DARK PURPLE LILAC
KOREAN SPICE VIBURNUM
SPICE BABY KOREANSPICE VIBURNUM
RED FEATHER ARROWWOOD VIBURNUM
MY MONET® WEIGELA
WINE & ROSES WEIGELA
TAYLOR JUNIPER
WHITE SPRUCE
BLACK HILLS SPRUCE
COLORADO SPRUCE
PONDEROSA PINE
RED PINE
WHITE PINE
FREEDOM APPLE
LIBERTY APPLE
ELBERTA PEACH
MONTMORENCY CHERRY
BARTLETT PEAR

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Carpinus carolina, sometimes called Ironwood, is a good species for bonsai. I don't have experience with any of the others. Common names are not reliable though, Google shows other species are also referred as Ironwood, so I would confirm that it is c. Carolina.

 

[cornfed]

Carpinus carolina, sometimes called Ironwood, is a good species for bonsai. I don't have experience with any of the others. Common names are not reliable though, Google shows other species are also referred as Ironwood, so I would confirm that it is c. Carolina.

I will post the scientific names.
It was a matter of copying and pasting a table from my phone... It was easier to do one column. Haha.

 

[cornfed]

I must've missed the window to edit my original comment. Here are the scientific names. Again, thank you @BonsaiMatt and anybody who has time to take a glance.

GENUS	SPECIES	NAME
TREES
ACER	PLATANOIDES	CRIMSON SENTRY NORWAY MAPLE
ACER	RUBRUM	RED MAPLE
ACER	SACCHARINUM	SILVER MAPLE
ACER	TATARICUM 'GAR ANN'	HOTWINGS TATARIAN MAPLE
AESCULUS	GLABRA	OHIO BUCKEYE
AMELANCHIER	CANADENSIS	SHADBLOW SERVICEBERRY - SINGLE
AMELANCHIER	X GRANDIFLORA 'AUTUMN BRILLIANCE' - ST	AUTUMN BRILLIANCE SERVICEBERRY (SINGLE)
ASIMINA	TRILOBA	PAW PAW
CARYA	CORDIFORMIS	BITTERNUT HICKORY
CARYA	ILLINOIENSIS	NORTHERN PECAN
CASTANEA	DENTATA - DOUGLAS CO.	AMERICAN CHESTNUT
CASTANEA	MOLLISSIMA	CHINESE CHESTNUT
CATALPA	SPECIOSA - SAUNDERS CO.	NORTHERN CATALPA
CELTIS	OCCIDENTALIS	COMMON HACKBERRY
CERCIS	CANADENSIS	EASTERN REDBUD
GINKGO	BILOBA	MAIDENHAIR TREE
GLEDITSIA	TRIACANTHOS VAR. INERMIS	THORNLESS HONEYLOCUST
GLEDITSIA	TRIACANTHOS VAR. INERMIS 'SHADEMASTER'	SHADEMASTER HONEYLOCUST
GLEDITSIA	TRIACANTHOS VAR. INERMIS 'SKYCOLE'	SKYLINE HONEYLOCUST
GYMNOCLADUS	DIOICUS - SAUNDERS CO.	KENTUCKY COFFEETREE
JUGLANS	MICROCARPA	LITTLE WALNUT
JUGLANS	NIGRA	BLACK WALNUT
LIRIODENDRON	TULIPIFERA	TULIPTREE
MALUS	'PRAIRIEFIRE'	PRAIRIEFIRE CRABAPPLE
MALUS	'SPRING SNOW'	SPRING SNOW CRABAPPLE
OSTRYA	VIRGINIANA	IRONWOOD
PLATANUS	X ACERIFOLIA 'MORTON CIRCLE'	EXCLAMATION! LONDON PLANETREE
POPULUS	DELTOIDES	EASTERN COTTONWOOD
POPULUS	DELTOIDIES	COTTONWOOD - MALE
POPULUS	TREMULOIDES 'NE ARB'	PRAIRIE GOLD QUAKING ASPEN
PRUNUS	VIRGINIANA 'CANADA RED SELECT'	CANADA RED SELECT CHERRY
QUERCUS	ACUTISSIMA	SAWTOOTH OAK
QUERCUS	ALBA	WHITE OAK
QUERCUS	BICOLOR	SWAMP WHITE OAK
QUERCUS	BUCKLEYI	BUCKLEY OAK - JCPHC
QUERCUS	BUCKLEYI - KS	BUCKLEY OAK
QUERCUS	BUCKLEYI 'COLLINS'	COLLINS BUCKLEY OAK
QUERCUS	ELLIPSOIDALIS	HILL'S OAK
QUERCUS	IMBRICARIA	SHINGLE OAK
QUERCUS	IMBRICARIA X PALUSTRIS - LEFLER	LEFLER OAK
QUERCUS	LYRATA	OVERCUP OAK
QUERCUS	MACROCARPA - BUTLER CO.	BUR OAK - BUTLER CO.
QUERCUS	MACROCARPA - COZAD	BUR OAK - COZAD
QUERCUS	MACROCARPA - KEYA PAHA CO.	BUR OAK - KEYA PAHA CO.
QUERCUS	MACROCARPA - LANCASTER CO.	BUR OAK - LANCASTER CO.
QUERCUS	MACROCARPA 'RELICT'	RELICT BUR OAK
QUERCUS	MACROCARPA X GAMBELII	BUR X GAMBEL OAK
QUERCUS	MACROCARPA X TURBINELLA	BUR X LIVE OAK
QUERCUS	MUEHLENBERGII	CHINKAPIN OAK
QUERCUS	PRINOIDES	DWARF CHINKAPIN OAK
QUERCUS	ROBUR	ENGLISH OAK
QUERCUS	RUBRA - DOUGLAS CO.	RED OAK - DOUGLAS CO.
QUERCUS	RUBRA - LANCASTER CO.	RED OAK - LANCASTER CO.
QUERCUS	VELUTINA	BLACK OAK
ROBINIA	PSEUDOACACIA	BLACK LOCUST
SALIX	AMYGDALOIDES	PEACHLEAF WILLOW
SALIX	INTERIOR	SANDBAR WILLOW
TAXODIUM	DISTICHUM	BALDCYPRESS
ULMUS	AMERICANA 'ENDURANCE'	ENDURANCE AMER. ELM
ULMUS	AMERICANA 'PRINCETON'	PRINCETON AMERICAN ELM
ULMUS	'NEW HORIZON'	NEW HORIZON ELM
ULMUS	RUBRA	RED ELM
SHRUBS
AMELANCHIER	ALNIFOLIA 'REGENT'	REGENT SERVICEBERRY
AMORPHA	CANESCENS	LEADPLANT
ARONIA	ARBUTIFOLIA 'BRILLIANTISSIMA'	RED CHOKEBERRY
ARONIA	MELANOCARPA 'AUTUMN MAGIC'	AUTUMN MAGIC BLACK CHOKEBERRY
ARONIA	MELANOCARPA 'GROUND HOG'	GROUND HOG BLACK CHOKEBERRY
ARONIA	MELANOCARPA 'IROQUOIS BEAUTY'	IROQUOIS BEAUTY BLACK CHOKEBERRY
ARONIA	MELANOCARPA 'LOW SCAPE HEDGER'	HEDGER BLACK CHOKEBERRY
ARONIA	MELANOCARPA 'MOUND'	LOWSCAPE MOUND CHOKEBERRY
CEPHALANTHUS	OCCIDENTALIS	BUTTONBUSH
CEPHALANTHUS	OCCIDENTALIS 'SUGAR SHACK'	SUGAR SHACK BUTTONBUSH
CORNUS	AMOMUM	SILKY DOGWOOD
CORNUS	DRUMMONDII	ROUGHLEAF DOGWOOD
CORNUS	RACEMOSA	GRAY DOGWOOD
CORNUS	RACEMOSA 'HURZAM'	HURON GRAY DOGWOOD
CORNUS	RACEMOSA 'MUSZAM'	MUSKINGUM GRAY DOGWOOD
CORNUS	SERICEA	RED OSIER DOGWOOD
CORNUS	SERICEA 'BAILADELINE'	FIREDANCE™ DOGWOOD
CORNUS	SERICEA 'ISANTI'	ISANTI REDOSIER DOGWOOD
CORNUS	STOLONIFERA	ARCTIC FIRE® YELLOW RED-OSIER DOGWOOD
CORYLUS	AVELLANA X COLURNA 'GRAND TRAVERSE'	GRAND TRAVERSE HYBRID HAZELNUT
HAMAMELIS	VIRGINIANA	WITCH HAZEL
HEPTACODIUM	MICONOIDES	SEVEN SON FLOWER
ITEA	VIRGINICA 'SPRICH'	LITTLE HENRY SWEETSPIRE
MAHONIA	REPENS	CREEPING MAHONIA
PHYSOCARPUS	OPULIFOLIUS 'SMPOTW'	TINY WINE NINEBARK
PRUNUS	AMERICANA	AMERICAN PLUM
RHUS	AROMATICA 'GRO-LOW'	GRO-LOW FRAGRANT SUMAC
RHUS	GLABRA	SMOOTH SUMAC
RHUS	TRILOBATA	SKUNKBUSH SUMAC
RHUS	TYPHINA	STAGHORN SUMAC
RIBES	ALPINUM	ALPINE CURRANT
RIBES	AMERICANUM	AMER. BLACK CURRANT
RIBES	ODORATUM	CLOVE CURRANT
SALIX	HUMILIS	PRAIRIE WILLOW
SYMPHORICARPOS	ALBUS	SNOWBERRY
SYMPHORICARPOS	ORBICULATUS	CORALBERRY
SYRINGA	X "SMSJBP7"	BLOOMERANG® DARK PURPLE LILAC
VIBURNUM	CARLESII	KOREAN SPICE VIBURNUM
VIBURNUM	CARLESII 'SPICE BABY'	SPICE BABY KOREANSPICE VIBURNUM
VIBURNUM	DENTATUM 'JNSELECT'	RED FEATHER ARROWWOOD VIBURNUM
WEIGELA	FLORIDA	MY MONET® WEIGELA
WEIGELA	FLORIDA 'WINE & ROSES®'	WINE & ROSES WEIGELA
EVERGREENS
JUNIPERUS	VIRGINIANA 'TAYLOR'	TAYLOR JUNIPER
PICEA	GLAUCA	WHITE SPRUCE
PICEA	GLAUCA VAR. DENSATA	BLACK HILLS SPRUCE
PICEA	PUNGENS	COLORADO SPRUCE
PINUS	PONDEROSA	PONDEROSA PINE
PINUS	RESINOSA	RED PINE
PINUS	STROBUS	WHITE PINE
FRUIT TREES
MALUS	'FREEDOM'	FREEDOM APPLE
MALUS	LIBERTY	LIBERTY APPLE
PRUNUS	ELBERTA	ELBERTA PEACH
PRUNUS	MONTMORENCY	MONTMORENCY CHERRY
PYRUS	X 'BARTLETT'	BARTLETT PEAR

 

[atlarsenal]

One of each should do it!

 

[sorce]

Are you able to go see these or you must order just from the list?

If they're all really grown from seed in air pruning containers, I'd get 10 of each!

Sorce

 

[cornfed]

I'm going to visit in early April and hand pick. I'll take photos and share if there is interest.

I'll be going down that list over the next few days and googling each species with "bonsai" to see what comes up. I'll update this thread as I learn more.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Oaks grow fairly fast and leaves reduce well. The honey locusts are fast growers here and have interesting foliage. Bald cypress are great, but I'm not sure about your climate. If all those trees are indeed native to your area, pick any twiggy, vigorous trees with small leaves that appeal to you.

 

[cornfed]

The Bald Cypress isn't native, but it should survive in 4-10 according to the Arbor Day Foundation and it's available in a 1-gallon & 3-gallon container so that means lots of options at two stages to pick from.

I would love an Oak so I will look closely at those sub-species.

The honey locusts they have in stock might be too big.

They had Ostrya virginiana listed as Ironwood above. It looks like @Mike Hennigan has tried it.

If the species they carry are not all native to Nebraska, I know they're all seed-grown and they should survive 5b.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Cornfed, speaking of seed grown, do yourself a HUGE favor and plant some seeds of trees that interest you. Guaranteed you'll be happy you did in 5 years. The next 5 years will pass no matter what, so plant some seeds and just WAIT. A big part of bonsai is waiting.

 

[SeanS]

Not sure if your American celtis is similar to my locally available celtis Africana and celtis sinensis, but they’re tough and strong growers, and great deciduous trees. They grow like weeds here, thousands of seedlings pop up all over the place here in South Africa and are very popular

Here’s one from Andrew Robson’s garden

 

[Rivian]

PRAIRIEFIRE CRABAPPLE

BALDCYPRESS

 

[cornfed]

The Hackberry used to be the State Tree, so bonus points for that one.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Alot of those are GREAT!

Amalanchier!!!

Tatarian Maples rule..

Black hills spruce...

Cornus..
Plums, Cherries..

Ninebark

Ponderosa pine...

Korean Spice Viburnum

Apples!

Ummmm.. All of them!!!!

I love trees.

 

[cornfed]

I was worried there wouldn't be many good candidates... Now I'm worried my bench is too small.

For sure purchases so far are:
Tatarian Maple
Bald Cypress
One of the Oaks
Hackberry
Black Hills Spruce

Even if I can't find a perfect bonsai candidate, it might be worth it to buy some and plant them out of the way at the farm just for cuttings if I want to zero in on a species.

I'm going to continue researching this list for other midwest chumps to use in the future. Thanks everybody for the help.

 

[sorce]

hand pick.

Nice.

The only large and detrimental thing about regular nursery stock is the spinning roots of shit.

It's the only thing that ruins their potential.

So pending absolute certainty they are all grown in good air pruning containers from seed, I think you'll find much more value in these plants, over growing your own seed, though one can't argue the satisfaction of growing your own seed.

After that, "Native" means yes to all for me.
Larger leaves simply equals a larger finished tree.

So besides selecting for the beginnings of good taper and branch placement, the only decision left to be made is what you (or if necessary, your spouse) likes most.

So if you like really small trees, pick something with really small leaves.

Depends what you're in it for though.

A few plants for yourself will be a different purchase than something you intend to flip, trade, or keep for "bonsai currency".

If you have your eye on some neighborhood Yardadori, like some gnarled old, maybe "destroyed" junipers, perhaps having nice replacements to offer the owner, to allow you to dig their "nasty shrub" is a good reason to have some "bonsai currency".

Some Species are so simple to make good, or so coveted, etc etc, that it may make sense to buy an entire lot of something without even looking at them, if the price is right.

I've posted a lot of information about thorough and efficient nursery hunting. I'll see if I can find any good ones but they're mostly scattered.

What I know is....

Every Nursery grows things differently.
Monrovia Plants, for instance, are grown so tidy and pest free, carefully and healthy, that finding good bonsai candidates from them is near impossible. 1/100.

Where as a more haphazard grower will allow a machine to smash a trunk every now and then, these are more likely to produce good material.

Hypothetically...

You can tell place A prunes in spring and place B prunes in fall, Place A has 3/100 good for bonsai and Place B has 40/100 good for Bonsai.

When you start identify these patterns, you start allocating your time digging in the right pots.

That information is not applicable to your situation, except that this place will likely produce something that is much better for bonsai, just due to their practices.

Some may take investigation, but we already know their use of airpruning pots will make anything with "sensitive roots" easier to work with....
So for me, it takes 3 things....
1. A plant with "sensitive roots" in an AP device.
2. Healthy Plants.
3. A good price.

And turning a "trip to the store for some Plants" into a serious investment isn't out of question.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

will likely produce something that is much better for bonsai, just due to their practices

I mean one over others, like, their practices may produces great maples and crap elms...

Not that they just make better bonsai material period.

Sorce

 

[cornfed]

Thanks for all the information and encouragement @sorce!

This is the literature from the nursery that got me sold on their air-pruning system. As you can see from photos I've posted, I'm going all-in on rootmakers for my training pots. I can buy a 1-gallon rootmaker for $5 or so, cut it in half to make a 3-inch pot and a 4-inch pot. Only problem is I have to print a second bottom and that takes 3 hours... but that's not too bad. I even got their propagation trays for future cuttings.

My main concern is... it is not even hot yet and I'm watering twice a day (3 Pumice, 1 DE, 1 CC, 1 Pine Bark, tested at 24% Field Capacity). I may add more water-retaining elements to future soil mixes. Or top dressing could help?

Below is a photo from their website of the results.



I'm excited to go see it with my own eyes. Luckily a member of the local bonsai society said he is also interested and will go with me. That's got to help.

Interesting idea with Yardadori I haven't thought about. I bet I could put something on Nextdoor saying I would pull out ugly shrubs for free if they let me keep it.

 

[sorce]

. it is not even hot yet and I'm watering twice a da

What do you have already?

Sorce

 

[cornfed]

What do you have already?

Sorce

Two Seiju Chinese Elm cuttings and one Kashima Maple cutting and a Dwarf Alberta Spruce from Home Depot.