Podocarpus Macrophyllus "sosa" as Bonsai?

[VietHoang3110]

While searching information online about our good-old Buddhist Pine (Podocarpus Macrophyllus), I found out about a very interesting cultivar of the plant: Podocarpus macrophyllus "Mood Ring". It's basically a Podocarpus Macrophyllus with other attractive properties: beautiful bronze-red new shoots in spring and autumn, tolerates full sun and heat, or full shade. Drought resistant. No serious pest or disease issues. The cultivar is still relatively new, it was introduced by Kenichi Kawaguchi of Sosa, Japan and marketed in North America from 2017. Below you can find some images of the variety.

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Given all of these attractive properties and the fact that Buddist Pine is a very popular species for bonsai cultivation, I wonder are there any serious ideas or attempts out there to introduce the cultivar to the bonsai world. What do you guys think about this version of the Buddhist Pine, and have any of you tried to get our hands on the plant? I'm curious to know about your opinions.

Thanks for reading and have a nice weekend!

 

[rockm]

While this particular variety may be new, Buddhist pine (podocarpus) is a traditional bonsai subject. This Buddhist pine penjing at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum was donated to the museum by Yee-sun Wu (scroll down the link for his bio) in 1986. Yee-sun Wu is the author of the 1968 book "Man Lung Artistic Pot Plants" Podocarpus tends to be sub-tropical and sensitive to freezing. Podocarpus bonsai in the U.S. tend to be more common in the Southern states, especially Florida. It's hardy through zones 7-9. It requires decent winter protection. The one at the museum is stored in frost-free overwintering quarters. "Mood Ring" doesn't sound any more winter hardy than the main variety, hardy to 7b-10. In a container, shave off one zone, so 8-10 might be more accurate for bonsai purposes.

 

[VietHoang3110]

"Mood Ring" doesn't sound any more winter hardy than the main variety, hardy to 7b-10. In a container, shave off one zone, so 8-10 might be more accurate for bonsai purposes.

I agree that this variety's hardniess does not get any better compared to the original version, partly due to the fact that other than bonsai, Buddist Pine is cultivated frequently as a screen, accent, topiary, hedge or patio tree, so the breeder may want to improve the tolaration of the species more toward heat and drought, not to mention deer resistant which is quite a common use in Japan. As of availability, I believe that other than the U.S, people from different part of the world would have some trouble to get their hands on the raw materials, since it's still a relatively new variety and not so many gardens or centers offer it. But the potential for a good bonsai is definitely out there, maybe people just need to know a bit more about the cultivar and start to experiment with it.