what is the most difficult to kill species for bonsai in general?

brentwood said:
I always wondered if anyone grew Rose of Sharon - I don't think you could kill that with a stake and holy water.... Not sure if the leaves would reduce, but the blooms would be pretty spectacular.

Brent
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I've seen some half-decent examples and there's some discussion on bnut about the species. It seems not ideal but there are certainly worse species that people try. I have a couple that I nabbed for a few dollars on fall clearance that I intend to mess with.
 
Montezuma cypress or Elm… I have only killed one of each in the past 12 years… And that’s saying something.😜
 
Bald Cypress are pretty much indestructible from what I have seen. My ex let one of mine go without water for two weeks in July, it was crispy when I picked it up. After a few days of watering, it came back out.

Serissa is also hard to kill, I have it coming up all over the yard from pruning the ones that I have as bonsai. I cut it back to the ground and it comes back.
 
Mellow Mullet said:
Bald Cypress are pretty much indestructible from what I have seen. My ex let one of mine go without water for two weeks in July, it was crispy when I picked it up. After a few days of watering, it came back out.

Serissa is also hard to kill, I have it coming up all over the yard from pruning the ones that I have as bonsai. I cut it back to the ground and it comes back.
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Serissa is not easy in the north where it is a picky houseplant for overwintering. I have personally killed several.
 
brentwood said:
I always wondered if anyone grew Rose of Sharon - I don't think you could kill that with a stake and holy water.... Not sure if the leaves would reduce, but the blooms would be pretty spectacular.

Brent
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On that direction. The ideal cultivar would be Lil Kim. This is a landscape shrub. But the small blooms always draws ones attention. Guests are shocked at how tiny they are.
Screenshot_20200204-101126.png
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but it would be better to learn what your tree needs to live well. If you go into it wanting a tree to cover a multitude of mistakes, I think you're inviting failure. It's really pretty simple for most bonsai: water, sun and fertilizer. You really can't go too far wrong if you do those three things well.

Anyway, my picks would be Chinese elm and bald cypress. Given enough water, they only get mad and grow in spite of abuse. Standard bonsai soil for the elm and good potting soil for the bald cypress.
 
I'm a total newbie. The one that seems easiest for me is a cork jade.
 
Cadillactaste said:
On that direction. The ideal cultivar would be Lil Kim. This is a landscape shrub. But the small blooms always draws ones attention. Guests are shocked at how tiny they are.
View attachment 282216
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I have a small Lil Kim, about a foot high, sitting in my greenhouse right now waiting for spring. I bought it in early fall, to work on in memory of my sister Sharon, who died just before Labor Day.
 
shinmai said:
I have a small Lil Kim, about a foot high, sitting in my greenhouse right now waiting for spring. I bought it in early fall, to work on in memory of my sister Sharon, who died just before Labor Day.
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💔 Can't imagine losing a sibling. Deepest heart felt condolences.

I think you chose a good cultivar for a sentimental memorial tree. ♥️ Wish you the best with it.
 
Cadillactaste said:
💔 Can't imagine losing a sibling. Deepest heart felt condolences.

I think you chose a good cultivar for a sentimental memorial tree. ♥ Wish you the best with it.
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Thank you. My sister died just a few days shy of her 61st birthday, from a recurrence of the breast cancer she had battled a dozen years earlier. I'm the oldest of four, and she was the third-oldest. She was also the first girl born in my father's family in two generations, so you can imagine how she got the royal princess treatment from my dad.
Our friend @Carol83 suggested at the time that maybe a good way to remember her would be to find a new tree, and make it the best bonsai I possibly could. Just a few days later I was at a nursery and literally almost fell into a rose of Sharon. It felt like some kind of sign. I'll post pics and progress once we're underway. I love the small blossoms, with the bright red center. They remind me of the satsuki 'hinomaru'.
 
I dunno, I've killed a jade before as well as a ficus as well as a JBP and a juniper also (maybe I shouldn't be admitting to all this but hey it's true). I was going to say natal plum for indoors but I've killed one of those as well, lol. It really depends on so many factors. For eg, we've managed to kill a lucky "bamboo" but managed to keep ming aralia and rabbit's foot fern and a Fukien tea bonsai alive for over 20 years indoors in pots without grow lights...
No matter what you will lose some.
 
shinmai said:
Thank you. My sister died just a few days shy of her 61st birthday, from a recurrence of the breast cancer she had battled a dozen years earlier. I'm the oldest of four, and she was the third-oldest. She was also the first girl born in my father's family in two generations, so you can imagine how she got the royal princess treatment from my dad.
Our friend @Carol83 suggested at the time that maybe a good way to remember her would be to find a new tree, and make it the best bonsai I possibly could. Just a few days later I was at a nursery and literally almost fell into a rose of Sharon. It felt like some kind of sign. I'll post pics and progress once we're underway. I love the small blossoms, with the bright red center. They remind me of the satsuki 'hinomaru'.
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Dang...again heart felt condolences. Sucks. Cancer sucks.

So you are friends of Carol. 🥰 She offered amazing advice.

Will love following your journey with it. They are a hardy species. So one good to start with.
 
And they owe us!

Sorce
 
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