Exotic Bonsai Choices To Enhance Your Collection
The majority of bonsai artists are content with the more common coniferous, deciduous, or fruit trees when creating their bonsai art collection. But, more exotic bonsai varieties can be found that permit the bonsai gardener to expand his or her skills.
An excellent alternative to the common bonsai is Wisteria, a native of Korea, China, and Japan. In the wild, Wisteria can reach 30 feet or more in size. However, because Wisteria doesn’t conform to any of the normal bonsai styles, forming them into a bonsai can be an interesting challenge.
The Wisteria flowers are both aromatic and beautiful and come in a variety of colors, including pink, purple, blue, and white. Flowering in the Spring, they need lots of water with adequate drainage and they do well in any where from full sun to partial shade. Just before they flower in the spring, you should provide them with ample fertilizer, and once again in late summer before they drop their leaves.
If you love fragrant flowers, an excellent option is Orange Jasmine which produces a bright red fruit and fragrant white blossoms, bringing both delight to the nose and beauty to the eye.
Feed Orange Jasmine every three to four weeks starting in early spring and continuing through mid-autumn. Only light watering is sufficient for most of the year, with a little more required in the hotter summer season.
Because they generally do better in moderate shade or filtered sun, Orange Jasmine is one of the few bonsai that can, and should be cultivated indoors.
The Mimosa tree, also sometimes known as silk trees due to their long silky filaments, provide another good alternative. They are as fragrant as both of the two choices mentioned above and their puffy flowers and lacy foliage are also just as lovely.
Flowers bloom in late April to early July, during which time they should be given moderate water. Avoid watering the flowers themselves since, like many flowering plants, they wilt rapidly and deteriorate when wet.
If you choose to cultivate a Mimosa, it will be one of the larger bonsai in your collection since they have large leaves, grow rapidly, and are difficult to maintain at a very small size. So be sure to give then adequate room in your display area.
Another non-traditional bonsai is the Desert Rose. The Desert Rose can turn what would be an ordinary bonsai collection into one full of color and excitement. It is a native of East Africa and in the wild can grow up to 10 feet tall, producing large, pink, trumpet-bowl flowers.
Requiring lots of fresh air and plenty of sunshine, the Desert Rose should be kept outside most of the year. However, their very bushy habit makes them a fine complement to the more traditional bonsai set in your collection.
They’re sensitive to cold, though, so in cold climates they should be brought indoors. They don’t thrive below 50F (10C), though they will lie dormant and healthy from 50-60F (10C-15C). During this period they will need very little water.
You can expand your bonsai design horizons by trying your hand at a few of these fragrant and beautiful flowering plants. Spaced among some of the standard evergreens – pines, junipers and others – they provide a nice contrast. You’ll also have an ever-changing display, as they flower in spring and lose their leaves in the fall.
George Dodge enjoys gardening and landscaping as a hobby. Bonsai gardening offers hours of enjoyment producing delightful miniture shrubs and trees as an art form. His Bonsai Tree Gardening site provides tips for the beginning bonsai gardener. Experiment with exotic bonsai choices to roundout your collection.
