Lowes half off trees. Can all of these work as bonsai ?

[JohnW63]

My local Lowes has a good number of trees marked down 50%. I suppose it's hard to sell bare trees in the winter. Here are some that were of interest either due to interesting bark or leaves.

Eastern Red Bud. Very pretty in the spring, but the leaves are generally pretty big. I'm actually trying to grow some larger ones in my front yard.

Chinese Pistache. I have two large ones in the yard, and the leaves are sort of small. I'm pretty sure they are good candidates, but the ones they have have trunks pretty small and straight. Do these do well with "chopping" ?

European White Birch. Not sure how well these would do. They are generally a tree for moist locations. The trunk is a good size and has a diagonal slope to the trunk for the first few inches. I suspect it was a "Y" shaped trunk and they lopped off one half in the past, based on the cut made on the trunk.

Heritage River Birch. The internet says the leaves are 2-4", but I couldn't tell in the store because they had very few leaves still on them. Interesting pealing bark however. The can label mentioned that feature too.

Any of these worth a go ?

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I'd say no to all but the Pistache, because I'm not familiar with it. The Birch can be used, according to some, but the branches die easily and they don't live long. The Redbud just aren't the best candidates due to their large leaves and long internodes.

 

[Eric Group]

After spending years spending very little on trees and getting... Very little, I suggest you probably would be better off saving up to buy some good stock. I have prided myself for years on getting "deals" and most were.. Well let's just say I got what I paid for them!

You wind up with trees you have to spend a decade working on to make something good out of it normally when you buy cheap little trees on sale at Lowes. If you want to comb through bargain racks, go to older, well established nurseries and really get down and poke around for trees with good trunks and decent root bases. These true deals and nursery finds that make good Bonsai frequently are the trees others won't want for a landscape... Low branches, odd shapes... Are not ideal for landscapes, but are what we want! Lowes and HD cycle trees in and out a couple times every season, so nothing with no my age and character will normally be found there. Find some old nursery and dig through their Azaleas, look for old Chinzan or Gumpos... Look through the Crepe Myrtles for that ugly deformed one with a wiggly trunk and low branching... Sometimes you might find an old Firethorn or some kind of cool Maple on the sale rack... I was poking around a nursery I go to all the time and found three big Tridents in huge Nursery cans that I never Noticed before! Arrow straight trunks of course with no interesting. Movement, but they were 3-4 inch trunk bases and one had a decent root spread... They usually have a 50% off sale sometime in the winter, so I may go back for one... Just saying you should use the time I have wasted as your lesson and try harder to find good stock!

 

[JohnW63]

Old nurseries with old stock, sounds like a good idea. If there were only one in my area. There is ONE that has been here a long time, and he used to have a lot of stock, but the last time I drove by, it was down sized. "Cal" wasn't a young guy a decade ago, when I was last there, so maybe, he's retired. Might be worth a look, just to see.

 

[timetravel_0]

Old nurseries with old stock, sounds like a good idea. If there were only one in my area. There is ONE that has been here a long time, and he used to have a lot of stock, but the last time I drove by, it was down sized. "Cal" wasn't a young guy a decade ago, when I was last there, so maybe, he's retired. Might be worth a look, just to see.

I feel your pain.

I have Home Depot, Lowes, and nurseries that sell a minimum of 36" box trees three at a time.

Being so, I've come to like Boxwoods and Bougainvilleas.

 

[JohnW63]

My brain must not be working tonight. The nursery I got most of my landscape trees is out of town, but has lots of older stuff, from buckets to boxes and the senior nurseryman has a long shed of bonsai experiments ! <facepalm>

 

[Giga]

to the OP

I have a river birch and yellow birch and they live about 100+ year so why not? It's no cedar that will live for a 1000+ The two I have are really nice and I know I'll enjoy them. I also haven't had any dieback on branches yet and there two years training so far.



The red bud maybe will make a nice larger bonsai due to the larger leaves-but they do Look rather fantastic in spring. I bought one to grow out just to play with and see what I could make of it, and for 12$ and 13' tree it is worth it in my opinion. Can't comment on the pistache as I know nothing about them. I'd say go for it, BUT know what your in for and what to expect from them-that way you don't get frustrated with them.

Also I have an HUGE old nursery that has some amazing stuff and they're the best places to find something tucked in a corner that would make great material. I found a 4" base blue spruce that's only 3' tall that I gobbled up for only 50$. There worth spending some time at

 

[edprocoat]

Yes old nurseries, definitely worth spending some time there. They're good places to find old material. If their owners are there , then they're usually willing to dicker prices with you.

ed