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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 7 years 7 months ago #24491

  • leatherback
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Growing fast recovering fast.. Hm.. You do know that bonsai is about letting go of the concept of time, and speed and calming down to being in the now right?

in any case.. Without knowing your climate, it is very dificult to tell. In the tropics, ficus is one of the amazing fast growers, but in the temperate regions they are sulky for most people. Pine are very slow growers and slow to develop a trunk.

Elms, Maples, Ligustrum, Carpinus, Beech, Tilia all get thick trunks fairly quickly. If you are looking for a tree to get started on, I would probably look for field maple or trident maple (Depending on whether you are in a somewhat coller of warmer climate) and carpinus (hornbeam) those three are robust species.

All of them go outside, naturally.

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 7 years 5 months ago #27055

  • augustine
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I agree with cotoneaster, privet and elm, all relatively fast to develop. I would add, trident maple, hedge maple, bald cypress and crabapple.

Also, Japanese flowering quince - you won't get a thick trunk quickly but you can create a nice clump and enjoy the flowers.

The real trick is to start with larger stock and cut it down, not start small and grow it bigger.

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 7 years 2 months ago #28844

  • TulsaBonsai
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Brazilian Rain Tree. My favorite I've grown so far.

From seed, I got the trunk to about an inch, inch and a quarter in less than a year. You can grow them indoors in the winter (have to cold will kill it). However, I killed mine by accident. It was very receptive to pruning heavy when healthy. Drinks a lot of water (surprise surprise) and easy to grow from seed. The little leaves open and close at night which is the coolest thing. I never got it trained, but I will again soon

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 6 years 10 months ago #33312

  • BravoRomeo
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Lonicera. Not really a tree, but their tiny leaves, bullet proof constitution and prolific growth make them the clear winners if you need instant bonsai. You can Chop off a thick piece of lonicera nitida, tie it into a bonsai pot and it will root and grow 90% of the time. When you have 5 or more pairs of leaves cut back to one pair and it will ramify in a season.

They produce a mass of fibrous roots. They cope with full sun to full shade.

And if you like to fiddle with your trees they tolerate the most abuse of any species I know. New growth is brittle and rubs off easily, so be careful. Old growth does not bend - it snaps. These are clip-and-grow unless you gently wire new growth as it is extending.

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 6 years 10 months ago #33324

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100% agree with lonicera. I havd a nice clum and had to sell as I could not keep up with it!

Hm... Raintree.. WHERE can oneget seeds!?

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 6 years 10 months ago #33452

  • TBolt
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If you can do tropical, Rubber Trees and schefflara (sp) grow pretty well and fast in warm climates. The Norfolk Pine does well and I don't think I've ever seen it attempted as a bonsai except for Nigel Saunders on youtube.

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 6 years 10 months ago #33456

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If you can do tropical, Rubber Trees and schefflara (sp) grow pretty well and fast in warm climates. The Norfolk Pine does well and I don't think I've ever seen it attempted as a bonsai except for Nigel Saunders on youtube.


Unfortunately, schefflera & rubber tree are not so suitable for bonsai..

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 6 years 10 months ago #33457

  • Clicio
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Hm... Raintree.. WHERE can oneget seeds!?


Here in Brazil. I can get some for you. :-)
The following user(s) said Thank You: leatherback

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 6 years 10 months ago #33461

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If you can do tropical, Rubber Trees and schefflara (sp) grow pretty well and fast in warm climates. The Norfolk Pine does well and I don't think I've ever seen it attempted as a bonsai except for Nigel Saunders on youtube.


Unfortunately, schefflera & rubber tree are not so suitable for bonsai..


We'll see about that, already getting leaf reduction on the rubber trees. The dwarf shefflara I've seen used quite a bit, and I got a freebie, so I might as well try it.

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Fast growing species for Bonsai? 6 years 9 months ago #33469

  • Clicio
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The dwarf shefflera I've seen used...


Nice, I'm curious about your Schefflera progression, please post a picture whenever you can?

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Last edit: Post by Clicio.