Dogwood,.Red Bud, Magnolia Rootings as Bonsai

Hello,

I have been rooting these trees for some time and I am considering trying each for a Bonsai, is there any experience out there with these flowering trees?

Thanks

I haven't tried the 3 trees you mentioned because I tend to gravitate toward small leafed varieties. The dogwood, however, would be a good one to try. Redbud leaves can get rather large, but you could try to train it into a larger bonsai. A 3 foot trained tree is still considered a bonsai. Magnolia wood is brittle and would break or crack if wired for training. The leaves are large and would require more water than you could provide in a confined bonsai pot. Shrubs often provide great bonsai material.

I have a Chinese dogwood that is three years old and managed to get sliced off about 12'' from the ground last year. It has a good,strong trunk that has a great taper. After reading one of ulrich's posts about developing a strong base over several years this tree might be a good candidate for a bonsai. He has some great hyperlinks to great info on Bonsais.