About Barberry Species as Shrubs, Invaders, Fungal Host, and Bonsai Trees

            Barberry aesthetically makes a delightful bonsai due to its small, colorful leaves, flowers, and berries. They are frequently used in landscaping which means that they are readily available to those who keep their ears to the ground for unwanted plants to salvage like myself. Today I want to share some information on these plants, good examples of successful barberry as bonsai, and some brief comments on techniques for this species.

I am also listing some of my barberry prebonsai/yamadori for sale. Help me downsize my collection so I can focus on my PhD thesis! Pictures, prices, and delivery options in Columbus, OH, or surrounding states are listed here. I am open to hearing offers!

Sections:

1. Barberry Growth Habit
2. Barberry's Invasive Potential
3. A Disease of Concern for Barberry Bonsai - (Wheat) Black Stem Rust
4. American Barberry - Berberis canadensis - as Bonsai
5. Barberry Bonsai Technique Commentary & More Examples

Here is one stunning example of Japanese barberry bonsai by Ed van der Reek in Europe. They do get a great fall color! Source - Ed-Bonsai.blogspot.com

Winter Invasive Plant ID at Turtle Cave in Athens, Ohio - Honeysuckle, Multiflora Rose, and Privet

            For New Year's Day, 2024 I was lucky to have a partner and dog willing to put up with some winter nippiness and muddiness to hike a nearby trail that promised a cave at the end. While there, I documented several things including the abundance and distribution of invasive plants, the plants with wild bonsai ("yamadori") potential, the details of the natural deciduous deadwood decay patterns here in Ohio, and some rock formations that were interspersed in the forest. In today's article, I share the observations from there focused on Ohio invasive plant identification ahead of our upcoming CBS invasive digs. In the near future, I'll follow up with more pictures from the other observations.

Sections:

I. Invasive Plants in Ohio
    IA. Why do invasive plants matter?
    IB. History of Columbus Bonsai Society's involvement with invasive plants
    IC. CBS INVASIVE Alliance (see previous post)

    ID. Invasive plants at Turtle Cave in Athens, Ohio - Winter Identification

        ID1. Invasive Japanese (Vine) Honeysuckle

        ID2. Invasive Multiflora Rose

        ID3. Invasive Shrub Honeysuckle

        ID4. Invasive Chinese Privet

Blog/Central Ohio Bonsai Announcements:

1. I now sell pure pumice and pumice-pine bark pre-mixed bonsai soil in central Ohio. Check out here for more information and prices. This is the mix I make and use for myself to good results with my trees!
2. CBS Club Dig Days for 2024 are out! - See the list and RSVP here to be sent the addresses of the events. Options include 4/6, 4/13, and 4/14/2024. All are welcome. Contact me with any questions.
3. See my recently published lecture - "Introduction to Wild Bonsai in Ohio and Beyond" for some tips on how to get started digging yamadori.

With the density of these privet berries, it's easy to see how they can invade our forests! If you look closely you will also see an invasive Japanese Honeysuckle vine still hanging onto its leaves.

Announcing the CBS INVASIVE Alliance / Yamadori Study Group

 Integrating Native Vegetation And Stopping Invasive VExations

aka the Columbus Bonsai Society INVASIVE Alliance. The next evolution of our CBS Yamadori (Wild bonsai) Study Group. 

Read on for the origins and goals of this idea.

In Vivo / Central Ohio Bonsai Announcements:

1. CBS Japanese Brush Painting/Scroll-Making Workshop on 3/17! Sign up here. You do not need to be a member to sign up.
2. CBS Club Dig Days for 2024 are out! - See the list and RSVP here to be sent the addresses of the events. Options include 4/6, 4/13, and 4/14/2024. All are welcome. Contact me with any questions.
3. I now sell pots! I received a special shipment to sell on behalf of Blue Nose Trading. See the pieces of her work I have available here or schedule an appointment to visit my nursery in Columbus, OH via the contact form here. These are mainly for local pickup/delivery only.
4. I now sell pure pumice and pumice-pine bark pre-mixed bonsai soil in central Ohio. Check out here for more information and prices. This is the mix I make and use for myself to good results with my trees!

My educational display from the CBS 2023 Annual show featuring invasive Tree of Heaven and Spotted Lanternfly. I will do a more detailed write up on these one day for the blog...

4 Tips to Pick the Right Species for Your First/Next Bonsai

            How can you learn to keep a bonsai alive to enjoy for generations to come? There's no magic, really, but there are a few bonsai tricks to learn. Some basic skills serve you well when growing any type of plant, but the first thing you should think about is how to pick a plant that can tolerate the conditions you will provide it. I'll share 4 tips here to help you get started for those thinking about entering bonsai or thinking about trying to add new species to your collection, but if you're in Columbus, Ohio, check out my upcoming beginner workshop where you can get your bonsai journey off on a running start! 

In Vivo / Central Ohio Bonsai Announcements:

1. My next beginner indoor bonsai workshop is on Saturday 2/24 at Nocterra Brewing. Full details can be found on Eventbrite! Briefly, we will cover all the basics of caring for indoor bonsai, and basic techniques for bonsai maintenance such as how to prune, wire, and repot to create the miniature tree look. All workshop participants will be gifted 1-year memberships to the Columbus Bonsai Society and the Central Ohio Cactus and Succulent Society - A $55 value! The total price for the workshop is $56 and also includes prebonsai trees and locally made pots for you to take home after our work and a drink from our gracious host.
2. I now sell pots! I received a special shipment to sell on behalf of Blue Nose Trading. See the pieces of her work I have available here or schedule an appointment to visit my nursery in Columbus, OH via the contact form here. These are mainly for local pickup/delivery only.
3. The Bonsai Time Podcast has moved! While I am still heavily involved in producing that podcast, the show notes for it now lives on its own website, its own YouTube channel, and it now has its own TikTok account.

The pots were made by the same person who took pictures of a beginner class we taught together last year - Mark Passerrello of Ancient Art Bonsai. Mark was featured in Bonsai Time Podcast Episode 08.

Simplified Protocols for Yamadori Collection, Aftercare, and Initial Bonsai Training - A Honeysuckle Raft Case Study.

            In preparation for the 2nd Annual CBS / Columbus Recreation & Parks Department Invasive Honeysuckle Yamadori [Wild Bonsai] Dig event, I wanted to put to words a very simplified protocol for how to take a freshly dug yamadori from the forest and how to begin to train it as a bonsai tree. Obviously, the speed of development varies based on the species and health of the tree and some steps may even occur at seasonally different times especially if you are in a different climate than me here in USDA Hardiness Zone 6, Ohio, USA. Noting that these exceptions are bound to hit you at some point, let this be a starting point and take it for what it's worth. To exemplify that protocol, let's follow the development of my extra large honeysuckle raft yamadori which I rescued from culling in a local Columbus park at last year's first invasive removal collaboration. You can read about our previous experience hosting that event here, and you can see other examples of renowned honeysuckle bonsai here. 

Sections:

1. Event Description - 2nd Annual Columbus Bonsai Society / Columbus Recreation & Parks Invasive Yamadori [Wild Bonsai] Dig
2. General Protocol for Temperate Deciduous Species Yamadori Collection
3. General Protocol for Yamadori Aftercare
4. General Protocol for Initial Bonsai Training - First Repot, Early Pruning, etc.
5. Honeysuckle Raft Case Study
1. Spring 2022 Digging
2. Fall 2022 Pruning
3. Spring 2023 Repotting + Pruning
6. Announcements
1. I officially applied with the state of Ohio to start a nursery. Contact me to enroll in my first workshop on Tanuki! See details here. The second workshop will be on Sunday, 4/23/23 from 12pm-3pm. Contact me if you would like to request an additional date.
2. 4/15/23 - 2nd Annual Invasive Honeysuckle Wild Bonsai Dig with CBS and Columbus Recreation & Parks @ Castro Park. This is a free event. Sign up here.
3. 4/16/223 - Columbus Bonsai Society Meeting - I will be presenting on the ins and outs of digging Yardadori/Yamadori/Wild Bonsai. All are welcome. See event details at www.columbusbonsai.org.
4. Seeds are available here.

My extra-large honeysuckle yamadori raft, now freshly repotted into its first training bonsai pot.

Recapping the 1st Annual Columbus Bonsai Society Invasive Yamadori Dig with the Columbus Metro Parks

Source Material: April 2022

            As spring continues to hum right into summer here in Ohio, let's continue our series on the invasive honeysuckle species common in the eastern US. As already outlined in the previous article in the series, several distinct species of invasive honeysuckle (genus Lonicera) are similar in their characteristics, similarly suitable for bonsai, and have even yielded some show-quality bonsai specimens by prominent artists. These species are the Japanese honeysuckle/Lonicera japonica, Amur honeysuckle/Lonicera maackii, Morrow's honeysuckle/Lonicera morrowii, and Tatarian honeysuckle/Lonicera tatarica (see here for more info on these species and their bonsai suitability). Furthermore, the fact that these species are invasive makes them a doubly attractive candidate for practicing collection of wild bonsai due to their abundance and the many interested landowners who are eager to be rid of them! The topic of collecting these wild prebonsai specimens brings us to today's topic - recapping the creation of a collaborative event with the Columbus Metro Parks to remove these unwanted invasive honeysuckles from city parkland and save them for members of the Columbus Bonsai Society (CBS). This event focused on invasive species removal could be a model for bonsai practitioners in areas where public land does not normally permit tree collection and for those who live in urban areas without access to private land for wild bonsai collection. 

Sections

1. Invasive Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica & related species.) for Bonsai (last time)
1. Examples of Honeysuckle Bonsai
2. Identifying Candidate Honeysuckle for Bonsai
3. Observations & Comments on their Suitability as Bonsai
1. Ability to Ramify
2. Response to Trunk Chops
3. Wood Durability/Deadwood
4. Wiring Branches
5. Shallow Root Systems
2. Recapping the first annual Columbus Bonsai Society Invasive Yamadori Dig with the Columbus Metro Parks (this time)
1. Event Motivation & Creation
2. Event/Collected Trees Album
3. Event Potential for Future Years
3. Invasive Trees & Shrubs with Known Bonsai Potential (next time)
4. Blog Announcements
5. References

The botany professor-style hat proves function > fashion whether digging in the sun or rain! Also pictured, my new 8-foot honeysuckle raft which occupied the entire length of my SUV. This is one bonsai that will likely just live at home permanently, or perhaps in the future, I will divide it into 2 trees that are more portable.

Invasive Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica & related species) for Bonsai

            It's May which means that trees here in Ohio have been slowly waking up and spring is creeping northward! This also means we just passed the best time of year to root prune trees for repotting or for collecting wild trees to train as bonsai. Although collecting wild bonsai is an exciting method to gather prebonsai, many bonsai artists are unable to utilize this source of bonsai material due to a lack of access to public land where tree collection is permitted or some novices with such access may just be too intimidated by the prospects of killing trees during transplanting. One solution to both of these issues is to coordinate with local governments on removing unwanted, invasive species and attempt to utilize those species for bonsai. This three-part article series will cover a story of local collaboration in Ohio doing just that. I am happy to report that the Columbus Metro Parks now have a few less invasive Japanese Honeysuckle to worry about and the members of the Columbus Bonsai Society were allowed free access to digging wild bonsai material from our local forests. Additionally, this event allowed interested CBS members to learn about digging wild trees in a guided and hands-on fashion while also practicing guilt-free on material that is limitless (invasive trees) which would otherwise be destroyed during the city government's efforts to maintain native ecosystems.

            Today's portion of this 3-part series will focus on the invasive Japanese Honeysuckle and related Lonicera species which we collected at the CBS Honeysuckle Dig event last month. Below you will find specimen bonsai showing the potential of these species and observations from the woods as to which honeysuckle trees may make good bonsai. Future installments will cover the club dig event itself including essential information on the basics of what tools are needed and how to dig from the deciduous forests of Ohio. Finally, the last article in the series will cover other invasive species of the United States (with links to resources for other locations around the world), highlighting those which have known bonsai potential.

Sections

1. Invasive Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica & related species.) for Bonsai (this time)
1. Examples of Honeysuckle Bonsai
2. Identifying Candidate Honeysuckle for Bonsai
3. Observations & Comments on their Suitability as Bonsai
1. Ability to Ramify
2. Response to Trunk Chops
3. Wood Durability/Deadwood
4. Wiring Branches
5. Shallow Root Systems
2. Recapping the first annual Columbus Bonsai Society Invasive Yamadori Dig with the Columbus Metro Parks (this time)
1. Event Motivation & Creation
2. Event/Collected Trees Album
3. Event Potential for Future Years
3. Invasive Trees & Shrubs with Known Bonsai Potential (next next time)
4. Blog Announcements
5. References

This honeysuckle was collected by the late Nick Lenz and has been styled and cared for by Nick's student, Andy Rutledge (Source). The face carved into the tree fits nicely with Nick Lenz's signature macabre and fantastical style; you can see more examples of this style in an earlier article I wrote on the subject.