Hi Ron,

Have had a go at bonsai-ing natives and have had fairly good results. They said it couldn'tbe done with an eucalyptus, but my little red gum seems to be most hardy and happy.

I have never done a jaccaranda before but can only say err on the side of caution. I have wired my natives hard before i trimmed them and let them stettle into their pots for a month or two before going the hack.

Good luck with them, they sound like they are going to be really cute :)

Azz

apparently jacaranda's are not the best trees for shaping into bonsai. This i have heard is because when branches are trimmed or removed, jacaranda's have a tendency to produce new branches which grow virtually upright at 90 degrees to other branches. This makes them quite ugly. Constant pruning would almost resolve this problem, but the pressure on the tree may be too great, hence causing the bonsai to die.
If you are looking for a good started bonsai you can't go past a port jackson fig and even murraya's have shown promising results in bonsai form.

cheers
richard

cheers
richard

Hi Ron,
In my opinion Jacarandas aren't really suitable for Bonsai because the have a large compound leaf. The whole idea of Bonsai it to create a replica of a large tree in miniature. If (as has been suggested) you use a Port Jackson Fig - ficus rubiginosa, or any of the figs like Benjamina, Queensland small leaf or even Moreton Bay, over time the leaves reduce in size when the tree is contained in a pot. Jacaranda leaf fronds don't reduce in size and even though one frond can simulate a branch, they fall off in the winter leaving you with a bare trunk. Another good tree to use is any of the LillyPilly's or even a Casuarina (She Oak). Banksias and Melaleucas can also be used. A Jacaranda cannot be contained in a small state for long - it will run out of leaf producing buds unless you allow it to grow to quite a large tree and allow proper branches to form. The easiest trees to work with would definately be any of the figs and the most common is Ficus Benjamina (weeping fig). Nearly all figs are just about bullet-proof, it takes a lot to kill them. I have figs nearly 1 metre tall, but I also have one Port Jackson that is in 5cm diameter pot and is only 15cm high with leaves less than a centimetre long - and it has been living quite happily in that pot for more than five years.
Hope this might be of some help
taffyman

Thanks everyone for helping,
I allredy have 2 Ficus, and am attempting to try a Jac. :)
I am now up to 5 trees, the oldest being a Moreten Bay fig (I know I didnt spell that right). He was bought from a lovelly old lady who used to run a nursery in Warwick QLD. Bonsai was her hobby. The tree was dug out of the Kilarney hills, potted for 5 years, and I got him in 1989. His name is Alouisiuos ( Alowishus), His main trunk is 20 cm high and 32 cm around the middle, he stands 60 cms above the pot with a 80 cm spread. I have kept him alive for 16 years (Go Me), but he got lonely. I figured that I look after 1, I may as well look after a forest.
Ron

In Australian Geographic stores they are selling Bonsai starter kits, Jacaranda is one of the varieties available. I'm new to Bonsai and was tossing up which one to go for, ended up buying a Red Flowering Eucalypt and am thinking of going back for the Jacaranda next. I have about 6 seedlings come up from the Eucalypt, the largest has been potted on. I know I probably should have started with an established plant but this is very satisfying.

I have a number of Jacaranda and have had continued success with them... So much so that I have started a forest of 15 plants...

They won't be a informal upright style but there is much fun to be had with them.

Good luck buddaboy...!

Being contained in a pot has nothing to do with leaf size on a bonsai; leaf pruning (recommended once every three years at most) causes the tree to produce two leaves (each one half the size of the original) instead of one. Naturally, doing this over time really ends up miniaturizing the leaves. The main thing to consider when selecting a bonsai, except with conifers of course, is: do they 'do their thing' (flowering, fruiting...) on LAST YEAR'S WOOD. If they flower or fruit on the present year's wood, they're not suitable. The reason being that you have to constantly twig prune a deciduous bonsai (if you do it right), and naturally this removes any buds! A Jacaranda I'm not sure about... I'm just not familiar with the tree (although it looks beautiful); but if it blooms on last year's wood, I don't see why it wouldn't be suitable. That's what I'm trying to find out, though--and I haven't, yet.

Addendum to my last post: leaf pruning is the technique to miniaturize leaves on a deciduous bonsai (once every three years at most)... when you prune a particular leaf, two leaves will grow from that site instead of one--each one maturing to half the size of the original's potential size (according to the reading material I have on it). I wasn't really clear in describing that, earlier.

I've been working on jacarandas for over 10 years and have about 10 pre-bonsais around the yard and in my lanai during cold weather,and the closest I have come to a bonsai was a tree that finally bloomed,then made one seed pod which was only one centimeter in diameter.It was about 25-30 cm. high and trunk was 3-4 cm in diameter.
Another difficult tree to bonsai is the royal poinciana.

Guys i have a question i am growing a jacaranda & Royal poinciana, they are crazy growers but my question is once i get the height i want (which is now) can i chop the trunk off? or will it die? i have seen jacarandas and poincianas and tamarind bonsai trees nice and old but i do not know if this is a dwarf tree or if i can hack its top. Will it kill it? If it is possible then i'll try to air layer the top so i can get another cut from this tree. Thank you for any advise, answer or suggestion.

Hi. I have some potted 2yr old jacarandas I want to bonsai. Im wondering if I should pot first and trim later when it settles. Also, should I cut the trunk or not at this stage? Im inclined to pot and wire and let it settle first. Im in Queensland Australia. I dont have bonsai experience. Is there a good time of year to start?

There's a Bonsai forum here

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/bonsai

You're bound to get some good advice there.