If you don't think a succulent like crassula (jade plant) can make a good
looking bonsai, check pages 84 and 85 of Colin Lewis' Bonsai Survival Manual.
And there are plenty of .jpgs on the Web showing interesting crassula bonsai.

In the spirit of never passing up promising bonsai material, last May I paid $15
for a crassula at a plant stand on Laguna Canyon Road. This beauty stood (past
tense since a few weeks ago) about 3.5 feet tall, weighed at least 40 pounds and
had three humugous trunks each about 3.5 inches in diameter. I think the guy at
the plant stand gets these from someplace in Mexico. We had a spell of cooler
weather a few weeks ago so I hard pruned the thing so now I have a lot of little
crassula in grow pots cluttering up my porch. I hope to have a nice triple trunk
jumbo crassula bonsai in a few seasons.

Also I was able to get to the bonsai exhibit a week or so ago at the Japanese
American Cultural Center in downtown LA. Great stuff there, including a
magnificent desert rose (adenium obesum) bonsai in full bloom. That really got
me pumped and, much to my surprise, I found a bunch of excellent $35 DRs in the
greenhouse at the Green Thumb nursery in Lake Forest, CA. I don't know if desert
rose technically can be classified as a succulent, but with it's bulbous trunk
(the 'obesum' part of the botanical name), it could have fooled me. Anyway, next
spring I'll have a good looking DR in a bonsai pot, succulent or not.

Later

Ray Schmitt, Aliso Viejo, CA
Cold Hardiness Zone 10b
AHS Heat Zone 4
Sunset Climate Zone 22





----- Original Message -----
From: "Craig Cowing"
To:
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2003 10:42 AM
Subject: [IBC] succulents as bonsai


We haven't kicked this around in awhile. Any thoughts on succulents as
bonsai? Some of you have been awful quiet--what do you think?

I just bought a large clump of jade plant and have it in a round
semi-antique chinese pot. Looks like a tropical forest. I even have a
mudman sitting under one of the trees.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37


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************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Dale Cochoy++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++