I have found in the nature paliurus spina christi or Christ's
thorn,
dwarfish and natural bonsai.
I am asking for help, before extraction from nature, becouse I
don't
have any expirience with this plant. Any advice will be
appreciated.

I've never heard of this plant being used for bonsai, though it
probably is possible. It is a plant of fairly dry lands, which
means it PROBABLY has a sparse root system that spreads out for
some distance around (and under) the plant in its search for
moisture. Since this is likely, I'd try to dig it (in early
spring) with as large a rootball as you can lift from the ground
and then establish it (undisturbed) in a shallow growing box that
is half again as wide as the rootball.

If you keep the soil moist (but NOT wet) thereafter, you should
encourage more roots to form nearer to the center of the tree so
when you lift it again in a year or two you may find more root to
work with.

Watch for the spines! The picture I have of this plant shows
them as being wicked.

I hope this helps. I doubt that many of us have experience with
this plant.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

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************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

I have found in the nature paliurus spina christi or Christ's thorn,
dwarfish and natural bonsai.

I found it in the "Dictionary of Weeds", which suggests it is easy to care for. The entry indicated that it was tolerant of arid conditions, which is a good property for a bonsai, although it may have a deep or spreading root system which will make it dif
ficult to transplant. You may want to cut the roots one year, and remove the plant the next.

It is in the Rhamnaceae. I had a Rhamnus bonsai which did OK but which did not heal pruning cuts very well. And then one day it suddenly died.


Nina Shishkoff


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

I have found in the nature paliurus spina christi or Christ's
thorn,
dwarfish and natural bonsai.
I am asking for help, before extraction from nature, becouse I
don't
have any expirience with this plant. Any advice will be
appreciated.

I've never heard of this plant being used for bonsai, though it
probably is possible. It is a plant of fairly dry lands, which
means it PROBABLY has a sparse root system that spreads out for
some distance around (and under) the plant in its search for
moisture. Since this is likely, I'd try to dig it (in early
spring) with as large a rootball as you can lift from the ground
and then establish it (undisturbed) in a shallow growing box that
is half again as wide as the rootball.

If you keep the soil moist (but NOT wet) thereafter, you should
encourage more roots to form nearer to the center of the tree so
when you lift it again in a year or two you may find more root to
work with.

Watch for the spines! The picture I have of this plant shows
them as being wicked.

I hope this helps. I doubt that many of us have experience with
this plant.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

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

I have found in the nature paliurus spina christi or Christ's thorn,
dwarfish and natural bonsai.

I found it in the "Dictionary of Weeds", which suggests it is easy to care for. The entry indicated that it was tolerant of arid conditions, which is a good property for a bonsai, although it may have a deep or spreading root system which will make it dif
ficult to transplant. You may want to cut the roots one year, and remove the plant the next.

It is in the Rhamnaceae. I had a Rhamnus bonsai which did OK but which did not heal pruning cuts very well. And then one day it suddenly died.


Nina Shishkoff


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

I have found in the nature paliurus spina christi or Christ's
thorn,
dwarfish and natural bonsai.
I am asking for help, before extraction from nature, becouse
I don't
have any expirience with this plant. Any advice will be
appreciated.
Thanks!

Could this be the Jujube-Tree?

No. Jujube is Ziziphus jujuba. They are, also, however, members
of the Rhamnaceae. I have seen jujube bonsai. (+ -) If you have
Dirr's "Woody Landscape Plants" it is the last plant on the last
page of plant descriptions. Also last page of Botanica, ;-)
though Zygopetalum (an orchid) is the last plant there.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Mark Zimmerman++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

in article 001501c3e02f$2bc32580$55112cc7@pavilion, Jim Lewis at
wrote on 1/21/04 10:01 AM:

I have found in the nature paliurus spina christi or Christ's
thorn,
dwarfish and natural bonsai.
I am asking for help, before extraction from nature, becouse
I don't
have any expirience with this plant. Any advice will be
appreciated.
Thanks!

Could this be the Jujube-Tree?

No. Jujube is Ziziphus jujuba. They are, also, however, members
of the Rhamnaceae. I have seen jujube bonsai. (+ -) If you have
Dirr's "Woody Landscape Plants" it is the last plant on the last
page of plant descriptions. Also last page of Botanica, ;-)
though Zygopetalum (an orchid) is the last plant there.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

I thought the Zisyphus spina Christi was the Jujube-tree. You can
occasionally find them at Home Depot and (egad) Wall Mart. I think they buy
them from Chestnut Hills Nursery.

Julie Trigg (formerly a 9 but not a 10!)

I thought the Zisyphus spina Christi was the Jujube-tree.

That's an old and incorrect name for the plant. The RHS dictionary of plants does not even list it as a synonym of P. spina-christus. The common jujube is Z. jujuba. But it must be a pretty similar shrub.

Nina Shishkoff


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