Hibiscus, the dark horse of Bonsai perhaps...

[Asus101]

Who would want to hide such fine structure?
It seems to be forgotten that big leaves mean very little, while structure is everything. Got big leaves? show it with out said leaves.

[Brandon]

Thanks everyone for your input and advice, have given me alot (!) to contemplate with this particular bonsai, and this species in general. To answer Melaquin, unfortunately I don't have a pic of it's flowers but after searching about the net, I found a colour and style that I think resembles the actual flower:

color_125_hibiscus_orange.jpg

I actually remember it being a little lighter than this but, my 'better half' swears it was this colour.
I think for now I'll let it recover its health somewhat, although like KCpoole says, i'll just take the bigger leaves off as they grow out of scale. Again for now I've decided to keep both trunks and the long term plan is perhaps a semi cascade.

Beautiful Asus Thanks rfor posting them

Notice that they have all been defoliated for the picture / display, and are only just showing green tips
Hmmm!

I totally agree, thanks heaps! After your initial post, (saying to search thai bonsai's) I went searching through bonsai galleries all over the world, and couldn't come up with the examples you provided, they are some lovely trees. completely out of my league!!

As well as this little beauty there are two more down the side of my house which I will probably dig up over the next few weeks. One in particular has a trunk around 3inches in diameter with a good spread of branches. Just begging for formal/informal upright treatment.

[banksia]

Steve! The one you posted has the common name "Japanese Lantern". I have a couple of 3 year old cuttings going at the moment. These were taken from a 20 yr old tree which was originally a cutting taken in Bali.They seem to be reluctant to flower here in Perth...though I have had the odd one. Very pretty though.

Regards,
Anthony

[sreeve]

Thanks Anthony

[kcpoole]

i have many different Hibiscus currently growing from cuttings last year or so, and as the flower I will label, photograph and post here so we can all admire
I will be planting them out next year to put on a bit of muscle as they really need to be a larger size to benifit from the flower and leaf size, and has been show they can be stunning

I have no idea where this one came from, but flowered this morning and i though it so pretty I had to post again.
I did not know hibiscus came in white, and this is yet another different flower shape

Ken

[Brandon]

Hello all,

I thought I would post a couple of updated pics of this little beauty. The old foliage has been completely removed and it has been nurtured lovingly and is providing me with prolific new growth, if it keeps going at this rate, i'll be training this time next year!

[Greth]

There is a native hibiscus which I think has smaller leaves, still largish, but may be more suited.

[Hawaiian77]

Howzit Guys,

Just wanted to share my Hibiscus with ya'll. The first picture is from six months ago. This March I will split the two and re-pot these into a cascading bonsai pot.

-Tim

91011645.jpg

IMG_0209.JPG

[Chris H]

Hey KC
New Neighbours are happy for me to take some cuttings of their Hibiscus.

Is there a better time to take cuttings?
Old wood or new wood?

Cheers
Chris.

[Glenda]

My mum is really into hibiscus as a garden shrub, and takes cuttings of anything that takes her fancy (particularly double flowers). She just shoves the cutting in the ground without hormone gel or powder, and I don't think one has ever failed (she is in her 80's). The mature shrubs she has pruned back to bare sticks that I am sure are dead, and in a few weeks there is new growth everywhere. Unfortunately I have no photos. However, we are in the tropics and it might be different down south......

[kcpoole]

Hey KC
New Neighbours are happy for me to take some cuttings of their Hibiscus.

Is there a better time to take cuttings?
Old wood or new wood?

Cheers
Chris.

Hi Chris
I have had sucess with old wood up to about thumb size, and airlayers as big as you like.
spring / Summer the best time I have tried, althought the yellow one was taken in Autumn and did OK

Ken

[kcpoole]

Nice flowers Tim!
very pretty with the pink and white

[Brandon]

Just an update on how this tree is going! Heaps of new growth, years away from being a tiawanese bonsai however!

[nealweb]

Beautiful tree, beautiful flowers but i'm not sure it will ever be like those Taiwanese ones, they were tiliacius which is quite a different thing. Its the one you see used everywhere in landscaping nowadays with the big round leaf and the yellow flower that never seems to fully open. These ones grow into huge trees in the tropics, I remember seeing one in Bali that was 10m across!

[IS2SXC]

I have been asking people for their large hibiscus and i got 5 NOs hahahhah maybe i should just get cuttings


cheers minh