AusBonsai

Hello all,

I havent had any luck from searching the forum, so posting a request here.

I was wondering if any one knows of a source for Korean Hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii).

Seedling or established stock both is fine
I have given seed a go from Seeds A Plenty.

I am located in Melbourne but happy to source from other states.

Cheers

I haven't seen it for a loooooooooooooooooooooong time. Years and years ago there was some young stock at Bonsai Sensation but i don't recall seeing any there for many years now, not even Yamina Rare Plants have it on their website.

If you can settle for european hornbeam (Carpina betulus) then Yamina have them in stock

This website has it as one of their species: http://bonsaiart.com.au/stock-list/ if you type Korean into search.

Someone in an older thread mention Ray Nesci - worth a try giving them a call because they are always helpful and friendly https://www.raynescibonsai.com.au/

Someone also mentioned possibly Bonsai Sensation Nursery

Worth calling around bonsai nurseries, there's not that many of them and every one I've been to the service is always friendly.

Thanks all.
I did make a visit to Bonsai Art last week after doing a species search but alas with no luck.
I'll give Ray Nesci a shot.
Hopefully my years of searching will bear fruit

i got a giant one for $700 you'll need atleast 3 people to lift it, its korean hornbeam but not the korean hornbeam you see on the internet with the small leaves.

Simon

I couldn't find any either so went down the seed route.

I used seed from Seeds A Plenty this year and whilst the stratification period was long, the seed is viable.
I even managed to get some Stewartia seedlings to sprout!

Scott Roxburgh wrote: ↑March 25th, 2025, 12:29 pm I couldn't find any either so went down the seed route.

I used seed from Seeds A Plenty this year and whilst the stratification period was long, the seed is viable.
IMG_3527.jpegIMG_3528.jpeg


I even managed to get some Stewartia seedlings to sprout!IMG_3529.jpeg

Wow thats fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
I actually have some seed that I bought two years ago but keep missing the timing to stratify.

I was wondering if you could share your process and method?

Also love to see the Stewertia! Is this the S. monodelpha from Seeds A Plenty also?

Hi Kelv,

The Stewartia are Monadelpha from Seeds a plenty too. Germination was lower (20%?) but I am happy with some germinating as I can eventually take cuttings too. I'll leave both pots in tact to see if I get more germinate next spring.

Korean Hornbeam seeds
I followed the instructions on the packet, probably got 50% germination so could have been better.

I started 3/5/2024, soaked the seeds in a cup of water for 24-48 hours.

I placed the seeds into a Ziplock sandwich bag with moist (not sopping wet) sphagnum moss and sat it on my kitchen bench for 30-60 days, whatever the packet said.

After warm stratification, I moved the seeds in the bag with sphagnum moss into the fridge for 60-90 days, again whatever the packet said.

After cold stratification, circa October 2024, I potted in fine, <2mm, bonsai mix (Akadama/Pumice) with some perlite added.

I'm not sure if it will matter but if your seeds are two years old, I'd buy some more as you have time before spring.

Hi Scott,

Thanks for sharing your experience with the seed and growing method, appreciate it. I definitely will be giving it a shot this year and might also give the C. laxiflora and Stewertia monodelpha a crack.

I saw some incredible S. monodelpha in Yakushima, Japan and would love to replicate the beauty.

Thanks again!

No worries.

I've heard that Stewartia doesn't do that well in our Australian summer heat so I'll be keen to see if I can get it to thrive.

Thanks Scott.
Makes a lot of sense as I've only seen them in cool, temperate and shady forests in southern Japan.
I think treating it like a Camellia sp. would work.

Kelv wrote: ↑March 26th, 2025, 9:35 pm Hi Scott,

Thanks for sharing your experience with the seed and growing method, appreciate it. I definitely will be giving it a shot this year and might also give the C. laxiflora and Stewertia monodelpha a crack.

I saw some incredible S. monodelpha in Yakushima, Japan and would love to replicate the beauty.

Thanks again!

I have a young laxiflora, leaf size is quite large and will need to be grown on to a bigger size tree IMO just keep that in mind.

Thanks Tim.
What are you observations regarding growth characteristics of the C. laxiflora?

Hard to make overarching statements as it's only a few years old. Seems good overall, internodes short enough for bonsai in the 5cm-ish range though no doubt will get much bigger if i let them run, seems resilient to Melbourne weather and happy enough under 50% shade cloth in summer, just the caterpillars as the only real pest issue. The leaf size is the big issue with it for me, it really is quite large so if you were looking to grow even Shohin size trees i would try to track down Korean Hornbeam rather than the Japanese.

I had what was sold as Korean hornbeam from Tien's years and years ago and i would jump all over it if i could find that species again. Laxiflora is interesting because it's rare but has the drawback.

Guesstimating if you were growing trees in the 50cm+ size that laxiflora would look good with a powerful trunk. Much shorter than that and i would be 100% erring towards Korean hornbeam.

Thanks Tim