Forgotten American hornbeam from nursery turned into a bonsai

David Easterbrook experiments with an American hornbeam cultivar called Palisade found at a local nursery. This specimen of Carpinus caroliniana had been long neglected but its redesign gave the tree a second life.
David also shows the difference between a Korean hornbeam and an American hornbean and why they can make fantastic bonsai.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

It was very exciting meeting you at the Toronto show David, my favorite book is even better now!! Thanks so much for the kind words and the autograph!🌲🌳🌴🌳🌲

[@BonsaiSociety]

I also enjoyed meeting you Nigel. You are so full of energy and personable!

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Can we see a cooperation in the future?

[@nicholasholmes3500]

Yes, lots of content on native material, please! Especially horticulture info and lessons.

[@miketabback2635]

I really enjoy when you show us how to take nursery stock and make something so beautiful. It gives us city dwellers hope.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Thanks Mike I'll do more

[@dmantaisi]

Love native material. Keep em coming! Greetings from Niagara Falls USA. Love your beautiful cat too!

[@BlueJayBonsai]

Thank you David. It was great meeting you at the Toronto show! Although I have a cat and dog, only the cat named Ruby keeps me company doing bonsai! 🐦💙

[@BonsaiSociety]

Teach Ruby to wire😂

[@thenaturecreater8906]

Thank you David and son. And not forget venus ♥️ just love this nursery stock finds 😀👍

[@BonsaiSociety]

The trio says thank you!

[@johnrb9397]

Yes thank you David enjoying the change in tack.

[@BonsaiSociety]

There is a season for everything now it's back to natives!

[@debbiefine2756]

I have a cat that loves to play in my bonsai garden. She watches me and plays with the wire and tools as I work. I really enjoy your channel thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Hello to you and your loyal companion Debbie

[@jesseasher7520]

I found your channel via Nigel's video at the show! I'm amazed it hadn't shown up in my KZbin recommendations as I have been thoroughly enjoying watching your videos and demonstrations, you have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share, so thankyou! :)

[@BonsaiSociety]

Hello Jesse thank you so much for the feedback! My channel is fairly new so maybe it just needs a little more maturity before it starts showing up in more KZbin recommendations. I'm sure the comments, likes and subscribes really help with the algorithm

[@hyperionhelios190]

What a wonderful tree David. Nick, great videography, great production!

[@BonsaiSociety]

The tree was a great find. Don't hesitate to go out there to find trees with potential in your local nurseries. Nick says thank you!

[@mhjyahoo]

Yes! to more native species!! And thank you, you're a joy to watch and listen to.

[@jarvisalden9019]

I love the native trees series. Keep it coming!

[@ginettecharbonneau5814]

So happy to have you as a representative of Bonsai in Montreal...I am a beginner an I learn so much from you and love Nigel and your cute cat...Will try to get in a course at the Botanical Garden I hope to see you in person.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Merci Ginette votre commentaire me fait chaud au coeur

[@patriciatatich3014]

Yes…please continue using nursery stock in your videos that are suitable for bonsai in the northern zones. Great demo…thank you.

[@dunker982]

Hello from the UK. Great watching you work on all your trees David. Looking forward to more natives.Hope you show this hornbeam being repotted in the spring. Agree they make really good bonsai.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Bonsai artists from every country should be using their own native trees for bonsai. We'll try to make a repotting video of that one

[@jonathanaristone2468]

I did exactly the same as you and found an American Hornbeam with a dead top. They are wonderful trees to work with and respond well to Bonsai development.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Glad we had a similar experience

[@angelo.guglielmo]

Thanks David. I like a lot your videos.

[@a.k.h.channel]

Thank you for sharing a bonsai Mr good luck

[@Nagatoshinra]

Loved watching you working on the tree. I would love to see this bonsai with new leaves. Thank you for such a great video.

[@BonsaiSociety]

You'll see updates of it in the spring for sure!

[@denhardy7238]

As always a very well executed video again,well done. Dennis 😊

[@gobonsai811]

Always waiting for the next video of yours, please keep continue... so much thing to learn in each of them

[@BonsaiSociety]

Merci d'être fidèle au poste Richard

[@TonysBonsai]

Nice video Dave. It was good that you showed how big the initial tree was. Keep up the good work!

[@BonsaiSociety]

Thank you for the feedback I kept that part just for the demo

[@arnoldmmbb]

We all love Nigel hes such a kind person!!

[@stephanhapon]

Ficus Friday !

[@Bonsaiandknives]

Thanks for that Video David. I‘m working with native trees for Bonsai since more than 20 years. The reason I‘m choosing native trees is that they can stay outside in winter without any protection.

[@BonsaiSociety]

That's a very valid reason. Just watch out for field mouse damage over winter

[@Bonsaiandknives]

@@BonsaiSociety My trees will stay in the bonsai pots which I dig in the ground.

[@bilalkassem1443]

Always nice to see david! So lucky to learn from this legend.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Thanks for watching Bilal. Hello to you and your daughter!

[@richarddetriquet9642]

Thank you David for a nice video. I find the videos with native species wonderful and would appreciate more. I would really enjoy watching your techniques with Bald Cypress, Beech, Serviceberry, Maple and perhaps Persimmon

[@conspiraterry7393]

Great video and yes thank you Nigel for your filming the Toronto show, so enjoyable. I would love to see you work on a beech. I live on Beech St, collected 3 young from a near by woods, chopped and plopped in to the ground for a few years, potted them up for a few, 2 died and the one that remains is so cool, with branching only at the top w/ one low branch, thinking literati style. No hornbeam yet, must find one!

[@guywatson-bognorregisbonsa7370]

I can totally understand the requirement for tropical tree work in climates where you have such extremes of weather conditions so that bonsai creations can continue in indoor plant rooms and the like during the colder periods of the year but here in the UK our Winters are not so severe so we can normally continue with native tree work throughout the year and as such I am all in in favour of seeing more of your native tree operations and I do thank you for that. 😀😀

[@BonsaiSociety]

I really don't have that many tropical trees anymore. I used to have a warm greenhouse but I moved to a new place and I wasn't able to get permits. So imagine trying to keep a few hundred tropicals in a house or having to pay to get them babysitted. Impossible. I'm glad you like the native material there will be a lot more coming up

[@FrostBiteBonsai]

I found you through Nigel as well! That is a great find that tree! Great show, adorable cat! I no longer have cats, I do have a dog currently, he is part of, around or interrupting most of my videos! Haha! I will catch up on more videos once I get winter layoff from work... If I get one this year. Lots of construction locally with the new highway twinning.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Start catching up right now because there are more on the way🙌🏼

[@catabaticanabatic3800]

Great video. Some more nursery/ garden salvage work would indeed be nice. Thanks.

[@alessandromassimo5717]

I love hornbeans

[@BonsaiSociety]

So do I :)

[@lisainpalmdesert]

Your cat is beautiful! Great demonstration!

[@dadgum5648]

Just wanted to say that I'm one of the people that found your channel through Nigel! i am brand new to the world of bonsai and it is so cool seeing how differently you and him approach this art.

[@BonsaiSociety]

There is room for everyone in the bonsai world🌎

[@peterzukof7942]

Really enjoyed this work in Hornbeam. I got my fist hornbeam dappling last winter and it had a fabulous first year. Love how the branch and After seeing your video I’m excited to get some more of mature stock to work on. Would love to see more native trees!

[@BonsaiSociety]

I'll be working on native trees a lot this winter so don't go too far

[@derralfields]

very much enjoyed this demo. fabulous!

[@turvalisus]

Thank you for movie! If you have a couple more forgotten trees lying around, then I would love to see a new video about working on it.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Don't worry many more awesome specimens will be transformed

[@birder4life999]

I've been watching both you and Nigel for quite a while now, it was really cool to see the cross over of your two channels. On another note, that Montreal botanical gardens collection is what got me interested in bonsai. In 1999 or 2000 my parents took us there on vacation I remember looking at a larch forest and a large very old pine. I instantly became obsessed. Took me about 20 years to actually start my own collection, but have been keeping trees in pots and such since then with unfocused plans for making them into bonsai. Finally decided I wouldn't learn without trying! Thank you for sharing some h information and so many beautiful trees

[@BonsaiSociety]

I'm glad you were inspired by the bonsai collection at the Montreal Botanical garden. Keep on watching videos but most importantly put all that knowledge into practice making bonsai🙏🏻

[@BonsaiCornwall]

Definitely interested on more native species work! 💚 thanks as always 🪴

[@mattbrennan647]

That’s some fine work David. As a rule I try to work with native material. (I’m tired of killing off the exotics). This beauty has some awesome potential. Thanks for the inspiration. Thanks, keep growing

[@BonsaiSociety]

I think natives are the way to go!

[@doodledixie52]

Loved your video! I'm working on an American Elm currently so I was interested to see how you transitioned the top. I was surprised when you cut off the dead trunk instead of working it into a jin for the piece. I have been trying to find such a specimen to try. Great job and love your teaching all the way through. Thank you!

[@BonsaiSociety]

Generally with deciduous trees we don't make deadwood because it tends to rot very quickly

[@doodledixie52]

@@BonsaiSociety thank you!

[@kimberlyduncan1053]

I learn so much from you. Love the native tree information. Thank you for your time! (I'm a cat person.)

[@BonsaiSociety]

Maybe you can start watching the videos with your cat and we'll try to include more segments of Venus

[@stevephillips6973]

Hey Dave. That hornbeam is well on its way to being a very nice bonsai! Gonna be similar to your beautiful example when it's done. Tall and elegant. I'm not really into tropicals and pretty much all my trees are collected trees or from nurseries so I prefer this type of video. Thanks!

[@BonsaiSociety]

Glad we're on the same page Steve!

[@Chris-oq6kn]

Great video dave! Love the history and info u teach us. Glad i found this channel. Soo much more to learn. Dont stop making videos!

[@BonsaiSociety]

Thanks Chris I've been doing bonsai for a long time and I will keep on spreading the knowledge. Hopefully Nick will have enough time to produce more of these for you guys

[@Chris-oq6kn]

@@BonsaiSociety oh ive heard 🤣 around 45 50 years. Thats a long time and who better for us to learn from but the people who spent soo long in this hobby. I just started 5 years ago and sucking up all the knowledge i possibly can get. Im addicted and dont feel like its ever going to go away anytime soon. Glad i have one more person to look forward to watching that has all this experience. Thanks chris from NYC

[@BridgeCityBonsai2]

Very nice material!

[@pankajbawiskar3086]

Thanks for sharing this. I'm from India. I love to see ur native trees work hope one day I also have such kind of trees

[@BonsaiSociety]

You have hundreds of species that have a potential as bonsai in India so make full use of it. There's one called Adina rubella that you should try

[@pankajbawiskar3086]

@@BonsaiSociety thanks sir David I will definitely in search of it from today .thanks for ur precious comment.

[@donaldslovey338]

That was awesome yes I'd like to see more.

[@janisgriffith2919]

That was great! I would like to see more videos of this hornbeam in the future, such as the spring repot and pruning over the months/years. I live in Virginia and have hornbeams that I dug from my woods 12 years ago. I notice you left some growth on each branch you cut back, so I assume that is to pull the auxins to the tip, because cutting back to a dormant bud would weaken the branch. ?? The fact that hornbeams and beeches are “one flush trees” makes me hesitant to shorten their branches during the growing season. Videos of work on new deciduous material is very helpful. So, more on hornbeams and beeches and hardy elms (and azaleas as pre-bonsai) would be wonderful to see.

[@BonsaiSociety]

I will do something on native elms! It's always better to leave a branch or leaves to pull the sap to the end of the branch. As for you question regarding cutting away branches during the growing season, it's preferable to do it in early spring

[@AmgadMedhat]

Actually, my cat likes to annoy me when I work on my bonsai. But I secretly love it.

[@juanhierbabuena]

A very good class! Thanks!

[@stevecaspers8540]

Thanks David, very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge and many years experience with bonsai. Would love to see more videos with native material. I am in Minnesota and have rekindled my interest in growing small trees since retiring a couple year ago. Have you tried working with Jack Pine?

[@BonsaiSociety]

Hello Steve! I've often created Jack pine bonsai they are a bit harder to grow then Japanese pines but are well worth the effort

[@bastiv7806]

Definitely I am a cat person. I love it when our cats join the Bonsai work. They make Bonsai Work even more relaxing. And Yes! Bring on the native stuff

[@heidizwaenepoel7355]

With me, it’s my dog which keeps me company when I’m gardening or workin on my trees. The cat stays indoors. An I would love to seeing more videos on native, deciduous trees. Eventhough we’re an ocean apart, we have the same species of trees and shrubs. Always looking forward to seeing new material 👍🏼 thank you

[@siglec1]

Would be so interesting to see developing of this tree and what work will you do with it in the future

[@hamiltonholmesinc]

Love the native material work. I grabbed a hornbeam this summer from a nursery and it was a very similar experience. Can't wait to see it preform next year. With all the work that your tree (and mine) experienced this fall, how will you repot in the spring? Will you convert it over to lava rock etc? Or keep it in it's nursery soil? Or a mix of both? Love your IG posts and happy to have subscribed today to the KZbin!

[@BonsaiSociety]

I'll remove about half of the bottom of the root ball and make 3 or 4 pie-shaped wedges with the remaining root ball and fill all the remaining space with fast draining bonsai soil. Also it will be potted into a Japanese training pot

[@hamiltonholmesinc]

@@BonsaiSociety OK that's good to know. I always worry about over stressing the tree, but I also know that when the canopy is greatly reduced, the root ball should also be reduced right? Can you elaborate on what the Japanese training pot it? Is it terracotta? Not a regular bonsai pot right?

[@BonsaiSociety]

@@hamiltonholmesinc Yes by Japanese training pot I mean a high-quality terracotta pot or a Tokoname training pot. These low and round pots are specially made to encourage a spreading root structure and they provide good drainage

[@davidcadle6463]

Thanks for another great video, I love seeing native species being used for bonsai. I would to see more videos on native species. I live in the eastern United States (WV), but I think we share alot of the same native species. There is not much info on such species. I know you have a video on a dwarf Canadian hemlock but I love to see more about how to handle the species. Like a collected or just a normal non dwarf hemlock and any nuance's they have. Other species I think deserve more attention as bonsai is the American beech!!, the native hawthorn, hophornbeam, VA. Pine, pitch pine, eastern white pine, basically any natives that you think have good potential for bonsai.😃 Talking about natives gets me excited, if you couldn't tell.😆 Thanks again.

[@BonsaiSociety]

Amazing! I'm glad there is a demand for native bonsai content

[@MrDoggy2024]

Beautiful naturaly trunk line ,after 10 or 15 year making beautiful trunk tapper

[@BonsaiSociety]

It took 30 years to grow that trunk but the new leader will catch up quite quickly

[@jeffdowswell7706]

I have one I put in the ground to grow larger. It's been about 5 years. From pencil Suze to maybe 2 inches at base. Can't wait to dig it and get to work on it. It's next to a birch I'm doing the same to. I wired them when I put them in the ground to give a little shape to them. Forgot the wire years ago. Now it hidden inside the tree. But it's given them some interesting texture. Especially the birch.

[@BonsaiSociety]

You should wire the tree and then once you remove it plant it in the ground because otherwise it bites in too fast and it leaves unsightly scars

[@bobcatbonsai]

Amazing work David. I cannot believe how some of those branches still came back a bit even with the 5mm wire. Iron wood is definitely a suitable name! I have 2 barn cats that come and hang out with me while I'm working. My dogs just lay up by my house and wait for me to come back.

[@lorigraham2496]

Thanks for the vid. I'm working on a Hornbeam about the same size with a straighter trunk. The top chop isn't callousness over, but the tree is very healthy. P.S. I'm a dog person. My little terrier hides her marrow bones in some of my bigger pots. I guess I'm growing "bone-sai". Maybe a little calcium is helpful?

[@BonsaiSociety]

I like terriers I used to have one when I was a child. Sweet memories. Thanks for watching Lori

[@WGH-ef5ze]

Native is great. Enjoyed it very much

[@justynamaek]

Great idea to cover more native species and great video! I have learned much from it. I think all who watch Nigel Saunders' YT channel love the guy. He is so positive and passionate about the bonsai and life in general. I have 3 young cats, which give my bonsai material too much attention, digging in the pots and gnawling on leaves and twigs sometimes. Have to keep them separately at all times. 😅 Greetings from Poland! - we also have one native hornbeam species: Carpinus betulus L.

[@creightonfreeman8059]

I'm going to have to try hornbeam. The only deciduous trees I have at the moment are Ginko and Maple....and Ficus if you count tropicals. I have a nice American Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) in development that is native to the Eastern U.S. and Canada. I haven't seen anybody else use them for bonsai, maybe because the needles are a bit long until they settle into the pot for a few years. No longer than Japanese Black Pine though.....

[@BonsaiSociety]

I have a video of an emergency repotting of a Pinus strobus on my KZbin channel if you're curious to see it kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXzRnWePerJ0btU

[@nellynel305]

Amazing. You a master 👍

[@kwieting]

I liked this video about native trees. I’m from northeastern Wisconsin - not too dissimilar from Quebec in terms of native species. Yes, I would love to see more videos about northern native trees, especially recently collected material, like larches, thuja, beech or any other native trees you might think have bonsai potential. I’m coming from a beginner perspective - collecting and then hoping to develop and grow. Love your channel and have been a fan ever since I discovered it a few months ago.

[@andoionutdan9670]

love it thanks for shareing

[@mcbabs7495]

Votre travail est très intéressant, un grand merci à vous pour le partage de votre expérience!

[@BonsaiSociety]

Intéressant ou bien inintéressant! Merci énormément😂🙏🏻

[@mcbabs7495]

​@@BonsaiSociety Intéressant bien sûr! Excusez moi pour le bégaiement.

[@wellbonsaicollection]

nice bonsai

[@bangjabrig2955]

I love Hombeans. Beautiful....jabrig..Indonesia...thangs..

[@jerezindraj9149]

Hi David. I Love Hornbeam Trees For Making Them Into Bonsai's. David When Are You Going To Do A Video On Bonsai Tools? Thank You.

[@iPheek]

Can you do a video on collecting material and the recovery?

[@BonsaiSociety]

I'll do one in the spring

[@user-uo2qr9eh9w]

Hello from Montreal. Great idea to show native trees. I got a “service berry” tree ( bad name, but in French it is called “amélanchier” ) I hope it will survive the somewhat mild weather we are getting till now. It is outside in a large pot. Can’t wait to see what kind of bonsai it will turn into. Do you know that tree?

[@CharlieForeign]

Yes please work on more native material to the PNW!

[@harrietb2141]

Love it😍

[@johnpugh5867]

Hi David I live in the UK but some of your native species are similar to ours so keep it up not many in UK use native species so more native ones please

[@BonsaiSociety]

Hey John glad you found this relatable!! Cheers🇬🇧

[@joelreyes8329]

Thank you for the free class David. Have you potted that tree to shallow training pot as well or wait for spring season to work on the rootball?

[@BonsaiSociety]

You're welcome it will have to wait for spring

[@tomekeziowski4293]

I look forward to see some more natives. I'm from Europe but there are similar to northamerican species. I have a three cats

[@BonsaiSociety]

Thanks Tomek more on the way

[@mmjnice97]

More native material!!! I tend to collect a lot of my little projects because the tend to bounce back from collection and re-potting easily.. and when it comes to saplings they are plentiful!! I have lots of silver maples, red maple and sweetgum trees that I'm developing into bonsai and if there are younger you can easily collect them off session with very little die-back maybe just the leaves dieing back with a set of smaller leaves afterwards.. wouldn't try with material older then a few years old tho.. happy hunting!!!

[@BonsaiSociety]

Awesome! Sweetgum trees can I ask you where you are from?

[@lougriffiths]

Definitely more native trees

[@BonsaiSociety]

Well noted

[@TeamFishweights]

Nice video thanks! We're dog and goat people. The goats are locked far away from the bonsai 😆

[@BonsaiSociety]

I hope so because they can jump on your bonsai tables. Not compatible😂😅

[@railfan100]

I see many young american beech trees in the woods near me.....Would this make a good bonsia specimen?

[@rogerboucher1913]

Hi David Very good information in there. What is the French name of that tree?

[@BonsaiSociety]

Merci Roger il s'agit d'un charme de Caroline

[@rogerboucher1913]

@@BonsaiSociety quel beau nom!

[@andreasweber1533]

I'm a cat person, but allergic to their hair. So I'm restricted to molesting other people's cats when I meet them. I'll risk the itchy palms I get, but not hair all over my place ... Here in Germany I mostly use species outdoors that I somehow "happen to find", so to speak. That's mostly plants that are either indigineous or naturalized in these parts (European hornbeam, field maple, privet, pyracantha/firethorn ...), although I can also collect dawn redwood seeds a few hundred meters away and ginkgo nuts a few hundred further.

[@BonsaiSociety]

You're lucky to have access to so much material. It means you have a promising future in bonsai

[@leoi3031]

Missed some key info, how much did the tree cost?

[@DMBVR4]

Update on this tree please

[@jtkruk]

Yes ! Please more native species.

[@mmjnice97]

Where is your home base located because all my hornbeam have already turned redish yellow and dropped most of their leaves.. I live in south west Ohio close to Cincinnati.. although the hornbeam in the micro climate of Cincinnati still has quite a few leaves left on them,. I guess it's just a matter of tree to tree genetics... and you just answered my question as I'm Watching your video lol.. I guess you do have one of those northern accents..

[@BonsaiSociety]

I am based in Montreal, Canada

[@a.m.graham6120]

Cats dominate my bonsai area!😊

[@user-wx3cr5tr4d]

很棒

[@soberhippie]

That branch that grew between the dead and the live trunks comes off at a weird angle. I'd probably cut it off. I'd probably go as far as cut the trunk below that bulge near that weird-angled branch in the hope that the tree would produce a new leader. But that's not my tree, though

[@BonsaiSociety]

The bulge is where the new trunk was rubbing against the original trunk and that branch growing downwards is also a result of that. Try to retain natural features on your bonsai even if they aren't always beautiful

[@PhilipHaughey]

When do I remove the wire

[@tcsadt]

Native material is all I am interested.

[@andrewsalhany5665]

Native material is the best material 😀

[@BonsaiSociety]

Agreed

[@sharonbuckley4591]

How about working on some native elms

[@guilhermeschenadeoliveira5647]

🍃🌱🇧🇷

[@whowhatwhenwhyhow9265]

Bengal cat

[@Bigninjon]

Yep dogo person, she keeps the squirrels out of my trees

[@BonsaiSociety]

The cats keep the mice from eating my trees. Our squirrels are well behaved around my backyard

[@steampunkvampyre]

dont lick your fingers

[@erickvarela2777]

I am watching your video to look at a Hornbeam being worked on! If I wanted to know about an annoying alley cat, I would look at cat videos! Just advice, I am here to look at a tree, not an annoying cat breed! Otherwise the tree is awesome ! Hate the annoying f..g cat!!! It was VERY distracting to hear you when their is a whining alley cat! Fyi.

[@BonsaiSociety]

You don't sound very zen for someone that wants to learn bonsai Erick

[@erickvarela2777]

@@BonsaiSociety does anybody need to like cats to be Zen and love the Art of Bonsai!? Look your trees and videos are great! But I f..g hate when cat lovers try to inject the love of cats on a video that is completely off topic!!! Stay in topic! If you want to make a video about your cat all day…. Have at it! Not all of us are cat lovers! I f..g hate them! They are selfish, egotistical, and attention seekers! I’d rather stay with my passion for trees!

[@erickvarela2777]

@@BonsaiSociety I will unsubscribe! I f..g hate cats!

[@howardmckeown7187]

do you like cats?