Mystery Tree

Hello All! New to the Club. Please help me ID this tree. Amazing Bonsai tree, but hard to ID. Thanks in advance for your help!

Don't know what kind of tree is in the picture but that thing will take time to become any kind of bonsai.

M. Frary wrote:  Don't know what kind of tree is in the picture but that thing will take time to become any kind of bonsai.

Yes, this tree will take some time to grow into a proper Bonsai. If we can ID the tree, this will help us take care of it properly!

It's very hard to say from this pic. I'm trying to see if the leaves are alternate or opposite. Privet comes to mind or possible ornamental pear? A better pic/pics showing branch and stem would help. In LA it could even be a tropical/subtropical type, maybe a ficus?

It's a given, everything takes a long time. lol

RKatzin wrote:It's very hard to say from this pic. I'm trying to see if the leaves are alternate or opposite. Privet comes to mind or possible ornamental pear? A better pic/pics showing branch and stem would help. In LA it could even be a tropical/subtropical type, maybe a ficus?

It's a given, everything takes a long time. lol

Thank you. It looks like the tree has Privet-like leaves. Here are some more pictures.

i'm pretty new at this (a little over 3 years) and so i am probably missing something here or not seeing it correctly...
but what characteristics should i be looking for when you refer to this as an amazing tree ?

Looks like Privet to me. Probably L. sinensis.

JimLewis wrote:Looks like Privet to me.  Probably L. sinensis.

I believe the Ligustrum_sinense has a broader leaf than this tree. The leaf of this mystery tree is the look, shape and size of a Serissa ‘foetida’ leaf.

beer city snake wrote:i'm pretty new at this (a little over 3 years) and so i am probably missing something here or not seeing it correctly...
but what characteristics should i be looking for when you refer to this as an amazing tree ?

The Nebari/root-and-base structure is unique and could be made into a Sekijoju/root-over-rock Bonsai. The tree has Serissa (Snow Rose) - like leaves, and a long trunk that once replanted (plant back into the Earth to achieve thicker trunk development) into the ground, will form good Kokejun/taper. The bark is very, very unique. By maturing the trunks, formal Sokan/Twin-Trunk style will be highlighted. A lot of signs point to this tree being a Privet, but it is not. These are some reasons why this is an amazing tree.

These are similar trees with leafs like the mystery tree: Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), Inkberry (Ilex glabra)

right on... i noticed the cool root flare, but then my eye just kept going up up up   

and yeah putting it back in the ground seems like the way to go...
and then as one of my AAC compatriots would say "TRUNK CHOP"     
(yeah... brian "the chopper" !   )

i'm about to do my first trunk chop on a 3 legged green leaf japanese maple...
pretty nervous   

beer city snake wrote:right on... i noticed the cool root flare, but then my eye just kept going up up up   

and yeah putting it back in the ground seems like the way to go...
and then as one of my AAC compatriots would say "TRUNK CHOP"     
(yeah... brian "the chopper" !   )

i'm about to do my first trunk chop on a 3 legged green leaf japanese maple...
pretty nervous   

Trunk Chop indeed!

Very Cool Beer Snake about your GREEN LEAF JAPANESE MAPLE !  In a couple of months you should have a master piece ready to display its fall colors.  Good luck with this and post some pictures with your progress!

might take more than a couplafew months for a masterpiece   

but yeah - high hopes for that one...
it was grown in the ground for many years, and just came out this spring...
no root pruning done, just put in a good size container to get it acclimated before the ax falls   

will post some before pics when i get time
(that is when the sun stops shining   )

kevin

(snake is just a tag that stuck from the 1970s skateboard days and beer city is what milwaukee was once known as)