mixed trees

Can anyone tell me why you never see different trees planted together as bonsai,the reason i ask i have not yet seen in books or anywhere else.Sorry if the question is stupid,but it is one of those things that has been niggling me,you do see different trees side by side in the wild cheers steve

Hi Steve, Yes they are rare, I'll let others do the explaining on why or why not but here is one I found, not sure who created it.
Cheers
G

It's not common, but it is done. Arthur Joura at the NC Arboretum has some wonderful mixed plantings.

Here's one:

hi gman,thanks for reply,its the first time ive seen this and i think it looks great,so im going to look into it more and when i have gained more experience just might have a go

cheers jim, now i do like your photo very much,wish i owned one like it.

Two very nice examples. I think miced plantings are rare because of the difference in leaf size between species. This tends to blow the illusion of scale. The above prove it can be done.

The first picture is a mixed planting by Saburo Kato.

Mixed plantings are traditionally avoided because it is thought that the different species would require a different schedule of care, such as fertilizer, repotting, watering, etc.

Hi Billy,thanks for your reply,this is going to get me studying just to see what can be planted together,dont get me wrong i do not think i will be doing it,but i am enjoying looking up different aspects of bonsai and it is one big learning curve for me cheers steve

I caught this one of Arthur's last spring just before (or maybe after) the azaleas had bloomed. It is meant to represent the Blue Ridge Mountain landscapes when the Rhododendron are in bloom -- and really does the job. This is the pic I'd meant to post the first time.

Just love it Jim,it does give me food for thought thanks steve