Blackbrush Bonsai

I’ve been doing some searching recently for Mojave Desert native plants that would be serviceable for bonsai. Enter Coleogyne ramosissima. This bush has tiny leaves, flowers, is long-lived, and has awesome gnarled bark. While researching this bush I stumbled upon this website that had invaluable information: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/colram/all.html

Within the link it explains that these bushes typically grow in areas where caliche impedes deep roots, and that the majority of the root mass is below the plant within 4″ – 12″. This is a realistically collectable species. What is also great news is that these are everywhere and commonly bulldozed around where I live. Perfect, a trash tree has now become my treasure. Hopefully they’re easier to collect than the California Junipers that also fit that bill.

Here are a couple that I scouted out while I was looking for the best candidates to pick out for the next appropriate collecting time.

Hopefully I’ll be able to grab a few good ones this next Spring or late Summer.