The Bonsai Garden at Miami Tropical Bonsai Nursery

On July 24, 2011, members of the Bonsai Society of Southwest Florida took a bus trip to the East coast to visit Miami Tropical Bonsai. The nursery is a family-owned and operated bonsai nursery located in the Redlands, South Florida's largest and most diverse farming district. The nursery has elegant bonsai trees from around the world that have been styled by professional bonsai artists. You can buy a wide variety of finished and pre-bonsai trees and will be provided with the proper plant care information and supplies to get you started enjoying bonsai.

The Bonsai Garden at Miami Tropical Bonsai Nursery

Bonsai is the art of growing trees which are kept small by being grown in a pot and by the use of skilled pruning. Bonsai are formed to create an aesthetic shape and the illusion of a large, mature tree on a miniature scale. The bonsai on display at this nursery are magnificent, jaw-dropping examples of bonsai. It’s a real treat and an inspiration to see such beautiful trees.

Club members enter the nursery grounds.

Ed Trout, standing in the middle of the group, will be giving a styling demonstration on a Ficus Retusa later in the morning.

Justin has already chosen a tree to take home with him.

Phil and Judy are discussing the trees.

The most beautiful bonsai trees are front and center at the nursery.

A  mature Shimpaku Juniper bonsai.
 It is a slow-growing evergreen shrub with needles that are soft to the touch. It is a very popular bonsai subject.

An Australian Pine bonsai

Australian Pine is now outlawed in many parts of Florida due to its invasive nature, rapid growth rate, and non-native status. It is not a true pine tree and is not related to the pines. A straight, upright tree, it possesses rough, fissured, dark gray bark. Australian Pine has what appear to be long, soft, gray/green needles but these "needles" are actually multi-jointed branchlets, the true leaves being rather inconspicuous.

Cindy and Greg are viewing the many trees in the nursery. There are rows and rows of trees on tables behind them

A row of exquisite bonsai

A Bougainvillea bonsai

Bougainvillea, named for a French navigator, is a native of South America and is grown extensively in the warmer climates of the United States. The colorful, papery "blooms" are not flowers; they are bracts. The true flower is white, trumpet shaped and almost unnoticeable within the bracts.

A Hackberry bonsai

The Hackberry is part of the elm family and is a deciduous tree. It grows well in full sun and requires daily watering during the summer. It is suitable for most bonsai styles.

Sandra and John in front of a very large bonsai

A Green Island Ficus bonsai

These featured trees are absolutely magnificent. I’ve never seen a Green Island Ficus as large and as beautifully formed as this one. It has shiny dark green leaves which are thicker than the standard ficus leaf but thinner than the jade leaf. It develops a thick trunk and aerial roots at a relatively early age.

Judy likes the Green Island Ficus, too.

A Pond Cypress bonsai

 It has very soft textured, fine, needle-like, green foliage. It will grow to its staked height and then cascade downward. It generally grows in isolated, shallow ponds and poorly drained areas where water is still or slow moving. It is considered a variety of Bald Cypress.

A Ficus Forest

Ficus is a very popular evergreen tree. It has elongated light green leaves, heavy trunks and a full canopy. You can see that the canopy is pruned to show “clouds” of ficus leaves.

Gail and Jim brought a picnic lunch to eat on the nursery grounds.

A Buttonwood bonsai

The trunk’s dead wood is treated to make it stand out, giving the tree the appearance of age or exposure to harsh conditions or severe weathering, such as lightning damage.

A Tamarind bonsai

The foliage is bright green, dense, pinnate and feathery in appearance. The leaflets close at night.

A Procumbens Nana Juniper in a cascade style

This dwarf Juniper from Japan is the most popular evergreen in the U.S. When we think of a traditional bonsai and what it should look like, we think of a "Juniper Procumbens Nana." This impressive, trouble-free evergreen is an excellent tree for bonsai.

A Podocarpus bonsai

Old Podocarpus bonsai are impressive with their stately elegance. Although trunk and bark formation always takes quite a few years, Podocarpus growth is fast-growing in sunny areas. Their evergreen leaves are similar in formation and shape to yews, although Podocarpus leaves are larger. Just in case you were wondering how valuable these beautiful bonsai are, this Podocarpus costs $30,000.

A Fukien Tea bonsai

Fukien Tea is a tropical shrub originating in Southern China and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is very popular for bonsai in China and can be grown outdoors in warm climates like Florida’s.

A Ficus bonsai

There are over 600 species of ficus. The leaves on a ficus branch are simple and alternating, and because they grow rapidly, they are good candidates for directional pruning. They thrive in our climate, and it’s possible, with this tree, for the experienced grower AND the beginner to create some great-looking bonsai.

The Ficus Retusa for Ed Trout's Demo

The Ficus Retusa is also known as Banyan Fig and Taiwan Ficus. It has small dark green leaves which alternate up the stem. The trunk is grey to reddish, dotted with small tiger like flecks. The Ficus Retusa stands out for its heavy trunk-like roots which are exposed to the air.

Ed Trout is the consummate bonsai artist and advocate. He has been active in bonsai organizations for many years and has held the highest offices on the local, state, national and international levels. He has shown trees and won awards for his trees in a number of prestigious exhibitions. He has also written numerous articles for various bonsai publications and traveled extensively to lecture and teach his art. He is a passionate ambassador for the art of bonsai, and he never refuses a request to share his expertise with our club, as he is doing this morning. The demo tree that Ed will be styling is a Ficus Retusa.

Ed removes unnecessary branches.

Ed finds the skeleton of the tree

Ed describes what he is doing as he goes along.

Jim and Dave are an appreciative audience.

Ed wires the tree into the shape that he wants it to grow.

Ed continues with the wiring.

Ed first made a drawing of the tree in the shape he wanted it to be when he finished. 

The drawing is pretty close to the finished product, isn’t it?

Ed has an attentive audience.

Ed's finished tree.
Beautiful, Ed.

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