Viburnum Burkwoodii bushes are some of my favorite bushes for Bonsai. In my first year of trying to be a Bonsai artist I would buy anything that had an unusual trunk and roots. I purchased two Burkwoodii at an end of the year sale for around $10 each. They interesting roots and crooked trunks on them. However many years later I realized that this was a mistake as the leaves were very large and the internodes between the leaves were very long. What to do, nothing! I left them alone and just watered them. I finally got up the courage and chopped back, way back and hoped for the best. Ha, they like to back bud. I let them bud out where ever and left them alone. A couple more years went buy and I chopped one of them again, the largest one. I then started on trying to reduce the leaves and internodes on the trees. It was then I realized my new technique was working out really well. So I continued using it to this day. I have created a page for reducing leaf and internodes sizes on all Viburnums here: Inter-node and Leaf size reduction technique. I had three Burkwoodii’s and I am now down to just two. I failed on my first attempt at potting the tallest one in a Bonsai pot. I apparently reduced the roots to much and the tree did not make it. My next attempts will be more conservative. These tree will turn a very dark vibrant red in the fall, in the spring they will beautiful white flowers that smell heavenly. Insects don’t seem to bother and bees love them. They are strong growers and easy to wire. My third tree I bought as a thin single trunk that split into two single branches and was loose in the pot. You are not suppose to buy any tree/bush that is loose in the soil, but I did anyway because I want to turn this Burkwoodii into a cascade. I brought the tree home and carefully wired the tree into its plastic pot so the tree would not move. This tree was wired latter to grow into a full cascade and on branch was being trained up for an apex. I cut this apex of this tree in the spring of 2020. I was now a full cascade for the rest of its  life. My Viburnum leaf and internode technique is being used on this tree several times a growing season. The spread on the cascade part of the tree is rather large now. The trunk has thickening up and is no longer straight anymore either. Another good reason to have Viburnums in your collection.

So go out and hunt for a nice Burkwoodii and in a few years you will have a very nice Bonsai tree and people will want to know all about it.

So here are my three Burkwoodii’s:

Viburnum Burkwoodii Bonsai Tree 1

Viburnum Burkwoodii Bonsai Tree 2

Viburnum Burkwoodii Bonsai Tree 3

Viburnum leaf beetle by Morton Arboretum  New 11-30-2020

Plant Clinic Tip: Protect Your Viburnums by Morton Arboretum  New 11-30-2020