On the same day last August that Annah and I had traveled to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, we also visited the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at the Como Zoo.

"The Bonsai Gallery honors a Japanese art. Bonsai, pronounced bone-sigh, means “tree in a pot.” It is an art form with origins that go back more than 2000 years to the ancient Orient.

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory houses the largest Bonsai collection in the upper Midwest. The collection represents donations and loans from companies, individuals and organizations." ¹

It was delightful to see so many wonderful bonsai specimens on display and they even allowed us to photograph them. Below are photographs of each tree with their name and age listed.

Bonsai Exhibit at the Como Zoo Conservatory in August of 2007
Acer Palmatum "Japanese Maple" (26 years old)
Punica granatum "Pomegranate" (25 years old)
Thuja occidentalis "White Cedar" (47 years old)
Juniperus chinensis "Chinese Juniper" (25 years old)
(Ulmus parvifolia "Chinese Elm" [80 years])
Carpinus coreana "Korean Beech" (35 years old)
Ficus benjamina "Weeping Fig" (50+ years old)
Juniperus chinensis "San Jose Juniper" (50 years old)
Chamaecyparis obtusa "Hinoki Cypress" (55 years old)
Taxodium distichum "Baldcypress" (20 years old)
Ulmus parvifolia "Chinese Elm" (30 years old)
Ficus nitida "Fig" (30 years old)
Juniperus Chinensis "Juniper" (26 years old)
Juniperus virginiana "Eastern Red Cedar" (35 years old)
Ginkgo biloba "Ginkgo" (40 years old)
After seeing all of the wonderful bonsai on display, we visited the gift shop and found two beautiful Serissa foetida 'Pink Princess' for sale. I purchased a 5-year-old tree and Annah purchased a 4-year-old tree (see pictures below). They grew beautifully for about three to four months, but then Annah's Serissa got sick from some sort of pest or disease and perished rather quickly. In an effort to nurse it back to health, I brought it to the same room as my Serrisa (for what reason I'm not entirely sure) and my blooming beauty soon perished as well.

(My Serissa foetida)
(Annah's Serissa foetida)
In addition to this purchase, I had also purchased two Pachira aquatica ("Braided Money Tree") bonsai, and a Murraya paniculata ("Orange Jessamine") from the online store Bonsai Boy with all of them looking wonderful upon arrival. My Money Tree is a healthy and vibrant plant, but it seems as though spider mites have attacked Annah's Money Tree, so it has been quarantined and is going through the process of being nursed back to health. We will see if it survives. Added after the original post: The Murraya paniculata did not adjust well to the conditions I was giving it and died within about eight weeks and so we unfortunately never got to see the flowers bloom on it.

The only other "bonsais" that we own are two Ficus retusa ("Ginseng Ficus") from Walgreen's and another from Wal-Mart. (See our post on them to see pictures and some information.)

Growing true bonsai is rather difficult and requires a great deal of skill and knowledge about how to take care of them properly. Apparently Annah and I do not yet have that kind of skill or knowledge, but we can still admire the beauty and magnificence of the bonsais at the Conservatory and elsewhere.

Sources:

¹ http://www.comozooconservatory.org/cons/index.shtml

Photo Credits: Jordan and Annah

(My work Ficus retusa.)
The Ficus retusa or "Ginseng Ficus" (or even Ficus microcarpa var. nitida) is a type of ficus which has very bulbous roots that form a shape similar to ginger roots which give them their common name. It is native to Malaysia and Taiwan. They are easy plants to grow since they require low amounts of light, can be watered once weekly, and have so far seemed to be resistant to bugs, other than the one I have at home.

My work Ficus retusa is a very nice plant. I purchased it from Wal-Mart for a relatively cheap price. It has so far survived for more than three months. The one thing that bothers me with the arrangement of this plant are the giant rocks that have been glued together in the pot that I purchased it in. One day when I need to repot this plant I will need to take a hammer to those rocks and hopefully not kill the plant in the process.


(Annah's delightful Ficus retusa.)
Annah's Ficus retusa from Walgreen's sits calmly on the kitchen table and has nice dark green colored leaves and is a delightful plant to be around while eating.

My Ficus retusa had a brief encounter with some nasty spider mites, but thankfully a few sprayings of Safer's Insecticidal Soap seems to have eradicated their attempted colonization. It is also from Walgreen's and is exactly the same as the picture above but it is in a blue pot. (I don't have a picture at the moment, but when I get one it will be posted.)

Photo Credits: Jordan and Annah.