Hey guys. I just got this piece of driftwood that I think would be great for a multi tier planting, with possibly several trees, or one tree with different other minor plants growing as well. I want the whole scene to be representative of the species’ environment, so if it were a native beech, I’d choose native supporting plants as well. Or if it were a tropical, I’d choose other tropicals.
My question is which species would be suitable for this? I’ve seen deciduous trees taking root in deadwood here before and I have a trident maple that could fir the bill, but I’m more partial to my local flora here in Macedonia (probably beech or oak, or maybe olive). But also, I have no conifers at all, and was wondering if maybe a conifer would grow in these conditions as well (and which one if so). I also have several ficuses that I could use for this, but I think dead trees in the tropics just rot, so not sure if that’s the correct path.
Keep in mind I’m in Europe, so I don’t have access to any American species at all. I do have Japanese Maples and Tridents though. Hornbeam, Beech, Birch and Oak are the most common trees here, and Mediterranean species do well too (Olive and Pomegranate), and obviously fruiting trees are widely available. Of conifers, Cedar, Fir and Spruce seem to thrive the most, as well as some upright junipers. All our pines have really long needles so not the best for bonsai. There’s also landscaping junipers that I can easily acquire that aren’t native (Sabina and Procumbens), as well as Mugo pine.
Other than this, I’m wondering if I need to treat the wood in some way so it withstands constant watering. It’s aquarium wood so it’s likely already been treated, but ij wanna know my options.