Driftwood planting

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.

In general, use the same plants as that deadwood. You can find Olive or some type of juniper. Easiest is to buy some small juniper and attach it to deadwood. Where are you in Macedonia ?
And finally POZDRAV IZ BEOGRADA :wink:

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Pozdrav druze!

I have no idea what that wood is, it was meant for an aquarium. But I don’t think that matters. A tree growing in deadwood probably just means there’s a lot of density in the forest, so it’ll be heterogeneous in terms of species. That’s why my mind went to native deciduous like Beech, Hornbeam or Field Maple. I’m not really trying to create a tanuki, if that’s what you thought.

I think second best would be tropicals. I’m thinking specifically of those stranger figs that wrap themselves around another tee and end up killing the tree and growing in its deadwood. I have like three ficuses that I could use for that.

I’m from Skopje btw.

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It is a great piece to use for a tanuki graft. You could use a couple of yew saplings. It would look like an old tree within a couple of years.

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Eh, you’re probably right. I’ve never tried tanuki but that would probably be a better use for this wood. Thanks!

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Hi,i have planted sabina on in with pyracantha