Charlie Brown christmas tree. Are there Christmas tree bonsais?

Japanese Maple. Had one by the front door of the house I grew up in. Reminds me of my childhood home.

Birch!

They’re just so beautiful!

Love me a magnolia tree

Delonix regia, the original flamboyant.

Yew, so many are really old and have a mystical air to them.

Being the most common tree in America doesn’t make the sycamore any less awesome.

They’re big and their canopy is lush. Their limbs are all twisty and knobbly. They’ve got huge leaves that sound amazing blowing in the wind or crunching underfoot. The colloquialism for their seedpods is hilarious and the pods themselves are almost as cool as sweetgum seed pods.

Just some great trees all around.

Eucalyptus. Houses koalas, smells nice, is sturdy, and has a chance to explode when on fire due to the oil inside.

I’m going to go with white oak. The wood is very versatile; it’s strong enough for load bearing furniture, it’s hard enough for tabletops, it steam bends quite nicely, it’s just a joy to work with, looks wonderful under an oil finish, and it lends a nice flavor to whiskey.

Dogwood. Hidden away under the canopy, reaching out and up to find sunshine in the PNW rain forest. Beautiful white spring flowers.

After leaving my beloved PNW when I was 12 to move to smoggy searing Los Angeles and missing the green and rain for 45 years, I’m back. We just bought a dogwood for the backyard. So excited for spring.

I don’t think its very common in the US but The pōhutukawa tree

The pōhutukawa tree is a special part of New Zealand culture, often called the “New Zealand Christmas tree” because of its bright red flowers that bloom in December. It’s seen as a symbol of strength and resilience, especially since it grows along rugged coastlines. For Māori, it has deep spiritual meaning—there’s even an ancient pōhutukawa at Cape Reinga where spirits are believed to begin their journey to the afterlife. Plus, it’s great for the environment, providing food and shelter for native birds and insects.

I’ve got three and I’ve been trying to grow each from seed:

1. Dawn Redwood because it has an incredible backstory, it is a true redwood contrary to popular belief, and It easily grows where I’m at.
2. Giant Sequoia because they are massive, it is also a true redwood, and it can allegedly grow where I’m at.
3. Cedar of Lebanon because I grew up in one of the many U.S. towns of Lebanon named for the trees as referenced in that religious book and I remember the original Cedar of Lebanon referenced in that story I linked.

Unfortunately, I can’t get the Giant Sequoias past a few inches tall while even acknowledging their infamous 20% germination rate. The Cedar of Lebanon seeds I can’t even get to germinate but I also haven’t found as much academic literature on cultivating them from seeds.

Shoutout to the Ginkgo Biloba for being one of the OG trees, also.

We have a big maple in our yard and more through the neighborhood. The sound of wind running through their leaves is very calming.