There was a wide range of opinions as to what the preferred plant for twin-trunk bonsai was. People largely cited their main reason for chosing the plant they did because it occured that way in nature, and hence was easy to train into the double-trunked style. Many people chose maples, such as the JAPANESE MAPLE, TRIDENT MAPLE and SILVER MAPLE. Other notable species were the CHINESE ELM and JUNIPER. There was no clear-cut preferred species however.

The recipient of the book 'Classic Bonsai of Japan' was Steven Kidman, involved in bonsai for over 10 years, who said that he believed the JAPANESE MAPLE was the best species to train into twin-trunk style.

Opinions :

Ben Aldersmith from Alexandria, VA, U.S., says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

CHINESE ELM. I love these plants and have worked with them a lot in the past. I find their branch structure lends itself particularly to twin trunk style, and their fine leaves make them look quite realistic.

Duncan Jordan from zone 10, Hamilton, NZ, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

POHUTAKAWA (N.Z Christmas Tree). This is a many-branched species that produces aged looking bark and is often seen in the wild as a twin trunk tree. It is known as the New Zealand Christmas tree for a good reason as it is covered in beautiful red stamens when it flowers. Flowering is during Summer.

Luke Pike from zone 3, Blue Mountains, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

JUNIPERUS PROCUMBENS. I bought a Juniperus procumbens that looked rather sick, I gave it a bit TLC and then hacked it like there was no tomorrow. It had these two odd looking branches of similiar thicknesses, I wasn't sure in what style to train it, then it struck me, twin trunk style! Now it looks great, it's one of my favourite trees in my vast collection. I love it!

Jos Thomas from zone 8, North Wales, U.K., says :

Beginner at bonsai.

LIGUSTRUM JAPONICUM. The two trunks will fuse beautifully together at the base, forming a union that mimics a natural occurance seen in wild specimens, at the same time the foliage responds well to pruning and styling, giving the ability to give each trunk its own individual canopy that complements or contrasts that of its partner.

Max Linder from Rebecq, Belgium, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

PINUS PUMILLO. Shaping a Pinus Pumillo like a twin-trunk makes it more majestic.By nature conifers give an impression of serenity and the twin-trunk shape adds equilibrium to the bonsai. I can admire it for hours and hours and have a wonderful feeling of rest and eternity.

Roderick (Eric) Bernardo from Calamba city, Philippines, says :

Beginner at bonsai.

FICUS BENJAMINA. I have a Ficus Benjamina and it has twin-trunk style. I'm only a beginner but picking this tree as twin-trunk style is perfect. The nature of the tree makes it so natural and sometimes roots coming out over the branches helps a lot in achieving a twin-trunk style. Most ficus had this style in nature.

Steven Kidman from Redmond, WA, U.S., says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

JAPANESE MAPLE. Acer palmatums are beautiful bonsai subjects simply by virtue of their intricately-shaped leaves, striking autumn foliage and brilliant branch structure. The fact that they are likely to be found as twin-trunked in nature, which makes them particularly easy to train into this style, is a plus. I couldn't imagine a species more suited to the twin trunk style than the Japanese Maple.

John Jary from Woking, U.K., says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

SCOTS PINE. I think Scots Pine is one of the best for bonsai twin trunk, its mature image is almost bunjin-like and the partnership of the two trunks is enhanced by the varied bark colour. There is natural harmony.

Guy Ward from zone 3, Berri, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

TRIDENT MAPLE. The tree is very forgiving for mistakes because of its growth rate, the trunks seem to thicken up relatively quickly, branches shoot and develop into thick leafy pads and you can have a basic structure within a couple of seasons.

Jude Agar from zone 3, Melbourne, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

SILVER BIRCH. I haven't actually got a twin trunk Silver birch bonsai as yet but if the cuttings I tool recently strike, I'll be training a couple in that style. The reason I feel it would be the best species is because there is a mature Silver birch in a railway carpark near where I live and it is naturally growing twin trunked, the trunks have grown into a nice U shape which compliments the weeping style of it's braches. I have also seen a few Weeping willows in this style and they look good for the same reason. As most of you probably do, I constantly look at trees to imitate and so far I think that the Silver birch I talked about is my favourite wild tree. .

David Good from Canton, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

SILVER MAPLE. Maples are naturally prone to multiple trunks to begin with but they are especially nice when they are trained properly.

Harley Stewart from zone 2, Canberra, Australia, says :

Beginner at bonsai.

ZELKOVA. I find Zelkova have such a lovely branch structure and are hard to train into a twin trunk, but I have found that after training one myself it looks lovely. I suggest others try this because the Zelkova species are great for bonsai.

Max Morrison from zone 4, Gosford, Australia, says :

Beginner at bonsai.

CHINESE JUNIPER. A Chinese Juniper grown in twin trunk style gives a wonderful split-level, cloud-like appearence.

Jourdain Hiini from zone 5, Brisbane, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

CHINESE HACKBERRY. I find the Hackberry to be a rather resiliant plant, its quick growth and beautiful foilage make it perfect for a twin trunk style. The fact that it is so quick growing and so versitile make it perfect for shaping into a twin trunk.

R. Koukee from zone 3, Kakabeka Falls, Canada, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

TAMARACK. Tamarack (a larch) grows naturally in the wilds of N/W Ontario and is quite often seen as 'twin-trunk' style so creating bonsai in that style with this species is perfectly natural. An older Tamarack (natural bonsai) perhaps growing on bedrock will be stunted will have needles as tiny as 1/8 inch long and beautiful gray aged bark. They are so beautiful when potted with green moss because that is their natural environment. I have been practicing bonsai for 8 years.

Leo from zone 7, Memphis, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 15 years.

WHITE PINE (Pinus Strobus). Growth habit seems to invite the positioning of more than 1 tree per pot. Twin trunks allow branches from the twin to help compensate for the large gaps between foliage pads in most nursery trees. Forms a nice form after a while.

Paul K from zone 5, New York, US, says :

Beginner at bonsai.

SERISSA. I have a Serissa that I guess is a twin trunk in the making. It is far from complete. The species suckers back from the base rather readily, especially in the summer, so it is easy to get a shoot to form from the side of the tree you want with little effort. As the original tree shapes up, which might take a while, I'll be developing the second, smaller trunk to compliment it. I enjoy the amount of control over the second trunk I am getting from this tree despite the fact that it is a tediously slow way of doing things.

Mike Spirawk from Hagerstown, MD, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

SPRUCE. The image of a spruce in a twin or multi-trunk form is a natural one. The spruce is particularly adaptive to growing in groups, and will become tall and elegant in its attempt to catch as much sun as possible. It is ruthless in eliminating branches that do not make enough food to support their own growth. So when a twin trunk spruce bonsai is well designed, it mimics it's natural form better than most species and evokes the beauty of nature wonderfully.

Inge Woelfel from zone 10a, Oakland, CA, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

WHITE BARK BIRCH. I have been working on a white trunk birch for 6-7 years and have reduced the apex at least four times but I'm still not satisfied with it and reduced it a fifth time. It is apparently difficult to achieve a single line apex, since the tree wants to create a multiple branch apex. The cutting back of branches and leaves appears to be constant and wiring has to be carefully observed with a deciduous tree. I have had somewhat more success with a shohin birch that I have been training for 9 years, although I have now deciced to let this tree retain a multiple branch apex. Birches with their white bark are beautiful and remain a challenge for this bonsai enthusiast!

Nature's Echo from zone 8, Buckhead, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

AZALEA. Azaleas have a natural tendancy towards twin trunk style to begin with and this tendancy lends itself to an uncontrived, flowing look.

Andrew Edge from zone 4, Oatlands, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

ACER PALMATUM. It naturally occurs as twin trunks in the wild. Seeing as bonsai are miniature trees, in nature it is easy to find wild trees to give one an idea of how to shape your bonsai realistically. It is also relatively simple to make the leaves tiny using basic horticultural techniques - giving the tree that 'real' shape and look.

Drake Bird from Danbury, US, says :

Beginner at bonsai.

JAPANESE MAPLE (Acer palmatum dissectum). I believe this would be the Japanese Maple. First of all because Japanese Maples, growing naturally, often have a trunk splitting low to the ground. When incorporated in a bonsai, the style makes the tree look very natural. The branches also grow opposite of eachother, giving the "artist" a choice of branches to sufficiently fill in the tree. Maples are also known for a strong root structure. Stong roots complete the twin-trunk style by making it look established and strong.

Ben Godfrey from One Mile, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

SWAMP CYPRESS. This particular type of cypress is very hard to obtain, or train a good specimen for twin trunk style. I believe that a specimen with very large butress roots such as this ties in nicely with the twin trunks and creates a "flow" with the container and the earth, this creats an overall "oneness"... But when achieved is simply striking.

Allen M. Boatman from zone 9a, Lutz, Florida, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

TAXODIUM DISTICHUM. Often in nature this species gets a large sucker at the base of its trunk. At full maturity it is an awesome sight to see the mother-daughter type arrangement/appearance. This along with the flattops that they produce at such an ancient age. This can be done with a dwarfed bald cypress as well.

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