The majority of bonsai gardeners stick with the more common coniferous, deciduous, or fruit trees when creating their bonsai art collection. However, more exotic bonsai varieties can be found that permit the bonsai artist to further develop his or her skills.

An example of an exotic choice is Wisteria, a plant native to Japan, Korea, and China which can reach more than 30 feet in size in the wild. Not conforming to any of the traditional bonsai styles, Wisteria can make for an interesting challenge.

The Wisteria flowers are both beautiful and aromatic and come in a variety of colors, including purple, blue, white, and pink. Blooming in the Spring, they need lots of water with adequate drainage and they do well in partial shade to full sun. Just before they flower in the Spring, you should provide them with ample fertilizer, and once again in late summer before they drop their leaves.

Orange Jasmine is another alternative that will give both beauty to the eye and delight to the nose. Their wonderfully fragrant white flowers are accompanied by bright red fruit.

Feed Orange Jasmine every three to four weeks starting in early spring and continuing through mid-autumn. Only light watering is adequate for most of the year, with slightly more required in the hotter summer season.

Because they generally do better in moderate shade or filtered sun, Orange Jasmine is one of the few bonsai that can, and should be raised indoors.

The Mimosa tree, also sometimes known as silk trees due to their long silky filaments, offer another good choice. They are as fragrant as both of the two choices mentioned above and their puffy flowers and lacy foliage are also just as lovely.

The Mimosa blooms in late April to early July, during which time they should be given moderate water. However, you should avoid getting water on the flowers because this will cause the blossoms to wilt rapidly and deteriorate.

Mimosa grow rapidly, have large leaves and are somewhat difficult to sustain at a very small size so the Mimosa will probably be one of the larger bonsai in your collection. So be sure to give them plenty of room in your display area.

The Desert Rose is another exotic bonsai that can turn a rather run-of-the-mill collection into one full of interest and color. A native of East Africa, it can grow up to 10 feet in the wild, producing large, pink, trumpet-bowl blossoms.

The Desert Rose should be kept outside most of the year as they need ample sunshine and lots of fresh air. With their very bushy growing habit, they will make an excellent design complement to the many traditional bonsai in your collection.

However, the Desert Rose is sensitive to cold, so they should be brought indoors in cold climates or during periods of cold weather as they will not thrive in temperatures below 10C (50F). With temperatures in the 10C-15C (50F-60F) range, they will lie dormant and healthy and during this period they will need very little water.

These beautiful and fragrant flowering plants will challenge your bonsai gardening skills, expanding your horizons. They will provide an ever-changing display as they go through the seasons, blooming in the spring and losing their leaves in the fall, adding interest to your collection and when spaced amongst the more traditional evergreens, such as junipers, pines, and firs, they add a nice contrast.

If you have a bizarre taste in plants, I guarantee that this variety - the third in our series - will be to your liking.

The Welwitschia Mirabilis looks like an alien life form from a science fiction movie. It has a short thick trunk and only two leaves that grow continuously throughout the entire life of the plant.

The leaves can grow to a length of two to three meters and are split into several sections. The stem normally gets thicker than higher although it can grow to six feet high and 24-feet wide.

The long leaves of the plant are equipped with special structures that absorb water from the dew that forms during the night. Both male and female species of the plant produce nectar that attracts insects thus aiding in fertilization.

This tongue-twister is found mainly in the Namib desert in southwest Africa. It’s considered a living fossil since it has existed since the Jurassic period.

With that in mind, you never have to worry about losing this plant. The Welwitschia will keep you company for ages since it lives for 1,000 to 2,000 years - more than people do. That makes it a good conversation piece that you can hand down from generation to generation.

“Named after the Slovenian botanist Dr. Friedrich Welwitsch who discovered it in 1860, it is one of the oddest plants in existence. Although considered endangered due to its very slow growth and despite the fact that older plants are often sought by collectors, a fair number of plants exist in the wild. The plants living in Angola are better protected than the plants in Namibia, owing to the relatively high concentration of landmines in Angola, which keep collectors away,” according to the editors of Wikipedia.

“The species grows readily from seeds, which may be purchased from specialty seed dealers. The seed must be kept moist for the first couple of weeks and exposed to as much heat and light as possible during this time. Seeds collected from the wild are often heavily contaminated with spores of Aspergillus niger, which causes them to rot shortly after they germinate. Seeds from the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa, or other cultivated sources are much cleaner and less likely to rot,” they added.