Bonsai Art

The following trees are the best choices to use as bonsai in my opinion. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Hawthorn/Blackthorn

• Small leaves
• Trees readily wrap around each other if making a multi-trunk bonsai
• Great looking bark when aged
• Pretty white flowers in spring
• Hardy

2. Juniper

• The old classic tree
• Needles very small
• Hardy
• Evergreen so looks good all year round

Juniper is quite a large generalisation but my favorite one to use is juniperus x media “old gold”. Most people like to use “shimpaku”.

3. Japanese maple

• Fantastic colours and leaf shape
• Readily grows as a bonsai as it likes being small
• Hardly any wiring needed as grows its own interesting shapes

Again, japanese maple covers a lot of different types. My personal favorite is Acer Palmatum “deshojo” for its deep red colour.

4. Cherry tree “kojo no mai”

• Lovely small white flowers in early spring followed by small leaves
• Perfect as a small tree
• Very attractive

5. Fig

• If you have an indoor tree its got to be a ficus, loves being indoors
• Interesting roots and aerial roots

6. Oak

• Despite an oak having big leaves I still think it should be in the list
• The oak is Britains favorite tree
• It really it fabulous looking and if you grow it quite large (over 2 foot) the leaves are not noticably big

7. Berberis

• Atractive little shrub with round red leaves
• Naturally grows small so easy to control
• Very interesting aged bark

8. Privet (ligustrum)

• Easy to maintain and look after
• Easy to find subjects in old hedges
• Evergreen

9. Larch

• A deciduous needled tree, the new needles in spring are unlike anything else
• Easy to care for
• Bark and trunk quite aged and substantial early in life

10. Chinese Elm

• Small leaves
• Very popular choice
• Easy to look after

I was going to leave out the chinese elm as they are so common and I like my bonsai to be completely unique. However they are a very good choice for bonsai so had to be included.