Best and worst bonsai for beginners like me.

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Oh, these are slow to make fine branching. But in time they will Small Bursera will be a simple whip. You can get nice primary branching fairly easily, though it does take time. You will need a trunk of caliper thicker than your thumb to get any significant branching. I summer my Bursera outdoors in summer, in full sun. They grow fast with access to regular rain and humidity. Once you are a couple inches in diameter you will get finer branching, though the branching will be somewhat coarse. These are not elms. You will not get the fine tracery of a Chinese elm. This same critique is given to Portulacaria afra, so while it is a down side, I do not see it as a "fatal flaw". The bonus of fragrance trumps the coarse branch structure.

Another bonus. Most species are pachycauls, meaning they have a layer of spongey water storage tissue under the bark. The trunk swells and shrinks depending on watering. As a result the outer most layer of bark exfoliates in attractive peeling layers, somewhat like a paper birch or canoe birch. These are sometimes called "traveler trees" or "tourist trees" because they look like sunburned tourists with peeling skin. All in all an interesting genus of trees.

 

[Carol 83]

Barbados Cherry is great and there are at least two forms with different growing habits. Brazilian Rain Tree is always a favorite but be warned that many plants with compound leaves can be a bit more difficult.

I have several of each and they are fairly low maintenance, but you will need grow lights. If you are looking for reasonably priced tropicals Wigert's has a nice selection and will advise you on care if you e-mail them. If you are a flower lover Bougainvillea are pretty easy to care for as long as you don't overwater.

 

[Cajunrider]

Worst is rainbow eucalyptus!

 

[BonScience]

Worst is rainbow eucalyptus!

*Add that to the dream bonsai list*

 

[Tree-San]

I've spent the last three years with Dwarf Jades (p. afra). Very easy to take care of and very forgiving. Joined my local bonsai club this year and just started with a couple of ficus nerifolia; one finished and other a work in progress.
I can't really suggest a worst tree, since I'm not there yet myself.

 

[Cajunrider]

*Add that to the dream bonsai list*

You are now doomed like me.

 

[It's Kev]

I bet that tree that @Leo in N E Illinois mentioned is worth taking a look at. I've had some extinction events especially since Covid and movement restrictions because i have 2 addresses and sometimes lockdown happen when i'm away from my trees. So i'd say, semi succulents, or Mediterranean species would be best. i do however have a marula tree, its gotta be my least favourite because i learned about male and female trees only after planting it and the compound leaves are not great for small bonsai, but it's been left abandoned at the wrong end of a lockdown several times, and hasn't missed a beat, still grows strong.

 

[BonScience]

I've spent the last three years with Dwarf Jades (p. afra). Very easy to take care of and very forgiving. Joined my local bonsai club this year and just started with a couple of ficus nerifolia; one finished and other a work in progress.
I can't really suggest a worst tree, since I'm not there yet myself.

Dwarf Jades are pretty tough. I had a small one, maybe 3/4" thick trunk, very bushy but not too dense, the the entire root system rotted out. Cut off all the roots, shortened the trunk by about an inch, let it callous for 3 days, potted it in pumice, perlite and diatomaceous earth. Misted daily, watered one day after fully drying out and it has lost all it's old wrinkly leaves and put out new growth everywhere! So glad it survived! Can't wait to give it a better opportunity to grow!

 

[MaciekA]

Speaking of really really difficult bonsai challenges for beginners: Citrus.

On reddit at least, I've noticed a trend that the farther a bonsai beginner is from the equator, the more likely they are to be very excited about the prospect of growing citrus as a bonsai, and nearly always with window lighting only. Beginners in Alberta, Minnesota, Nova Scotia, Finland, Sweden, etc, seem to be drawn to this idea. I think this is one of, if not the steepest difficulty curve out there for indoor-oriented beginners, even with incredibly strong commercial-grade grow lights.

I'd love to hear if even a single soul on this planet has managed to ramify and reduce any citrus to produce a competent bonsai anywhere north of 41-ish entirely not-outside, my bet is that the only person/people who could pull this off would have to have a heated greenhouse coupled with hefty electricity bills.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Speaking of really really difficult bonsai challenges for beginners: Citrus.

On reddit at least, I've noticed a trend that the farther a bonsai beginner is from the equator, the more likely they are to be very excited about the prospect of growing citrus as a bonsai, and nearly always with window lighting only. Beginners in Alberta, Minnesota, Nova Scotia, Finland, Sweden, etc, seem to be drawn to this idea. I think this is one of, if not the steepest difficulty curve out there for indoor-oriented beginners, even with incredibly strong commercial-grade grow lights.

I'd love to hear if even a single soul on this planet has managed to ramify and reduce any citrus to produce a competent bonsai anywhere north of 41-ish entirely not-outside, my bet is that the only person/people who could pull this off would have to have a heated greenhouse coupled with hefty electricity bills.

I agree that generally citrus are quite difficult, especially in "da north". I know of one success, my friend Irene H, has an orange tree she raised from seed, seen in an octagonal pot. It is about 28 or more year old in the 2018 photo. Irene's horticulture skills are natural and quite good.



Unfortunately some visiting bonsai artist convinced Irene to do more to "bonsai" this tree, and it did not take well to the smaller pot he convinced her to use. It is still alive as of my 2022 visit to her home, but it does not look as nice or healthy as it does in this photo. It is still exposed root, but half the roots died and the canopy is much reduced.

I have a "limequat" but it looks like a stick in a pot. It has survived 2 summers here, but is so ugly that if it does not survive winter storage I won't really care. In general I would say that citrus are a bad idea in northern climates, but Irene's tree is the case that proves it can be done well.

Irene's skills also extend to poultry. Her daughter insisted on buying peacock eggs, and then shortly there after was not around to take care of the birds. It is always a nice site to visit and see the peacock.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I tried Eucalyptus citriodora several decades ago, I think now it is called Corymbia citriodora. It definitely was a fail as bonsai. I think in general most Eucalyptus are poor candidates for bonsai, though there could be some little known species that would be an exception. Maybe one of our Australian or New Zealand members could comment. @Shibui ?

 

[Shibui]

I tried Eucalyptus citriodora several decades ago, I think now it is called Corymbia citriodora. It definitely was a fail as bonsai. I think in general most Eucalyptus are poor candidates for bonsai, though there could be some little known species that would be an exception. Maybe one of our Australian or New Zealand members could comment. @Shibui ?

Thanks for the invite @Leo in N E Illinois
I've also struggled with Eucs. Keeping them alive is not hard but making a convincing tree shape is definitely a struggle. All the species I've worked with just want to grow up. Pruning results in new shoots from the trunk and die back of existing branches - frustrating.
I still have some Corymbia citriodora but they struggle a bit in cold weather here and I can't be bothered protecting them through winter.
My best results to date is Eucalyptus polyanthemos - red box

Having said that there are some very good Euc bonsai here now. The best are larger sized bonsai. Here's one - Euc nicholii from a native show in 2011. Stands around 3-4' tall from memory.

The grower told me he trims lightly most of the time and the tree gradually extends until it requires a drastic prune after which he starts developing branches all over again.

This one is a well known tree now housed at the National Collection in Canberra. It is Angophora costata, commonly known as Sydney red gum, rusty gum or smooth-barked apple so not technically a Euc but very closely related. Started in 1959 so it's only a year younger than I am! Note the size.


Eucalyptus are iconic Aussie trees so deserve a place in our native bonsai world so I'm really glad there are some passionate growers trying to find the keys to Euc bonsai.

 

[sorce]

Ficus Benjamin best all day.

Worst.
Dwarf Alberta Spruce!

Next job looks to be in Wisconsin....maybe time to go see them peacocks finally!

Sorce

 

[Cajunrider]

Thanks for the invite @Leo in N E Illinois
I've also struggled with Eucs. Keeping them alive is not hard but making a convincing tree shape is definitely a struggle. All the species I've worked with just want to grow up. Pruning results in new shoots from the trunk and die back of existing branches - frustrating.
I still have some Corymbia citriodora but they struggle a bit in cold weather here and I can't be bothered protecting them through winter.
My best results to date is Eucalyptus polyanthemos - red box

Having said that there are some very good Euc bonsai here now. The best are larger sized bonsai. Here's one - Euc nicholii from a native show in 2011. Stands around 3-4' tall from memory.
View attachment 456645
The grower told me he trims lightly most of the time and the tree gradually extends until it requires a drastic prune after which he starts developing branches all over again.

This one is a well known tree now housed at the National Collection in Canberra. It is Angophora costata, commonly known as Sydney red gum, rusty gum or smooth-barked apple so not technically a Euc but very closely related. Started in 1959 so it's only a year younger than I am! Note the size.
View attachment 456646

Eucalyptus are iconic Aussie trees so deserve a place in our native bonsai world so I'm really glad there are some passionate growers trying to find the keys to Euc bonsai.

My rainbow euc refuses to produce the beautiful mature leaves. As you said, pruning results in the tree dropping the branch and producing fast growth shoots with huge juvenile leaves up to 8” long.
But then in the spring after a rain, the tiny reddish young leaves and the shiny colorful trunk fuel my foolish dream.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Eucallyptus overall seems to be very problematic species make into bonsai, dont saying they dont worth the effort to try but keep in mind they wont be any easy

 

[Shibui]

My rainbow euc refuses to produce the beautiful mature leaves.

Rainbow Euc is NOT an Aussie native. I believe it is one of the few Eucs that is not an Aussie native and comes from Phillipines so even more tropical than most of our species.
Juvenile foliage is a feature of many Euc sp and often appears after pruning. Sometimes that's good because the juvenile foliage is much nicer or smaller than the adult version but occasionally it's the other way round.
At least you've been able to keep that one alive for a few years. I'd take that as a big achievement.

 

[dancing with butterflies]

I have good news, the callianda has stabilized. its not dropping leaves like crazy and is putting out new growth. it even flowered a single bloom, hope to see more but i wont bet on it.


I do have a bullhorn acacia and its a stunner. I let it do its thing and I pinched back the leaders to allow for branching.




Will show you photos after work .

 

[Toshi]

For me the trees that helped me learn how to properly water as a beginner were ones that gave subtle indicators they needed watering - Dwarf Jade, Premna, Bougainvillea. The leaves of premna and bougie begin to softly wilt which indicate they need to be watered and the leaves of a dwarf jade will shrivel up.

Eventually you'll learn and won't have to wait for your trees to wilt before watering but in the beginning I found these subtle indicators incredibly helpful. If I had to pick only one (assuming you've set a budget) I'd pick dwarf jade as you can also grow tons of cuttings very easily to experiment with. Ficus are also fantastic and can take a beating as others have mentioned.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[BonScience]

For me the trees that helped me learn how to properly water as a beginner were ones that gave subtle indicators they needed watering - Dwarf Jade, Premna, Bougainvillea. The leaves of premna and bougie begin to softly wilt which indicate they need to be watered and the leaves of a dwarf jade will shrivel up.

Eventually you'll learn and won't have to wait for your trees to wilt before watering but in the beginning I found these subtle indicators incredibly helpful. If I had to pick only one (assuming you've set a budget) I'd pick dwarf jade as you can also grow tons of cuttings very easily to experiment with. Ficus are also fantastic and can take a beating as others have mentioned.

Good luck and enjoy.

I have a dwarf jade and the leaves started to wilt but it was because the root mass was rotting. Same effect, leaves not getting the water they need. My media was too soggy and the drainage hole was blocked. Thankfully after choping off the entire root system, like 1/4" of the trunk, it's recovering with more focused attention. Very forgiving!

 

[Toshi]

I have a dwarf jade and the leaves started to wilt but it was because the root mass was rotting. Same effect, leaves not getting the water they need. My media was too soggy and the drainage hole was blocked. Thankfully after choping off the entire root system, like 1/4" of the trunk, it's recovering with more focused attention. Very forgiving!

Yes, great point. OP, a plant that still wilts after watering is growing in hypoxic conditions and needs to be repotted. Thank you for mentioning.