Best Bonsai Trees For Indoors

Best Bonsai Trees For Indoors – Cultivate peace at home with the ancient hobby of bonsai. Here are five trees suitable for bonsai, plus tips to get you started.

A ficus is a good beginner project for aspiring bonsai. This ficus is 25 years old and measures 20 centimeters tall. They are not hardy outdoors, but happy by the window.

Best Bonsai Trees For Indoors

Many people mistakenly believe that bonsai is a species, but it is a cultivation technique. (In Japanese, the word means planting trays.) You can train all kinds of trees to grow in miniature: discarded junipers, original seeds, and fancy imports.

Bonsai Grow Guide

Unlike the maple you may be familiar with, this variety has three lobed (not five) leaves. But just like the maples you know in your yard, their fall foliage puts on a show of reds, oranges and yellows.

This Japanese azalea has pink roots and flowers in spring. Bonsai have smaller leaves, but the flowers are often full size.

Bonsai enthusiasts rely on a deep kit of special tweezers, pliers, branch splitters, shears and other tools to shape trees and make precise cuts. Beginners can start with basic pruning shears and wire cutters.

Pruning and wiring guide the shape of the tree as it grows. Over time, the master can manipulate trees to create surface roots, form deadwood, and create forest plantations.

Bonsai Masters Share Their Ancient Secrets

Read more tips and ideas for bonsai growing from Ohio firefighters who are passionate about the art. Previous 4 Things You Need Before Buying Your First Bonsai May 17, 2020 Next Best Bonsai Tree Soil Mix May 25, 2020

You may have seen images on Pinterest and Instagram of bonsai trees decorating your desk or bookshelf or enlivening your living room, and you were under the impression that bonsai trees are indoor plants. The truth is that many bonsai species need direct sunlight and temperature changes outside to thrive.

But if you have your heart set on indoor bonsai trees, this is good news: it’s all about choosing the right type of bonsai and taking care of it to set it (and yourself) up for success.

There are several categories of bonsai trees, and of these only two are suitable for indoor habitats: the tropical or subtropical varieties. To help you, we have compiled a list of good indoor bonsai types with proper care and condition.

Get To Know Bonsai

We list this first because it is the best indoor bonsai tree for beginners. Although most indoor bonsai need high humidity and lots of light, the ficus, or fig plant, is a hardy and adaptable evergreen that can handle low humidity and less light than most.

There are many types of ficus to choose from, the most popular being Ficus Benjamina and Ficus Retusa, and these beautiful trees can bear fruit in a variety of colors. Some can even produce flowers. Ficus trees are known for their bright green leaves with sharp tips and will add a splash of color to your home.

Bonsai Carmona, or Fukien Tea, is popular not only because it can bloom indoors, but also because of the small white flowers that can bloom all year round and the red fruits it produces. Although this plant does well indoors with bright light, it is recommended that you give it some time outside in the spring and summer.

Image by Cliff of Arlington, Virginia, USA – Umbrella Tree (Schefflera arboricola) Uploaded by AlbertHerring, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29535129

Bonsai Tree Care Guide For Beginners

Called the dwarf umbrella tree, schefflera has a slender trunk and tree growth (hence the name). This plant is also low light and low humidity similar to ficus, but if you want your plant to be able to shape and train, keep in mind that schefflera does not do well with wiring.

When you imagine a classic bonsai, the Chinese elm probably comes to mind. Indoor trees are not ideal for beginners, they grow quickly and can be pruned and trained for you. Plus, if you overdo it or under water, it’s not as damaging as the others.

This shrub-like bonsai has thick stems and cold-sensitive leaves, making it ideal for growing indoors. Jade bonsai plants retain a lot of water in their leaves, so avoid overwatering and be sure to place your tree in a pot that is well watered.

Last but not least (really, we could go on), the Serissa Japonica bonsai is known for its beautiful small white flowers that bloom in spring and summer. Known as the “tree of a thousand stars,” we added the latter because it’s not as easy to care for as our other five options. It can be sensitive to changes in temperature and location, as well as light and water levels. It can be grown indoors and outdoors, depending on the climate where you live.

Best Indoor Bonsai Trees

Okay, now for what you’ve been waiting for. Here are the best tips for caring for your indoor bonsai. Remember, these are general tips. Be sure to research your specific variety to tailor your treatment to achieve optimal health.

Bonsai needs a lot of light, plain and simple. And if you live in a sunny place and place the plant in an east, south or west window, you need fluorescent or high-intensity lighting to meet its lighting needs.

This plant is called tropical for a reason. Our house doesn’t usually provide a humid enough environment (thanks to the heating and air conditioning) for bonsai trees, but it works. Consider placing your bonsai in a humidity tray, misting your tree and allowing warm air to circulate through an open window.

Don’t water just because. Be sure to monitor the tree’s soil so it doesn’t dry out too much. For some plants this can be daily, for others several weeks can go by without needing water. It is wise to use a humidifier to prevent over-watering. When it’s time to water your tree, let the water soak all the roots until the water runs out of the drainage hole in the pot.

Overwintering Bonsai Trees (special Winter Care)

Indoor bonsai needs heat. Generally, room temperature is ideal and it is wise to avoid placing the plant in a location where the temperature drops below 50 degrees. If you live in a place with cold winters, be careful to place your plant near a window or door when the temperature drops. If you’re going out of town, set the thermostat to a healthy temperature for your plant. Subtropical types can handle cooler temperatures, so choose wisely based on your environment.

I was hoping! And if you’re worried about diving into something new or getting your plant ready to bloom, we’re here to help with our wealth of resources and shop that has what you need to grow your indoor bonsai tree. Stay tuned for a breakdown of the best outdoor bonsai trees! Gardeners have shaped living trees, shrubs and other plants into bonsai for thousands of years. The Chinese created the first miniature landscapes, a practice that Japanese gardeners modified when they began to focus on individual trees.

But bonsai isn’t just about growing trees in pots. “This is precision art,” says William N. Valavanis, bonsai master, educator and founder of the International Bonsai Arboretum. He studied this technique for 56 years and taught it all over the world.

Bonsai is not for the impatient gardener. Trimming and shaping plants into artistic shapes takes time. First, says Valavanis, you need to cut the plant and start connecting it to the desired design. This step can take years.

Bonsai Trees For Beginners

Meanwhile, you need to provide your plants with the basic elements that all plants need: water, air and light. Some gardeners keep their bonsai in training pots during this time and transplant them into some sort of container as the final step in the bonsai process.

Shallow containers are popular, Valavanis explained, because they give the impression of a small tree growing in a sprawling landscape. But the large or expensive pot is not necessary, he added; he remembers seeing bonsai in Italy blooming in sardine cans.

Evergreen shrubs or trees like these are commonly grown as bonsai and sold in nurseries and garden centers.

Bonsai can also be more than a small, tabletop specimen, says Richard W. Bender, author of Bountiful Bonsai: Create an Instant Indoor Container Garden with Plant Fruits, Herbs and Flowers (Tuttle Publishing, 2017). He takes a radical approach to this ancient art, training plants into bonsai forms that can range in height from a few inches to several feet.

Top 10: Bonsai Fruit Trees

Unlike many bonsai practitioners, he does not limit his plant selection to dwarf or miniature varieties that can be controlled by pruning. For the “instant” bonsai garden, he plants standard plants in larger containers and gives them extra light and other special care.

Bender grows bonsai jasmine and hibiscus for its flowers and foods like cherries and oranges for its fruit. His bonsai kitchen spices include rosemary and thyme, and for medicine, he prunes and shapes tea trees and camphor.

‘Deshojo’ is a dwarf Japanese maple with

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