Bonsai Species Encyclopedia — Popular Trees & Care Guide

Bonsai enjoyment varies greatly by tree species—from evergreen pine/juniper types to color-changing deciduous trees to flowering specimens. Here are the most popular species.

Five-Needle Pine

• Classification: Pine/Juniper (evergreen)
• Features: Dense short needles in bundles of 5. The quintessential bonsai species
• Form enjoyment: Versatile—informal upright, literati, cascade, and more
• Care difficulty: Medium
• Seasonal changes: Evergreen, but spring candle-pinching is an important task

Shimpaku Juniper

• Classification: Pine/Juniper (evergreen)
• Features: Artistic contrast between white deadwood (shari) and green foliage
• Form enjoyment: Dynamic expressions leveraging shari and jin (deadwood features)
• Care difficulty: Medium
• Seasonal changes: Evergreen. Stable appearance year-round

Black Pine

• Classification: Pine/Juniper (evergreen)
• Features: Powerful trunk and thick needles create a masculine impression. Icon of large bonsai
• Form enjoyment: Formal upright, informal upright, twin trunk—majestic forms
• Care difficulty: Medium to high (requires candle-cutting technique)
• Seasonal changes: Evergreen. Short-needle technique (tanba-ho) creates refined appearance

Japanese Maple

• Classification: Deciduous
• Features: Enjoy fresh green, autumn color, and bare winter silhouette through all four seasons
• Form enjoyment: Broom style, informal upright. Delicate branch tips are beautiful
• Care difficulty: Low to medium
• Seasonal changes: Spring budding → summer green → autumn color → winter bare branches. Maximum seasonal variation

Chojubai (Dwarf Flowering Quince)

• Classification: Flowering
• Features: Small red flowers in spring. Popular as a "longevity" good-luck charm
• Form enjoyment: Informal upright, cascade. Cute in small sizes (shohin)
• Care difficulty: Low to medium
• Seasonal changes: Spring flowers → summer green → autumn color → winter leaf drop

Japanese Plum (Ume)

• Classification: Flowering
• Features: Early spring flowers with enjoyable fragrance. A traditional Japanese flowering tree
• Form enjoyment: Literati, informal upright. Aged trunk character is appealing
• Care difficulty: Medium
• Seasonal changes: Winter-early spring flowers → spring leaves → summer foliage → autumn leaf drop

Zelkova

• Classification: Deciduous
• Features: Beautiful fan-shaped broom-style form. Delicate fine branching is the appeal
• Form enjoyment: Broom style is standard. Root spread and branch fineness are evaluation points
• Care difficulty: Medium
• Seasonal changes: Spring fresh green → autumn yellow/red → winter beautiful branch skeleton

Rock-Planted Bonsai

• Classification: Special form
• Features: Trees with roots gripping stones—a unique expression recreating natural cliff faces
• Form enjoyment: Balance between stone and tree. Power of roots embracing stone
• Care difficulty: High (watering differs from standard)
• Seasonal changes: Depends on the tree species used

Benefits of Purchasing on Bri-Choku

On Bri-Choku, you can purchase directly from bonsai growers.

• Finished bonsai: Carefully maintained specimens from experts
• Raw material available: Find unstyled material for creating your own unique bonsai
• Care advice: Consult experts directly about watering and pruning
• Fair pricing: Quality bonsai without middleman markup