Bonsai Encyclopedia

A flowering ume with deep red single flowers in which some stamens have turned petal-like, said to look like plovers (chidori) in flight. It blooms late among flowering ume and had no pollen in a prefectural trial.

Iconic tropical flowering plant. The colorful parts are bracts, not flowers. Best in warm regions but can be grown indoors in cooler areas. Thick trunks add character.

Iconic Japanese evergreen flowering tree. Blooms in winter to spring in red, white, and pink varieties. Glossy dark green leaves complement flowers perfectly in bonsai.

A deciduous climber with palmate leaves of five leaflets, pale purple flowers in spring and purple fruits 7–10 cm long in autumn that split lengthwise when ripe. It is self-incompatible, so fruit needs pollen from another plant.

Japans iconic flowering tree. Spring blooms are spectacularly beautiful even as bonsai. Compact varieties like Fuji-zakura suit bonsai. Post-bloom care determines next years flowering.

Another name for the mame-zakura, a small wild cherry endemic to Japan and common around Mt. Fuji and Hakone. Small in flower, leaf and stature, it bears little white to pale pink, nodding flowers even on short trees, so it blooms well as bonsai.

Evergreen shrub with pure white fragrant flowers. Single-flower types bear orange fruit in autumn, enjoying both blooms and berries. Popular from shohin to mini bonsai.

The quintessential flowering bonsai, blooming with fragrant flowers in early spring. Aged bark and elegant blossoms embody traditional Japanese beauty. Cherished since ancient times.

Flowering bonsai with translucent waxy yellow blooms in midwinter. Sweet fragrance drifts through winter gardens. Precious species blooming when few others do. Improves with age.

A hibai-group cultivar regarded as the classic red ume. It bears deep red, double, medium flowers, and even the pith of thin twigs and the leaf stalks are deep red. Fragrant and a standard red ume for bonsai.

Fragrant purple flowers are the main attraction. Suited for cool regions like Hokkaido and Tohoku. Dwarf varieties work well for small bonsai. Enjoy spring fragrance up close.

A flowering ume said to have been planted along old highways as a waymark for travellers. Large single flowers described as pale pink to red. A prefectural trial found it thickens its trunk well and grows very vigorously.

Evergreen shrub with gorgeous flowers. Large flower clusters color spring. Alpine varieties prefer cool conditions, requiring some experience. Post-bloom care is crucial.

An old satsuki of unknown parentage grown since before the Meiji era, with small, pale salmon-pink single flowers. Its slightly narrow small leaves, good branching and vigorous budding make it easy to train as bonsai.

A deciduous tree of the camellia family whose smooth, red-brown trunk is counted among Japan's three most beautiful barks. Small white flowers 1.5–2 cm across nod in early summer, and leaves turn red in autumn. Smaller in flower and leaf than Stewartia pseudocamellia.

A white yabai-group ume named for starting to bloom around the winter solstice (toji). It bears single white medium flowers very early and in great numbers, and thickens its trunk well. Also called Toji-bai; a staple starter plant for ume bonsai.

Elegant flowering bonsai with cascading purple flower clusters in spring. Cascade or display-shelf styles maximize bloom beauty. Flowering improves with age.

One of the kanbai ('winter ume') that bloom from early January to early February, bearing deep red double flowers very early. It was the earliest of seven cultivars to flower in a prefectural trial.