Bonsai Encyclopedia

An evergreen climber with fragrant, pinwheel-twisted white flowers in early summer. In bonsai, small-leaved forms such as the crinkled 'Chirimen-kazura' are favoured for their red new growth and winter colouring.

An evergreen conifer, a variety of Podocarpus macrophyllus with shorter, narrower, denser leaves, slower growth and a tighter form. Well known as a garden and hedge tree, it takes pruning well and is also grown as conifer bonsai.

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 variety of Japanese yew from snowy mountains on the Sea of Japan side. Instead of a single upright trunk it branches from the base and spreads. Its broader leaves arranged spirally tell it from typical yew. Tough and fairly heat-tolerant.

Fruiting bonsai laden with vivid orange-red berries in autumn. Evergreen for year-round interest. Thorny but berry display is among the best of fruiting bonsai.

Evergreen from southern China. Small glossy leaves, white flowers, and red berries. Tropical species popular worldwide as indoor bonsai. Trunk bark has unique texture.

A tiny kumquat from southern China including Hong Kong, bearing orange fruits about 1 cm across along its branches. The fruit has almost no flesh and is not for eating, but through winter the plant looks like a miniature orange tree.

An evergreen shrub endemic to Japan that hangs clusters of small urn-shaped flowers in early spring. White is the wild colour, but pink to deep red forms are popular for bonsai. The whole plant is toxic and must never be eaten.

Evergreen bonsai with glossy dark green leaves and red berries. Autumn-winter berries are highly ornamental. Hardy and easy to grow, a representative Japanese tree.

Evergreen with small glossy leaves in dense clusters. White flowers and dark purple berries add interest. Extremely hardy and tolerant of pruning. Good root spread.

An evergreen relative of akebi, also called tokiwa-akebi ('evergreen akebi'). In spring it bears flowers with white sepals marked red-purple inside, and in autumn purple fruits 5–8 cm long that, unlike akebi, rarely split open.

An evergreen camellia that blooms white to pink from late autumn into winter. Unlike Camellia japonica, its petals fall one by one and the flowers carry a faint scent, making it a favorite flowering bonsai for the bare season.

Evergreen shrub covered in tiny white star-shaped flowers. Extremely small leaves perfect for shohin to mini bonsai. Roots thicken well for exposed root style. Indoor capable.

Japan's wild native citrus, an evergreen bearing fragrant white flowers in early summer and flattened yellow fruits 2.5–3 cm across in winter. Famous as the 'Ukon no tachibana' at the Kyoto Imperial Palace; wild plants are nationally Near Threatened.