Bonsai - Chinese Elm in TONiC Ceramics planter est. 2016

Ulmus parvifolia

If you’ve wanted a bonsai but worried you’d kill it, start here.

Chinese Elm is the tree most growers learn on, and for good reason. It takes a hard prune and pushes new growth back fast. It forgives a missed watering better than most. It suits almost any style, so you can shape it however you like as your confidence grows. Mistakes don’t end it. They just slow it down.

Small, serrated leaves keep it looking in scale. With age the bark starts to flake and mottle, which gives even a young tree some character.

Leaf drop is normal. This is a semi-deciduous tree. Kept outdoors through a Melbourne winter, it’ll likely drop most of its leaves and leaf up again in spring. Kept somewhere sheltered, it may hold them. It can also shed some leaves after a move. Both are fine.

Care in brief
Light: Best outdoors with morning sun and some afternoon shade. Handles frost. Indoors, give it your brightest window.  We recommend only keeping them indoors for brief periods.
Water: When the top of the soil is just dry. Don’t let it dry out completely.
Feeding: Spring through autumn.
Pruning: Let new shoots grow, then cut back to two or three leaves.
Repotting: Spring only, every two to three years.

Forgiving to start, rewarding to keep.

See our bonsai care guide for the full detail.