Bonsai for beginners: choosing your first tree

A bonsai is not a special dwarf tree but an ordinary tree in a shallow pot. For getting started this means the most important step happens before you prune anything: you need the right tree for the right place.

Indoors or outdoors? The first decision

Temperate trees such as maple, pine or juniper must live outdoors. They should come inside only briefly, for two or three days of viewing, and ideally not at all in summer. Most bonsai cannot survive indoors long-term because the light is too weak.

Only tropical and subtropical species work indoors, ficus for example. They need plenty of light and steady conditions.

What is the best bonsai for beginners?

It is safest to begin with common plants that do well in your area. These trees are considered good starters:

Tree	Where	Good to know
Ficus	indoors	tropical, needs plenty of light
Chinese elm	indoors or outdoors	often kept indoors
Olive	indoors or outdoors	easy from cuttings
Juniper	outdoors	needs full sun all day
Pine	outdoors	needs full sun all day
Japanese maple	outdoors	morning sun, afternoon shade
Larch, yew	outdoors	good outdoor starter

For Japanese maple, choose palmate rather than dissectum types, preferably a seedling rather than a grafted tree.

The species finder lists every species with position and difficulty.

Where to get your first tree

• From a nursery: a very good choice, because the roots are already used to a container. Look for a well-rooted tree with good branches. A reputable bonsai vendor will help you choose.
• From cuttings: slow, but you shape the tree from the start. Take cuttings in late spring before the buds open. Olive, azalea and boxwood root easily.
• From the wild: slow and uncertain. You need the landowner's permission, and protected species are off limits.

Grafting and layering are not recommended for beginners.

This is how I started: four starter trees from a nursery. Where to get starter plants like these and what to look for is in Buying a bonsai.

What you actually need at the start

• A pot with large drainage holes. Cover them inside with mesh so the soil does not wash out.
• Coarse bonsai soil that drains quickly. Typical mixes are clay, pumice and lava in even particle sizes.
• A concave cutter for clean cuts without stubs.
• Bonsai wire made of aluminium or annealed copper if you want to shape branches.

A newly bought tree does not have to go straight into a bonsai pot. It is better to grow trees on in a larger training pot until they have plenty of fine roots.

Your first tasks

Watering matters most at the start. Our bonsai care guide explains it step by step.

Shaping works in three ways: pruning, wiring and pinching. Pinching shortens soft shoot tips so side shoots develop and the tree becomes denser.

The informal upright style (moyogi) is considered the best for beginners: the trunk grows upright but in curves. It teaches the most about bonsai design.

The most common beginner mistakes

1. Too much water. More bonsai are killed by overwatering than by drying out. Only water when the top of the soil is slightly dry.
2. A garden tree in the living room. Maple, pine and juniper decline indoors.
3. Too much winter protection. Outdoor trees need the cold to rest. They only need protection below about 28 °F (−2 °C), for example in a cold frame.
4. Leaving wire on too long. It should not stay on for more than one growing season.
5. Putting a dug-up tree straight into a bonsai pot. Its chances of survival there are slight.

If something still goes wrong, the Bonsai Doctor helps you find the cause.