Best Indoor Bonsai Trees

The best indoor bonsai trees help create the calm and relaxation of a forest in the cozy environment of your home. While you may choose to create an entire display. Such a feature brings an interesting environment to your living space.

Besides other watermarks in history, the Japanese civilization also takes pride in plantation developments, ranging from the arrangement of plants and flowers to the cultivation of varied types of ornamental trees. Bonsai trees are one of its distinctions that become a paragon of art and decoration after going through different development stages. 

Bonsai trees, in words of a New York Times columnist, Stephen Orr, hold a relevant definition. He says the term bonsai refers to the trees kept in containers. These dwarfed trees undergo the processes of pruning, cutting, root reduction, defoliation, and grafting. As they grow, they continue mimicking the growth patterns of full-size plants. In today’s world, owners decorate their homes with both living and non-living things. Often trees stand no match in comparison. 

Here bonsai trees have a different position as ornamental objects.

Ficus

This genus consists of almost 850 species of plants. Many of these varieties make beautiful Bonsai trees. For indoor houseplants, consider the tropical types of the Fiscus. Those which are suitable as indoor trees are tropical, and few outdoor species are temperate.

Specialists recommend the Fiscus as indoor bonsai because of their visual charm and low level of maintenance. Being tropical, they enjoy room temperatures. In fact, they prefer living in temperatures above 50F. 

Moderation keeps them happy. The Fiscus require neither an excessive amount of water nor the extreme quality of the sunlight. These trees can easily be kept outdoor during summer in most climates if desired.

Willow Leaf Ficus 

As the name indicates, the leaves resemble a weeping willow, as they squat and are chunky. The tree is known for its elongated leaves and tall trunk. The elegant trunk is slim, and that makes it trainable. The leaves are dropped immediately in situations of rough and extreme conditions. The leaves fall when soil is either too wet or dry; temperature is either too high or low.

A healthy plant develops into a tree in two to three months; however, an unhealthy plant takes an enormous amount of time. Four to six hours of light will be sufficient if they receive an appropriate amount of water. Provide liquid fertilizer for the tree about once in a month during the growing season, but not during winter months. Repot your Fiscus when the roots seem strangled.

Sageretia Theezans (Sweet Plum)

The subtropical tree can grow 7-8 feet high and hails from China and Japan. The tree is colorful because its oval leaves are shiny light green. It develops panicles of yellowish-white flowers in summer and simultaneously produces blue fruit. The Colour of the bark is dark brown, and it shows irregular patches. 

The tree is also common in South Asia and can be kept indoor all year. However, it can grow outside, requiring a semi-shaded place. It cannot bear high winters, therefore, must be placed in the house of near heated place with temperature, ranging from 12 degree Celsius to 22 degree Celsius. The tree is susceptible to various elements. Water provides critical health benefits to this tree. Even a slight drying of the soil may cause its twigs to be desiccated, and the tree can quickly die. Apply solid organic material every four weeks and liquid fertilizer every week during the season of growth.   

Hawaiian Umbrella (Schefflera Arboricola)

The tree belongs to the family of a flowering plant, and it needs quite a low level of maintenance. Experience proves this as the best pleasure for someone who lacks the aptitude of caring for trees. It is also called the Dwarf Umbrella tree and is a highly recommended indoor tree owing to being tropical. It can easily bear and even demands a low temperature. Therefore, it enjoys life inside your home with low humidity and temperature.

The leaves are radially settled and compound and grow on the petioles. There is no hard bark, or wood is a product of the tree. Therefore wiring might harm it. The aerial roots create an interesting feature. The Umbrella tree needs temperatures above 50°F. Below that, your flowering plant fails to thrive and may die. Liquid fertilizers are used once in a week from spring to autumn, changing to once in a month in winter. 

Jade Bonsai (Crassula)

 Indigenous Jade has origin in South Africa and grows there nine feet in size even. The tree has a thick and robust trunk, and it possesses thickly delicate offshoots. The Colour of its bark is green while with maturation, it turns out to be reddish-brown.

Jade is apt to grow outside, yet it is sensitive to cold. Therefore, it is more suitable as an indoor tree with sufficient regularity of water and maximum sunlight. Its preferred temperature remains around 40°F at least while at the same time, excess of the sun creates red ridges around it.

The Jade plant should be fed with fertilizer once a month during the growing season. As the tree is a succulent one, so the water remains absorbed in its trunk and branches. As a result, it bends and needs to be pruned and wired regularly. However, as it is soft, the wiring should be adjusted carefully to avoid cutting into the tree. Repotting should be done once in two years with a well-drained soil mixture.

Fukien Tea (Carmona Retusa)

This tree has origin in China, and it is named after the area ‘Fukien’ of China. It is famous in China for Penjing and counts as a typical indoor Bonsai tree. Its dark greenish leaves have hair underneath and dots of white color on the upper side.

It needs an enormous amount of light and should be kept near the window to remain in the nearest proximity to sunlight. It can be kept outside in extremely hot weather throughout the year. However, cold weather is dangerous for it. Water it generously, being careful not to oversoak. As its roots are sensitive, therefore, solid fertilizer is more suitable.

Chinese Elm

 The tree has antique grace due to being an ancient bonsai, which is also classic in outlook. This tree, often described as ‘the best elm blessed with the poise of elegant Nothofagus.’ possesses great beauty. As a deciduous, its leaves show into shades of various colors like purple, red and yellow in cold areas`. The tree typically shows growth in a vase shape, and its bark displays multiple colors like brown, orange, and grey. The reason behind using the tree as a bonsai is that it can cope with various conditions like light, humidity, and temperature. The trees are highly prone to Whitefly or Red Spider mites’ dangerous attacks, as these insects cause infestations.

Ponytail Palm Trees

The trees are native to Mexico and are interesting labor to decorate the home. It needs low maintenance from you. They are unique in its trunk as it shares a resemblance with the foot of an elephant and, besides this, cascading foliage. Due to the trunk’s shape and structure, it relatively holds an enormous amount of water for a month. It takes a considerably high level of sunlight but not for a long duration of time. It needs a shaded area if It has to be grown outside.

It is essential to keep on checking it once a week. Execute trimming at any period, but its optimum time is the spring season. It is also critical to employ sharp and neat bonsai shears for cutting the leaves on top so that foliage will grow downward and ponytail position will emerge. It is crucial to remove timely the wilted or damaged leaves which look brown most of the time. It is highly suggestive during trimming that you remain very pensive while pruning so that not much could be cut. Pruning paint can be applied to heal the leaves of marks of brown color appear due to trimming.

Brazilian Rain Tree

The tree hails from the forests of Brazil. Its compound leaves are very delightful as during dark, they fold up, and they get opened when exposed to light. The puffy and beautiful flowers possess a specific fragrance and colors of white and pink. The tree can be easily placed indoor but requires a lot amount of light to sustain. During the season of growth, it demands sunny weather. The temperature below 45°F is not favorable for its growth. Its rootball should be moist slightly all the time and should never be completely dry.

Even when placed indoor, it enjoys a continuous spray. Fertilizer should be used once a week during the growing season, yet once in a month during the winter season. Repotting of the tree with mixed soil Is essential to avoid rotting of roots, and at the same time, little pruning of roots is also necessary. The tree is resistant to insects and pests and their diseases; however, nematodes often attack it. To save it, use nematicide. However, if it is kept inside for a long time, whiteflies, spiders, mites, and aphids can attack. Therefore, relevant pesticides are essential for them.

Golden Gate Fiscus

The tree has grayish bark and tear-shaped leaves, making it very suitable as a decoration piece. Its trunk is thick and, at the same time, green in color, and it topped by greyish dark oval foliage. Although they are warm weather-loving trees, they live best inside when the temperature falls below the ’50s. Leaf dropping is common in response to variations in its climate. It is more tolerant in dimly light conditions. However, when kept inside, it should be exposed to light, even an artificial one, for 18 hours.

It needs repotting at the start of the season of growth once in every two to three years. Carefully consider the desired result while pruning the roots, as not more than 10% of the growth should be taken out by pruning. Good hygiene will prevent the attack of diseases and insects. However, mites and mealybugs attack it. Other diseases like yellow leaves, off-color leaves, and webs of spiders indicate that they are insects’ problems. Spray the tree with dish soap and lukewarm water to save it from the insect’s attack time and again.