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Hello everyone and thank you for taking the time to read this.

I'm new into bonsai and plan to really get involved in it. When I start a new hobby I do so full spirited. I know I have a lot to learn but am not afraid of making mistakes.

I have a bit of a 3 step plan here and could use advice. The plan is to have 3 stages of bonsai going so I can learn all the stages. Since bonsai is a slow, patient process, it also gives me more to do and learn from.

-Growing a couple really tiny Juniper cuttings to learn about cuttings and early growth.

-Purchasing a pre bonsai Ficus that I can keep growing, shape and eventual learn how to shape and transition it into a bonsai pot.

-Purchasing a "finished" bonsai that I can learn how to maintain, prune and care for.

I need help deciding on the finished bonsai. Chinese Elm or Fukien Tea? I love the look of both so aesthetics don't matter.

Which one is slightly more "demanding" that will help keep a beginner both busy interacting with the plant as well as learning? I am NOT looking for an easy plant I can forget about. I want something simple enough for a beginner but that has plenty of maintenance and busy work for hands on learning.

Thank you so much for the time and help! All advice is appreciated. I already love what little I have done in bonsai and am really looking to get my feet wet and learn as much as possible.

I would go for the Elm.

Tropfrog, any reason for that?

I would stay far away from "indoor" bonsai. They are notoriously difficult to keep alive ( even for experienced people). So drop the ficus and the fukien, and buy something that is native to your part of the world.

Chinese Elm are easy and very hardy, Fukien tea is difficult at the best. Depends on what you mean by finished, no bonsai is ever finished for long. \you need to go to a specialist nursery and choose the plants you want. Do not buy from Ebay sellers unless you know who they are. Buy a book and read, look at the courses available here, and find a club there can be no better way of learning as well as a source of cheap good material.

m5eaygeoff wrote: Chinese Elm are easy and very hardy, Fukien tea is difficult at the best. Depends on what you mean by finished, no bonsai is ever finished for long. \you need to go to a specialist nursery and choose the plants you want. Do not buy from Ebay sellers unless you know who they are. Buy a book and read, look at the courses available here, and find a club there can be no better way of learning as well as a source of cheap good material.

Those are all things I'm already doing.

But why do you say Fukien is hard? All information I cross says they are hardy and easy to manage.

Too difficult for a beginner?

Nataris wrote: Tropfrog, any reason for that?

Readily seminarie, easy to grow. Possible to get reasonable Good material fairly Cheep. Can be outside all year in Most climate. Grows strong easily, which gives a lot of oppurtunities to train styling, wiering and prunning.

Local material is even better, but hard to find Good pre-bonsai material in many places.

Nataris wrote: But why do you say Fukien is hard? All information I cross says they are hardy and easy to manage.

Too difficult for a beginner?

Been into this hobby for about 7 years now. Have 5 junipers, 3 maples, 1 elm, 1 red pine and a few others I can't promptly recall. All outdoor and thriving.
I also do orchids, just to have something nice indoor.

I've been gifted with fukien tea tree twice, from people thinking it was a good idea "since I'm into bonsai".
Both died. Draw your conclusions.

BofhSkull wrote:

Nataris wrote: But why do you say Fukien is hard? All information I cross says they are hardy and easy to manage.

Too difficult for a beginner?

Been into this hobby for about 7 years now. Have 5 junipers, 3 maples, 1 elm, 1 red pine and a few others I can't promptly recall. All outdoor and thriving.
I also do orchids, just to have something nice indoor.

I've been gifted with fukien tea tree twice, from people thinking it was a good idea "since I'm into bonsai".
Both died. Draw your conclusions.

I by no means was suggesting you were wrong. Just seems like places promote Fukien as beginner bonsai.

Wh8ch is funny because I did some research after you said that and from bonsai people they seem to say the same while bonsai sellers are trying to push it as an easy tree

Funny how that works.

Thanks for the tips. I'll be going for the Elm and Ficus. I can't do outdoor because I live in an apartment complex and simply wouldn't trust the trees outside.

Thank you all for the tips.

Nataris wrote: I by no means was suggesting you were wrong. Just seems like places promote Fukien as beginner bonsai.

Wh8ch is funny because I did some research after you said that and from bonsai people they seem to say the same while bonsai sellers are trying to push it as an easy tree

Funny how that works.

Thanks for the tips. I'll be going for the Elm and Ficus. I can't do outdoor because I live in an apartment complex and simply wouldn't trust the trees outside.

Thank you all for the tips.

I think it has to do with the fact that most non-specialized sellers present bonsai as an indoor thing, and fukien is amongst the few that can actually survive indoor.
In general avoid any seller presenting bonsai as something you can/should do indoor (and I mean in your house: a greenhouse is a different thing): if they tell you that they're either scamming you or have no clue what they're talking about.