Of the 437 visitors who responded to this survey in Feb/March 2000, the best deciduous tree for bonsai treatment was a toss up between the JAPANESE MAPLE (Acer Palmatum) and the TRIDENT MAPLE (Acer Buergeranum). The main reasons cited for these being chosen were their ability to be trained into many styles, intricate foliage that turns shades of red, brown and orange in the autumn, and their hardiness - making them easy to grow for beginners at bonsai.

Some other frequently mentioned deciduous plants that were chosen were the CHINESE ELM (Deciduous if kept outside all year, Semi-Evergreen if indoors), KOREAN HORNBEAM, DWARF CHERRY and ULMUS.

Opinions :

Yevgeny Bolshinski from Montreal, Canada, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

SILVER BIRCH. A beautiful tree, I love the colour of the trunk and delicate, pointed leaves. Very nice.

Jerry Delfin from Canberra, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

JAPANESE ELM. Lends itself to many different styles and looks great with its fine branches.

Gregory Sulier from zone 10, San Francisco, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 15 years.

CHINESE ELM. Although the maple and zelkova are more traditional, I believe the Chinese Elm provides more appropriate results earlier - smaller leaves, mature bark and nebari. It is amenable to nearly all training techniques and is relatively hardy.

Anne Ransley from zone 2, Canberra, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

ACER PALMATUM. Can be sculpted into such a wide variety of forms and is almost always successful.

Pablo D González from zone 9-10, Oviedo, Spain, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

ULMUS (Elm). These are the most beautiful deciduous trees I know, and possess some advantages that set them apart from most genera: they have a fine branch system, reduced leaf size when the plant grows in a pot, and can adapt successfully to several styles.
My favourite elm is, by far, is Ulmus procera (English Elm).

Sebastiaan Koenen from zone 8, Breda, Netherlands, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

JAPANESE ELM. Because the tree has beautiful leaves and is very strong.

White Pine from the US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

ACER PALMATUM 'Ara Kawa'. The realistically refined corky bark in spring with the fine light gold leaves is a sight to treasure but once a year!!

Richard E Clark from Parque del Plata, Uruguay, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

ACER NEGUNDO (Boxelder). I have 3 trees that were my first acers; I've collected them on the border of the street. They are fast growing, and tolerate all the bonsai injuries (pruning, repotting, etc). They also endure being defoliated each summer to reduce leaf size!!!

Bob Atwell from Vernon, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

QUINCE. I love its looks all year long.

K W Rudolph from Houston, Texas, US, says :

Beginner at bonsai.

DWARF BRUSH CHERRY. Two contributing factors are its small leaves and the fact that it is such a hardy plant.

Peter Gale from zone 8, Isle of Wight, UK, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

SILVER BIRCH. Fast growing, readily available as saplings or easy to grow from seed. Attractive bark colour when young and old. Robust, leaf size decreases quickly, fast growing, can be multi-trunked.

Dennis McDermott from Sydney, Australia, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 20 years.

TRIDENT MAPLE. Totally reliable in our climate, tough, leaves reduce by over 90% in a few short years and reliably produce good autumn colour. I also like the Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), which is not often grown as a bonsai for similar reasons.

Mark Washabaugh from zone 7, Wilmington, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

KOREAN HORNBEAM. Tolerant of a wide range of: soil, light, tempature,and water conditions. Forgiving of mistakes in wiring, and pruning. Versitile in styling and propagation choices. Great branching, leaf size and trunk.

Benjamin Strickland from zone 7, Douglasville, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

BLACK CHERRY (prunus serotina). It has lovely bark and foliage that will reduce. When it gets older it aquires small, white flowers and small, black cherries. Not to mention it is practically invincible.

Robert Franklin from Huntsville, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

TRIDENT MAPLE. It has the best branching and thickest trunk. It also lends itself to many different styles and techniques.

Ken Schultz from zone 5, Westerville, Ohio, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 5 years.

KOREAN HORNBEAM. Nice leaf size, good fall color, easy to promote ramification and nice color bark. This species makes good single or grove plantings.

Karla Cantu from zone 5, Silverdale, US, says :

Beginner at bonsai.

FLOWERING PLUM. It has amazingly beautiful blooms, and the trunk has so much character!

Norman Norman from zone 8, Bryan, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 15 years.

JAPANESE BEECH. This is my favorite because of the fine branching and because of its beautiful winter silhouette with the contrast between old and new bark. Also makes for beautiful forest arrangements.

Brad Burke says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

JAPANESE MAPLE. Easy to grow, supple while young-easy to bend/shape, basic finger pinching can form dense structure with time, thick trunks and nice shaped trees are obtainable. Also works well in group plantings.

Chris Anderson from zone 10, Moutain View, US, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 2 years.

TRIDENT MAPLE. I find that this species of tree lends itself to a variety of styles and visual interest in late winter/spring and fall especially but also throughout the rest of the growing season. Whether it be informal upright, broom style, grove planting or formal upright, the options are limitless.

Nick Morris from zone 8, Liverpool, UK, says :

Practicing bonsai for over 10 years.

EUROPEAN LARCH. A very hardy tree which responds well to development in any form. Excellent Autumn colour and superb bark. Good, small flowers in the spring and small cones as fruits.

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