Bonsai Starter Plants

Very tiny and dense dark green foliage adorns this slow growing miniature Serissa. A good choice for bonsai or as a house plant, and outdoors in zone 9 and warmer. Item # 2180.

The thick succulent arching silvery green foliage is spotted and speckled with large and small dark green spots. Ledebouria is a bulbous perennial that produces small spikes of white hyacinth-like flowers in spring and summer that are held well above the intricately patterned foliage. An easy and forgiving window sill or patio plant, Ledebourias are native to the forests of Eastern Africa and multiply readily and quickly. Do not keep overly moist and provide sharp drainage. Item# 10988

Up to 1" wide dense double wonderfully fragrant white flowers are produced in abundance throughout the growing season to year round under warm tropical conditions. The Little Duke Sambac Jasmine is an old cultivar with a compact upright to scandent (a.k.a. vine-like) habit and slightly smaller flowers that is a more vigorous prolifically flowering plant than the Grand Duke of Tuscany Jasmine. The dark green elongated to rounded foliage is reminiscent of Grand Duke Supreme Jasmine but Little Duke Jasmine has denser flowers and is expected to be more compact making it a good choice for container culture or bonsai. Provide a full to part sun site in a fertile well-drained acidic soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12272

Oh me oh my oh! When Midnight Flare is in flower everyone says where can I get that! It produces some of the deepest and richest, fiery, clear red flowers known in the Azalea world. The 2" wide blossoms seemingly cover up the plant in spring and are held against a foil of deep green, slightly bronze tinged foliage. Midnight Flare Azalea has a naturally medium to small rounded growth habit. Winner of the 2010 Rhododendron of the Year for the Southeastern US by the American Rhododendron Society! Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Item# 10724

Loads of 1-1/2" wide, purple tinged rich peachy-pink, starry funnel shaped flowers are produced in midspring with good repeat in fall all on a low mounding spreading plant. Momo No Haru Azalea, which roughly translates to 'Spring of Peach', is a dwarf Satsuki evergreen azalea slowly building to about 2-3'H x 4-5'W. Its compact habit lend it to use as a bonsai specimen but it can also be utilized as a low growing evergreen hedge or as a specimen plant in the garden and landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12801

The tiny dark green leaves are heavily edged in creamy white. 1/2" blooms are produced throughout spring and summer. Use as a low hedge, bonsai, or in containers. Item # 519

Double white flowers with a boss of yellow stamens adorn this easy to grow shrub in spring. The O Yashima Flowering Quince is a nicely compact selection with excellent flower power. Flowering Quince are easy to grow and long-lived deciduous shrubs with good drought tolerance once established. Cut stems of quince with well developed flower buds that are showing color can be brought indoors as cut flowers. Prune after flowering as Quince flower on old wood. Great for bonsai. Item# 10443.

Finely cut medium-textured parsley-like foliage adorns the short sturdy stems of this easy and adaptable naturally dwarf houseplant or bonsai specimen. The Parsley-Leaf Ming Aralia can reach 3-4' high but 1-2' high is more typical and it is easily kept smaller and more compact with periodic pruning. This is a relatively slow growing cultivar of the larger growing Ming Aralia and so is not likely to outgrow your space and is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions provided you do not keep it too wet. Item# 9301

Loads of 1-1/2" wide, starry, hose in hose flowers are light pink blushed white and have a slightly darker pink blotch and flecks in early to midspring and nearly hide the dark green foliage in peak flowering. Pink Pearl Azalea, originally named Azuma Kagami in Japan and imported and renamed by E.H. Wilson as part of the 'Wilson's Fifty', is a moderately vigorous, medium sized, heirloom, Kurume evergreen azalea with a mounding habit to about 4-5'H. Its moderately vigorous habit lend this large growing evergreen azalea to use as an informal medium-sized hedge, specimen plant, and as a spring flowering backdrop for mixed perennial gardens as well as in the landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12804

1/2", light pink, star-shaped blooms are produced from late spring to fall. Dense dark green foliage responds well to pruning and shearing. A good bonsai specimen, in containers, or as a low hedge. Item # 706.

The 2-1/2" to 3" wide, rich watermelon pink, funnel-shaped flowers sport a contrasting deep red blotch on the upper most petals and are produced in midspring on this highly popular old cultivar. Pride of Mobile Azalea, a.k.a. Elegans Superba or Watermelon, is a vigorous heirloom Southern Indica evergreen azalea with an initially upright habit to about 6-8'(-10') and wide. Its vigorous habit lend this large growing evergreen azalea to use as an informal hedge, specimen plant, and as a spring flowering backdrop for mixed perennial gardens as well as in the landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12802

The strikingly variegated new growth is broadly edged in creamy white to light greenish-yellow and each narrow leaf is centered by a contrasting line of deep green creating a nice contrast with the mature, often solid colored, deep green foliage. From a distance it has an overall light yellow to chartreuse cast to the plant. The Roman Candle™ Variegated Japanese Yew, a selection of Podocarpus macrophyllus, is a naturally upright to rounded, large evergreen shrub to small tree that can be maintained as a hedge, specimen accent plant, screen, or it can be trained into a single or multi-trunked small tree. Japanese Yew has long been a favorite in the gardens and landscapes of the Southeastern US with its virtually pest free, low-maintenance, adaptable, deer resistant, heat tolerant demeanor. It is also used widely in the art of bonsai as well as for container specimens. Provide a full to partly sunny site in an average to well-drained, fertile soil with average moisture. Item# 12750

Rich dark pink, double rose-like buds open to 2" wide fully double azalea blossoms that certainly resemble little roses. Rosea Azalea produces an abundance of flowers over an extended period in late spring on a medium to small growing evergreen. It has long been a favorite in our garden and seems to have been lost to the nursery trade and so we are excited to offer it and share its beauty again! Item# 10643.

Sea Foam is one of the most beautiful and vigorous white Camellia Japonica hybrids of the last 100 years producing medium to large pure white, fully double, perfect form Camellias with elegantly cupped petals in mid to late season. Exquisite! It has an upright to rounded growth habit with large, rich dark green, glossy foliage. Click more info to learn more... Item# 10185.

The beautifully variegated foliage of this Gardenia make it a stand out. The rounded and often twisted rich dark green foliage is randomly streaked and splashed with cream and white creating a wonderful contrast. The plant is fairly upright and seems to be a dwarf to semi-dwarf making it a good choice for containers. Item# 9341.

The large 3-4" wide, funnel shaped, white flowers are neatly edged in a broad band of contrasting rich reddish-pink and seem to nearly glow against the foil of dark green, medium textured foliage. Flowering is in midspring attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Vibrant Evergreen Azalea, a Harris hybrid, is a rare dwarf with a dense and compact habit that lends itself to bonsai culture but is sure to be a low-maintenance conversation piece in the garden and landscape.  Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Item# 12576

A Louisiana Super Plant selection! The large 3-4" wide, coral pink, funnel-shaped flowers are produced beginning in late spring with sporadic summer flowering and another nice show in fall with the flowers attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Watchet Azalea, an evergreen Satsuki type, has a neat and compact, densely branching, naturally rounded habit that lends itself to use in low-maintenance gardens and landscapes, including formal settings. Its small size also lends Watchet to use in bonsai as well as for low-maintenance container plants. Provide your evergreen Azaleas with a well-drained, average moist, humus rich, acid soil and topdress with an organic mulch for the best results. Item# 12575

Fragrant 4-6" wide pinwheel shaped white flowers may be produced throughout the year with adequate warmth and light. The Fragrant White Hawaiian Hibiscus is naturally a small tree reaching 20-30'H while cutting grown plants, like the ones we offer, generally develop into medium to large, multi-trunked 8-12'H 'shrubs that can be maintained at a smaller size with periodic pruning. Hibiscus arnottianus can be used as a free-flowering tree specimen, shrub, screen, or hedge. Where not hardy it makes an easy container plant. Flower fragrance is usually most intense just after opening and just before closing in the evening. Item# 11239