It's been almost 1 year since I've been selling bonsai trees at Casa Cacao cafe here in Columbus, OH, and I've learned a lot in the process! For the 4 reasons below, these succulents are my top recommendation for anyone's first bonsai, and with time, they will progress towards a miniature tree form. Many people kill their first bonsai, and while succulents are not traditional Japanese species and still have some limitations or shortcomings, their resilience despite common mistakes that occur in the early learning phase makes them excellent for new bonsai practitioners.
The trees sprinkled into this article are examples of those which I have propagated, potted, and restocked for sale at Casa Cacao cafe here in Columbus, OH. Learn more about the individual care guides for these species I have recently published on my website here and about my growing list of in-person bonsai retail partners around Ohio here.
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| A three-tree jade / Crassula ovata grove I planted. These have large leaves at first, but once frequent bonsai pruning is applied they will miniaturize some. These are propagated cuttings which were recently potted together for the first time. Ramification will improve over time going forward. |
Pros of (these species of) Succulents as Your First Bonsai:
NOTE: Before we dive into the 4 reasons to use succulents for your first bonsai, please know that the 4 reasons apply only to the species listed here. I have not grown every species of succulent so some may be less tolerant of what these species endure, although as a whole some of these rules of thumb hold true. There is some variation though. For example, I have found that the unrelated dwarf jade aka elephant bush aka Portulacaria afra needs a brighter light when indoors or else it will drop leaves and appear unhealthy, whereas the Crassula ovata jade will retain all its leaves under low light; it just grows very slowly in that circumstance, waiting for better conditions. There are other differences. All the species on this page can be propagated by a single leaf, whereas other succulents propagate only with whole branch cuttings instead.
You will need to experiment with your succulents if they are not ones I have attempted (here, in other articles, or in my care guides/sales section)! You may also want to try asking your local cactus and succulent society. Here in Columbus, I started a discounted dual membership program between our Columbus Bonsai Society and the Central Ohio Cactus and Succulent Society to better promote the crossover of information between the two. Perhaps this model can work elsewhere too. 1. Tolerant of low light - can be placed anywhere in the home.
The tropical/indoor succulent species I've focused on selling at casa cacao are all tolerant of low light, meaning they can be kept anywhere in your home (but obviously the plants will grow fastest by a window, under a grow light, or outdoors in the summer). This is useful in the context of the coffee shop as there is not much window space available due to the design of the building. But with these plants, even spaces with such limitations can have some healthy green added to it.
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| Another small jade / Crassula ovata that I planted recently in its first bonsai pot after propagation. |
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| A stonecrop I am developing as a cascade or semicascade. They root about as easily as jades and respond similarly to clip and grow, although I have not been training this species for as long so I am still experimenting with them. |
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| Another jade / Crassula ovata twin trunk, recently potted and now in bonsai training. I do some initial pruning during the potting when appropriate and now we wait for it to respond and grow again. |
2. Drought Tolerance
The succulent species in this page can go a month without water or more, making them ideal for busy people or those who are away travelling for long periods but still want to enjoy some vibrant plants in their home. In my case, using these species has been helpful as when I'm busy with work, other more sensitive plants would not survive at the coffee shop without more frequent watering.
The species I have found to be on this extreme end of drought tolerance so far include jade and all varieties of Crassula ovata, holiday cacti, and stonecrop. In the case of these plants, there is no dropping of leaves, the leaves do wilt a bit and become soft during a drought but this is only temporary and does not affect their visual appearance.
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| Small leaf variety of jade / Crassula ovata. |
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| Gollum jade / Crassula ovata gollum forest with 5 trunks. Two are essentially twin trunks within it. |
3. Durability / Tolerance of Watering Mistakes
For people new to plants, these are very forgiving of other watering mistakes. In proper bonsai soil and pots with drainage holes (as mine always have on both counts), overwatering is nearly impossible - even for succulents as long as they are not sitting in a deep tray with excess drip or rain. Also, because they are succulents, they will be very obvious when they need water since the soil will be dry to the touch and the leaves will start to feel softer instead of being turgid/hard. And once the "drought" is ended by providing water, the leaves will readily refill and harden again in a short time.
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| Another small leaf jade / Crassula ovata. |
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| Kind of a windswept jade / Crassula ovata. |
4. Ease of Pruning and Propagation
Succulents are also very straightforward to prune and propagate! When the branches grow straight for more than 2-3 branch/leaf junctions (internodes), I prune the stem, and new branches reliably form at that spot. This is the basics of clip and grow which I instruct people on in my beginner workshops (next one is 1/17/26 in Powell, OH!). The pruned branches can then be planted in soil and root at nearly a 100% success rate, so you'll get more prebonsai to share with others! For the species on this page as I mentioned earlier, even individual leaves will form new roots if placed on top of soil and not overwatered while rooting.
Closing Remarks
Truly ANYONE can pursue the art of bonsai with the right species for your circumstances and guidance. If you do buy a tree from my consignment partners, feel free to reach out to me anytime for help. It's a running joke that everyone kills their first bonsai tree but that does not have to be you!
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| A thanksgiving cactus. The segments eventually get woody with age as is starting to happen at the base. |
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