Japanese Zelkova, Small — Fall '25

The silhouette everyone pictures when they picture a tree — and the species almost nobody in America grows. Field-grown and trained in Pescadero, California. What it is — A Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) in natural broom form: the classic symmetrical canopy, already established rather than wired into shape. What it comes in — Planted in a 10" Yixing clay pot with our patent-pending water-retaining base, so a missed morning of watering won't cost you the tree. Size — Roughly 1" of trunk caliper: a collector's starting point, not a seedling. Why this species — In Japan it ranks above Elm, and it builds trunk and branch faster than almost any deciduous bonsai worth keeping. Year-round interest — Spring flush, summer shoots, fall color (about one in ten of ours turns red), and a bare winter silhouette worth displaying indoors.