Tree #222 is a pre-bonsai Chinese Elm with the hard work already done — a thick, gnarled S-curve trunk with great taper and movement, grown out in a 1-gallon nursery pot. The branch structure is roughed in and budding back; you do the fun part: pick the front, prune the silhouette, and pot it into its first bonsai container. It stands about 15 inches tall.

The tree in these photos is the exact tree you’ll receive, hand-raised at our Southern California nursery.