How much does a Pine bonsai tree cost? 

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So recently, a friend of mine, who won’t mind me admitting to you all, has been doing well financially and wanted to get into bonsai as a hobby. As such, he is looking for the most premium bonsai trees possible, so I suggested looking into pine varieties. So exactly how much does a pine bonsai tree cost?

Pine bonsai are amongst the most expensive bonsai subspecies. The average cost for a Pine bonsai tree is $553.03 or £442.47. High-end pine bonsai trees can retail for over $2000. 

So what differences can impact the cost of a Pine bonsai? How much does Pine bonsai cost compared to other trees? And how much is too much to pay for a Pine bonsai? Keep reading to find out more!

Just a quick heads up, over the past three years of running Plantpaladin, hundreds of people have asked for product recommendations. As such, You can find my favorite indoor bonsai tree here (link takes you to Bonsaiboy), my favorite outdoor bonsai tree (link takes you to Bonsaiboy), or have a look at all the products I recommend here. 

How much does a Pine bonsai cost?

To find out exactly how much a Pine bonsai tree costs, I compared 20 Pine bonsai trees and over 100 bonsai trees of various species. 

I also asked ten plant paladin readers who own Pine bonsai how much they paid for them. 

All to ensure you have the most up-to-date/accurate post on how much a Pine bonsai costs. 

To summarize: 

• The average price for a Pine bonsai is $553.03 or £442.47
• Pine bonsai is among the more expensive bonsai tree species, with even smaller-sized, younger trees retailing for at least $100 to $150. 
• It is common to pay an average price of $200 to $300 for a decent pine bonsai tree. 
• These trees are expensive because they can be kept outdoors year-round and are incredibly malleable, making for very aesthetic bonsai. If cared for correctly, these trees have a high resale value and usually place very well in bonsai competitions. 
• Premium outdoor bonsai, such as Japanese Maple, will also cost a premium, but pine varieties are easily the most expensive.
• The cheapest Pine bonsai trees retail for around $100 (£80). These bonsai are usually younger (under five years old) and around 30cm tall. These trees are typically grown in the typical informal upright style, synonymous with most bonsai tree species. These trees are typically purchased online from Amazon. 
• Premium Pine bonsai trees are much more expensive with premium Pine, older than 20 years, purchased from bonsai nurseries retailing for upwards of $2000. 
• Paying more than $5000 for an outdoor Pine bonsai tree will be unnecessary as even the most premium pine bonsai can be purchased under this. (the only exception is if the tree is an ancient pine bonsai)
• Now while these ranges are accurate, the exact price of your Pine will depend on the overall quality of the tree. 

What factors impact the cost of a pine bonsai?

• The most significant factors that impact the cost of your Pine bonsai tree are age and size, and species. 
• Older, more giant bonsai trees will typically cost much more than younger, more miniature bonsai, which tend to be a dime a dozen. 

Now this is quite a lot of information, so let’s break it down in more detail. 

Pine bonsai costs

As mentioned, I compared well over 100 bonsai trees from 22 well-known suppliers to get this information as accurately as possible.

These suppliers were well-known bonsai nurseries such as Herons to massive multinationals like Amazon. 

I compared many popular bonsai species to ensure we could work out if you overpay for your Pine bonsai and ensure the averages were accurate. 

I also visited my local botanical gardens to ask if the prices seemed reasonable. 

You can find the complete comparison of Pine bonsai trees below: 

How much does a small-sized Pine bonsai cost? 

So first up, how much does a small Pine bonsai tree cost? 

Usually, smaller bonsai trees cost significantly less than larger ones. 

This makes them much easier to find than their larger counterparts, meaning they may also be cheaper due to economies of scale. 

This doesn’t stand true for pine bonsai, which usually requires purchasing at a specialty store regardless of size or age due to being a premium tree. 

Bonsai trees classified as small typically fall into the shohin category of 10cm to 15cm or less. 

So how much does a small Pine bonsai cost? 

A small Pine bonsai, categorized as Shohin style or 0 to 15cm tall, costs an average of $130 or £103. Small Pine then is amongst the most expensive bonsai trees on the market, even for smaller-sized trees. 

Again, the main reason for the higher expense compared to other bonsai species is that the tree is sought after and is primarily an outdoor bonsai species. 

How much does a medium-sized Pine bonsai cost? 

Next up, medium-sized Pine bonsai. 

Medium-sized Pine bonsai trees are much easier to source than their smaller counterparts. 

So does this commonality impact the price of a medium-priced Pine? 

A medium-sized Pine bonsai tree that falls in the Chohin, Kumono, or Katade-Mochi size categories (20 to 46cm) costs $170.23. Even the cheapest medium-sized pine bonsai will cost upwards of $!50

So we touched on this earlier, but what are size classifications? 

Well, typically, bonsai trees are grown in various sizes, mainly when being grown for competitions. 

The most miniature-sized bonsai trees fall in the Keshitsubo category, which is 1 to 8cm big or 1 to 3 inches tall. 

The largest category is imperial-sized bonsai which can grow as tall as 200cm. 

Typically, the larger a Pine bonsai tree becomes, and the higher it moves up a category, the more expensive they become. 

To read more about size classification, check out my post here. 

How much does a large-size Pine bonsai cost? 

Now, unlike other bonsai tree varieties, finding larger ones is difficult due to the smaller trees being more prevalent. Pine bonsai is different. 

Instead, pine tree bonsai is much more commonplace in larger sizes. So how does this impact price? 

The average price of a large Pine bonsai tree is $1164 or £925. The larger Pine bonsai become, the more expensive they are, with 20-year-old large bonsai easily retailing for over $2000.  

Why are pine bonsai trees so expensive? 

Pine bonsai trees are typically expensive because they live much longer than most other bonsai species. As such, these trees are often passed down from generation to generation and used in competition, further adding to their price.

How much does a 5-year-old Pine bonsai cost? 

So now that we have considered size, the second central element that can impact the cost of a Pine bonsai tree is the tree’s age. 

Typically younger bonsai trees are less expensive than older trees, so is this true for Pine trees?

The average price of a 5-year-old Pine bonsai tree is $93.75 (£75). This is significantly more expensive than 5-year-old Ficus or Chinese elm bonsai, which can retail for as little as $20, further highlighting pine bonsai as a premium species. 

Where other bonsai, such as Chinese Elm, can be trained for three years, Pine typically takes ten years to mature and grow into bonsai, so most of these trees are medium-sized and over ten years old. 

How much does a 10-year-old Pine bonsai cost?

So while 5-year-old bonsai trees are rare, do slightly older trees cost less? Especially if they fall between 5 to ten years? 

The average price for a 10-year-old Pine bonsai is $234.38 (£186.40). While 10-year-old Pine bonsai trees are more commonplace than their 5-year-old counterparts, they will cost more due to the species. 

How much does a 20-year-old Pine bonsai tree cost? 

So pine bonsai trees over 10 and 20 years old are much more commonplace than their younger counterparts. 

This is due to the time it takes to grow and mature these trees. 

So how does this impact price? 

The average price for a 20-year-old Pine bonsai is $1429.17 (£1136.59). This is a significant increase of almost $1000 compared to 5 and 10-year-old pine bonsai. This extra expense is entirely down to the aesthetic appeal and design of the bonsai. 

On top of this, as mentioned, most Pine bonsai species are very slow-growing, meaning larger varieties are much more likely to retail for a premium price. 

Does style impact the cost of a Pine bonsai tree? 

So age and size are the three most significant factors that impact the price of a Pine bonsai.  

Does the style of a tree impact the cost of a Pine bonsai? 

After all, bonsai typically fall into multiple style categories for competition, whether broom, cascade, or informal upright. 

Pine bonsai trees with a cascade or multiple trunk design are more expensive than other bonsai styles. Cascade bonsai typically averages $263, and multiple trunk bonsai have an average price of $1125, specifically for pine trees.

Keep in mind, however, that these prices are likely to be higher for Pine trees due to paying the price for the tree, so I expect these to retail for closer to $1000 per medium to large-sized Pine. 

In my post on how much a bonsai tree costs, I found that, regardless of species, bonsai trees with a multiple-trunk design or a cascade are significantly more expensive than other styles. 

The main reason for this is the time it takes to grow a bonsai tree with multiple trunks, most of which take 30 to 50 years. 

Pine bonsai grown with multiple trunks is likely the most expensive tree style. 

Which pine species are the most expensive? 

So we have covered a lot today about pine bonsai but are grouping them as one monolith. 

Hundreds of pine varieties can be used in bonsai, be it Cedarwood, Scots pine, or even relatively inexpensive juniper trees. 

So which of these is the most expensive? 

Japanese white pine bonsai trees are amongst the most expensive pine bonsai in retailing, on average, at around $2000 per tree. Kabudachi Mugo Pine Bonsai are also relatively expensive costing $1100 per tree. 

For a cheaper alternative, consider investing in a juniper bonsai. This tree has many of the same properties as pine trees but for a significantly cheaper cost. 

What is the most you should pay for a Pine bonsai?

So having run through the data quite in-depth, what is the price for a Pine bonsai tree if you want to pull out all the stops and go for a premium expensive tree? 

The most you should pay for a premium Pine bonsai tree is $5000. This considers that the tree is relatively large, older than 20 years, and has a significant bonsai style such as cascade or multiple trunk styles. Most Pine can easily be picked up for $100 to $200. 

You should avoid paying over $5000 for Pine bonsai trees, as cheaper alternatives are likely available. 

What is a fair price to pay for a Pine bonsai? 

A fair price for a Pine bonsai tree will be between $150 and $300. This considers that the tree is under ten years old, is no bigger than 35cm, and has a formal upright, broom, or informal upright style. 

If you are a beginner looking for your first bonsai tree, stay within the $200 mark. 

Do store-bought or online Pine bonsai trees cost more? 

Pine bonsai trees from nurseries are much more expensive than those bought online. For example, a 40cm Pine bonsai tree costs $93 from eBay compared to $368 from Herons Bonsai.  

As Pine trees are competition spec bonsai, you will often need to pay a premium, so I recommend purchasing these trees from a nursery. 

What are the other costs associated with a Pine bonsai? 

So Pine bonsai are relatively inexpensive, like all bonsai trees, but they have other costs.

These include: 

• Wire – to help shape your tree – typically between $15 to $25
• Fertilizer – to help feed your tree ‘$80 to $100 for a good quality fertilizer 
• Soil – $10 to $20 
• Pots – to report and ensure your tree’s roots aren’t squished – $166 on average for a good quality pot. 
• Tools – $40 to $100 for a good bonsai tool set to cut, trim and shape your tree. 
• Turntables – to move your tree when trimming $10 to $20
• Pesticides – $30 to $100 on an excellent pesticide
• Grow lights – $30 to $60, depending on the size. 

How much do Pine bonsai seeds cost? 

Bonsai seeds, regardless of species, are relatively inexpensive. Pine bonsai tree seeds are inexpensive, costing between $5 and $15. Most seed packs contain multiple seeds, usually between 8 and 50 individual seeds. 

How expensive are Pine bonsai when compared with other bonsai trees? 

So now you know how expensive a bonsai tree costs, how does this compare with other bonsai species? 

Well, luckily, I’ve pulled this information to in the table below, but to summarize: 

Pine bonsai trees are among the more expensive species, costing an average of $553 per tree. In comparison, Ficus bonsai only retail for around $46.37 per tree. 

How much does a Pine bonsai tree cost – Survey results 

Finally, I asked 20 plant paladin readers how much they bought their Pine bonsai for. 

To summarise: 

My top picks for the gear you will need!

So like I mentioned earlier, over the past three years of running PlantPaladin, hundreds of people have asked me for my recommendations on the best bonsai gear on the market. 

Having spent thousands of dollars on bonsai items these past few years and tested at least 100 bonsai-specific products, I’ve listed my favorite products below – All of which I highly recommend and think you can get great value. 

They can purchase directly by clicking the link to take them to Amazon. 

Bonsai Tool Set: One of the significant challenges I’ve had is finding a toolset that was not only durable but didn’t break the bank. SOLIGT has recently developed a fantastic bonsai tool set that covers all the tools you need to trim, prune, and repot your trees. – You can grab it here. 

Complete Bonsai Set: Many of you will want to grow your bonsai trees entirely from scratch, but finding the varicose seeds, pots, and other items in one place can be challenging. Leaves and Sole then have created a complete bonsai set that I’ve personally used that ticks all the boxes. You can grab it here. 

Bonsai wire: The number of times I’ve run out of wire for my bonsai or purchased cheap bonsai wire that doesn’t do the job is embarrassing for me to admit. After a lot of trial and error, I found that using Hotop’s aluminum bonsai wire is one of the best options on the market. This can easily be used for both indoor and outdoor bonsai. You can grab it here.