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Serissa bonsai trees, also known as Snow rose bonsai, are easily the market’s most popular flowering bonsai tree. The bright white/pink flowers add color to any bonsai tree collection. That said does this impact the cost of a serissa bonsai? How much does a serissa bonsai tree cost?
The average cost for a Serissa bonsai tree is $76.77 or £61.41. Most Snow rose bonsai can be purchased for between $23 to $125. As a species, serissa bonsai is a medium-priced bonsai tree.
So what differences can impact the cost of a Serissa bonsai? How much does Serissa bonsai cost compared to other trees? And how much is too much to pay for a Serissa 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 Serissa bonsai cost?
To find out exactly how much a Serissa bonsai tree costs, I compared 20 Serissa bonsai trees and over 100 bonsai trees of various species.
I also asked ten plant paladin readers who own Serissa bonsai how much they paid for them.
All to ensure you have the most up-to-date/accurate post on how much a Serissa bonsai costs.
To summarize:
- The average price for a Serissa bonsai is $76.77 or £61.41
- Serissa bonsai is priced at a medium price point compared to other species. Snow rose then is not as cheap as Ficus or Fukien tea varieties, but not doesn’t break the bank like Pine or Maple species.
- An excellent general price range for a serissa bonsai will be between$23 and $125, with most serissa bonsai costing between $40 to $70.
- While these trees can be kept outdoors, they are widespread and can also be grown indoors successfully; As such, this ensures that the tree is not overly expensive.
- Premium Serissa bonsai tree can cost upwards of $125 to $150. These bonsai are usually younger (under five years old) and around 30cm tall. These trees are typically grown in the informal upright style, synonymous with most bonsai tree species.
- Paying more than $200 for even the most premium quality snow rose bonsai tree will be unnecessary, with even older stylish trees that are large in size retailing for a lot less.
- Now while these ranges are accurate, the exact price of your Serissa will depend on the overall quality of the tree.
Factors that impact serissa bonsai cost – quick facts
- The most significant factors that impact the cost of your Serissa 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.
- Finally, rest assured that there is no significant difference in price between whether Serissa bonsai is bought online or in person.
Now this is quite a lot of information, so let’s break it down in more detail.
Serissa 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 Serissa 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 Serissa bonsai trees below:
Retailer
Species
Price £
Price $
Bonsai size
Bonsai style
Tree Age
Bonsai Direct
Serissa Japonica
92.5
115.625
32cm
Formal upright
10 years
All Things Bonsai
Serissa
94.39
117.9875
27 cm
Formal upright
7 years
Herons
Variegated Serissa
19
23.75
25cm
broom
5 years
Bonsai Tree Gardener
Serissa Japonica
68.6875
54.95
25 - 30cm
Informal Upright
15 year
Bonsai Tree Gardener
Serissa Japonica
49.9375
39.95
25 - 30cm
Lava Rock Pot
15 year
Bonsai Tree Gardener
Serissa Japonica
156.25
125
25 - 30cm
Informal Upright
10 year
Oxy-Plants
Serissa Japonica
24.99
31.2375
25 - 30cm
Formal upright
5 year
Eastern Leaf
Serissa Japonica
28
35
25 - 30cm
Informal Upright
5 year
Bonsai boy
Serissa Japonica
51.96
64.95
25 - 30cm
Broom
7 years old
Brycus
Serissa Phoetida Snow Rose
28.42
22.736
10cm
Informal Upright
5 years
How much does a small-sized Serissa bonsai cost?
So first up, how much does a small Serissa bonsai tree cost?
Usually, smaller bonsai trees cost significantly less than larger ones.
This usually makes them much easier to find than their larger counterparts,
Bonsai trees classified as small typically fall into the shohin category of 10cm to 15cm or less.
So how much does a small Serissa bonsai cost?
A small Serissa bonsai, categorized as Shohin style or 0 to 15cm tall, costs an average of $22.73 or £28.42. Small serissa bonsai, however, are not widespread, with most trees falling in the medium-sized 30cm category.
How much does a medium-sized Serissa bonsai cost?
Next up, medium-sized Serissa bonsai.
Medium-sized Serissa bonsai trees are much easier to source than their smaller counterparts.
Almost all the serissa bonsai I compared were in the 30 to 4cm category.
So does this commonality impact the price of a medium-priced Serissa?
A medium-sized Serissa bonsai tree that falls in the Chohin, Kumono, or Katade-Mochi size categories (20 to 46cm) costs $73.34 or $£58.67. This is significantly more expensive than serissa bonsai under 10cm tall.
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 Serissa 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 Serissa bonsai cost?
Finding larger-sized Snow Rose bonsai trees is difficult due to the smaller-sized trees being more prevalent.
So using data from other similar plants that are the same price point in the small to medium categories (mainly Ficus and Chinese elm), we can make the following assumption:
The average price of a large Serissa bonsai tree is $265.19 (£212.19). The larger bonsai become, the more expensive they are, with 20-year-old large bonsai retailing for over $624.
Why are Serissa bonsai trees inexpensive?
Serissa bonsai trees are relatively inexpensive due to their commonality. Snow rose trees have been a staple in many gardens for decades, so transforming the parent plant into bonsai is typically inexpensive.
How much does a 5-year-old Serissa bonsai cost?
So now that we have considered size, the second central element that can impact the cost of a Serissa bonsai tree is the tree’s age.
Typically younger bonsai trees are less expensive than older trees, so is this true for Serissa trees?
The average price of a 5-year-old Serissa bonsai tree is $28.18 (£22.54). The older a serissa bonsai becomes, the more expensive it gets, which is why 5-year-old serissa bonsai are amongst the cheapest bonsai species available.
How much does a 10-year-old Serissa 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 Serissa bonsai is $99.52 (£79.61). While 10-year-old Serissa bonsai trees are more commonplace than their 5-year-old counterparts, they will cost more due to the increased size the trees typically have.
How much does a 20-year-old Serissa bonsai tree cost?
So Serissa bonsai trees over 10 and 20 years old are much less commonplace than their younger counterparts mainly because Snow Rose bonsai will mature much younger.
So how does this impact price?
The average price for a 20-year-old Serissa bonsai is $47.45 (£37.96). This is significantly cheaper than ten-year-old serissa bonsai trees, which retail for $99.52 on average.
Does style impact the cost of a Serissa bonsai tree?
So age and size are the three most significant factors that impact the price of a Serissa bonsai.
Does the style of a tree impact the cost of a Serissa bonsai?
After all, bonsai typically fall into multiple style categories for competition, whether broom, cascade, or informal upright.
The serissa I found mainly fell into the informal upright or broom styles, which are historically commonplace and inexpensive.
Serissa 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 Serissa trees.
Keep in mind, however, that these prices are likely to be slightly less expensive, so I expect these to retail for closer to $100 per medium to large-sized Serissa.
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.
Average by style | pounds | Dollars |
Slanting | £295.00 | $368.75 |
Multiple trunk | £411.10 | $513.87 |
Informal upright | £155.98 | $194.98 |
Cascade | £210.47 | $263.09 |
Broom | £34.45 | $43.06 |
Formal upright | £180.74 | $225.92 |
Serissa bonsai grown with multiple trunks is likely the most expensive tree style.
Which Serissa species are the most expensive?
So we have covered much today about Serissa bonsai but are grouping them as one monolith.
In reality, many different Serissa varieties can be used in bonsai, all with slightly different colored flowers and temperaments.
So which of these is the most expensive?
Series bonsai trees with pure white or pink flowers are among the most expensive serissa varieties. That said, the price difference is typically less than $5 to $10 making the tree relatively inexpensive, regardless of what species you opt for.
What is the most you should pay for a Serissa bonsai?
So having run through the data quite in-depth, what is the price for a Serissa 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 Serissa bonsai tree is $200. 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 Serissa can easily be picked up for $25 to $70.
What is a fair price to pay for a Serissa bonsai?
A fair price for a Serissa bonsai tree will be between $23 and $125. 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 $50 mark.
Do store-bought or online Serissa bonsai trees cost more?
There is no real difference in price in serissa trees from where they have been purchased. Both online and nursery-bought serissa trees will cost around the same amount.
The significant factors impact costs are the size and age of the serissa bonsai.
As Serissa 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 Serissa bonsai?
So Serissa 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 repot 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 Serissa bonsai seeds cost?
Serissa bonsai tree seeds are inexpensive, costing between $5 and $15. Most seed packs contain multiple seeds, usually between 8 and 50 individual seeds. Bonsai seeds, regardless of species, are relatively inexpensive.
How expensive are Serissa 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:
Serissa bonsai trees are among the more inexpensive species, costing an average of $76 per tree. In comparison, Pine Bonsai retail for hundreds of dollars per tree.
Chinese elm | £39.52 | $49.40 |
Ficus | £37.10 | $46.37 |
Juniper | £128.51 | $160.64 |
Jade | £109.51 | $136.88 |
Fukien Tea | £32.34 | $40.43 |
Japanese Maple | £257.55 | $321.94 |
Pine | £442.47 | $553.09 |
Serissa | £65.91 | $82.39 |
Olive | £263.89 | $329.86 |
Oak | £201.53 | $251.91 |
How much does a Serissa bonsai tree cost – Survey results
Finally, I asked 20 plant paladin readers how much they bought their Serissa 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.
This post was written by Fehed Nicass, who has been passionate about bonsai and gardening for over three years.