Alpine Bonsai Care

Subalpine fir

Abies lasiocarpa

Kew accepts Abies lasiocarpa and recognizes var. lasiocarpa plus var. arizonica. Oregon State and USDA sources use subalpine fir, alpine fir, Rocky Mountain fir, western balsam fir, white balsam, and corkbark fir labels; verify exact Abies species before applying this page to balsam fir or white fir trade labels.

Balsam fir

Abies balsamea

Kew accepts Abies balsamea and recognizes var. balsamea plus var. phanerolepis. USDA FEIS / Silvics note Fraser fir relationship and possible subalpine fir hybridization where ranges meet; verify exact Abies label before applying this page to Fraser fir, subalpine fir, or white fir.

White fir

Abies concolor

Source-depth-aware page published 2026-07-04. FNA treats Picea concolor as basionym and discusses Abies lowiana treatment; USDA Silvics discusses var. concolor and var. lowiana; Oregon State notes Abies concolor x grandis hybrid context in Oregon forests. Verify exact Abies label before applying this page to Noble fir, Subalpine fir, Grand fir, or generic white fir trade labels.

Noble fir

Abies procera

Mountain hemlock

Tsuga mertensiana

Kew accepts Tsuga mertensiana and recognizes subsp. mertensiana plus subsp. grandicona. Oregon State, NC State, and USDA sources use mountain hemlock, black hemlock, hemlock spruce, and alpine hemlock labels; verify exact Tsuga species before applying this page to western, eastern, Carolina, or Japanese hemlock.

Eastern hemlock

Tsuga canadensis

Kew accepts Tsuga canadensis and lists older Pinus, Picea, Abies, and Tsuga americana synonym labels. NC State, USDA Silvics, and USDA FEIS use eastern hemlock, Canada hemlock, Canadian hemlock, hemlock spruce, and spruce pine labels; inspect for hemlock woolly adelgid before sourcing material in infested regions.

Engelmann spruce

Picea engelmannii

Kew accepts Picea engelmannii. Oregon State, USDA Silvics, USDA FEIS, and USDA NRCS sources use Engelmann spruce, mountain spruce, silver spruce, and related regional labels; verify the exact Picea species before applying this page to blue spruce, white spruce, Sitka spruce, Ezo spruce, Black Hills spruce, or dwarf Alberta spruce.

Brewer spruce

Picea breweriana

USDA Silvics and FEIS use Brewer spruce and weeping spruce for this Klamath-region endemic. Oregon State lists Brewer Spruce, Brewer's Weeping Spruce, Zone 6 hardiness, blunt 2-3 cm needles, 6-15 cm cones, and the Picea brewerana spelling. Keep separate from weeping Norway spruce, weeping white spruce, and weeping blue spruce cultivars.

Colorado blue spruce

Picea pungens

Kew accepts Picea pungens and places the native range in the U.S.A. Rocky Mountains. Oregon State, USDA Silvics, USDA NRCS, and NC State sources use Colorado blue spruce, blue spruce, Colorado spruce, silver spruce, pino real, Parry spruce, water spruce, Picea parryana, and Picea pungens var. glauca labels; silver spruce is ambiguous with Engelmann spruce, so verify the exact Picea identity before applying care.

White spruce

Picea laxa

Kew currently accepts Picea laxa and treats the familiar forestry and bonsai name Picea glauca as a synonym. USDA, extension, and nursery sources still overwhelmingly use Picea glauca, so keep both names visible and verify Black Hills, Alberta, and dwarf cultivar labels before applying scale or hardiness claims.

Norway spruce

Picea abies

Kew accepts Picea abies and places its native range in Europe. Oregon State and NC State sources use Norway spruce, European spruce, common spruce, Baltic whitewood, bird's nest spruce for Nidiformis, and weeping Norway spruce labels; verify cultivar habit and root system before applying scale or styling assumptions.

Dwarf Alberta spruce

Picea glauca 'Conica'

Standalone cultivar page justified by direct Mirai dwarf Alberta spruce corpus coverage and beginner search demand. Kew currently accepts Picea laxa for the white spruce complex and lists Picea glauca f. conica in synonymy; Oregon State documents Conica as dwarf Alberta spruce / dwarf white spruce with short 6-12 mm needles, Zone 2 hardiness, dry-heat mite risk, and reversion behavior.

Atlas cedar

Cedrus atlantica

Kew accepts Cedrus atlantica and places its native range from northern Morocco to northern Algeria. NC State and Oregon State sources use Atlas cedar, Blue Atlas cedar, Glauca, and Glauca Pendula labels; inspect graft quality, whorl swelling, and brittle blue needles before applying bonsai design assumptions.

Deodar cedar

Cedrus deodara

Kew accepts Cedrus deodara and places its native range from northeastern Afghanistan to western Nepal and northwestern India. NC State lists Zones 7a-9b, Oregon State lists USDA Zone 6 with less hardiness than Atlas cedar, and Mirai Cedrus method should be applied with Deodar-specific lower-vigor and long-needle handling cautions.

Lebanon cedar

Cedrus libani

Kew accepts Cedrus libani and places its native range from southern Turkey to Lebanon. NC State lists Zones 5a-7b, Oregon State lists Zone (5) 6, and RHS rates it H6. Mirai has dedicated Lebanon cedar and broader Cedrus method coverage; apply late-spring root timing, visible-bud pruning, whorl control, and broad ancient-crown design framing.

English yew

Taxus baccata

Kew accepts Taxus baccata and places its native range across the Azores, much of Europe, northwestern Africa, western Asia, Transcaucasia, Turkey, and Iran. Mirai has direct Taxus baccata, Taxus structure, spring work, and repotting coverage; apply fine-needle, slightly lower-vigor English yew assumptions only after separating it from Japanese yew, Pacific yew, and Taxus x media trade labels.

Japanese yew

Taxus cuspidata

Kew accepts Taxus cuspidata and places its native range from the southern Russian Far East to northern China and Japan. NC State lists USDA Zones 4a-7b, Oregon State lists Zone 4, RHS rates it H7, and NRCS recommends Zones 4-7. Mirai has direct Japanese yew, Taxus structure, Taxus spring work, Taxus repotting, and Kimura Taxus coverage; apply coarser, stronger cuspidata assumptions only after separating it from English yew, Pacific yew, Taxus x media, Cephalotaxus, and Podocarpus labels.

Pacific yew

Taxus brevifolia

Kew accepts Taxus brevifolia and places it in western North America. Oregon State lists Zone 6 and western yew / California yew / Oregon yew labels; USDA Silvics and FEIS ground the western North American understory ecology. Mirai has broad Taxus method plus one brevifolia habit comparison, so apply Taxus roots, back-budding, and pruning timing transparently rather than claiming dedicated Pacific yew coverage.