The Snow Rose Bonsai Tree, scientific name Serissa foetida or Serissa Japonica, is one of the most popular bonsai trees. It is a sub-tropical evergreen that produces small pretty flowers all year round.
It has naturally small dark green leaves and a rough interesting trunk. This plant is great for indoors. Very often used by beginners.
It is a little fussy, but once you provide it with the right amount of light and water it should be very easy to maintain.
Additional Information
Family: Rubiaceae
Scientific name: Serissa foetida, Serissa Japonica
Common Names: Yellow-rim, Snow Rose, Tree of a Thousand Stars, White Serissa, Serissa.
Origin: Native to open sub-tropical woodlands and wet meadows in southeast Asia, from India, and China to Japan.
Appearance: It is an evergreen shrub with oval, deep green, opposite leaves and a rough, grey trunk. Leaves have an unpleasant smell if bruised. It has many upright wiry stems that branch in all directions and form a wide bushy dome.
Flowering: First produces pink buds that turn into pretty white flowers. Flowers are small funnel-shaped and bloom all year round.
Outdoor/Indoor Use: Both.
Light Requirements: Prefers partial shade. If grown indoors, it needs a lot of bright indirect light.
Water Requirements: It likes moist well drained soil. This plant is not drought tolerant. If the soil gets too dry it will start dropping leaves.
Never allow for the soil to dry out completely. Needs more water during the growing period in the summer and less water during winter.
Hardiness: Grows best in the USDA Zones 8a – 10b. Should be protected from cold temperatures below 35F. It will start dropping leaves if the temperatures fall to near freezing. This plant doesn’t like heat and high humidity which are usually present in zones 10 and 11.
Insects and Diseases: Usually very healthy.
Propagation: By softwood cuttings and ripe wood.
