How Bonsais Can Help Relieve Stress From Studying

With a better understanding of how bonsais help you with studying and concentration, we’re going to show you which species we recommend you have by your side. We’ll look at physical, scientific, and symbolic reasons we’ve chosen them. There will also be short care guides for each of them, and links to care sheets if we have them at hand.

As always, please bear in mind that these are only our suggestions, and it’s best if you find bonsai trees that suit you best. You can use these are guides to hunting the right one down.

English Oak (Quercus robur)

In a genus that has over 500 species, the English Oak is certainly one of the more prominent ones. It’s part of the Beech family, while it’s native to Europe with a few scatterings in North America and China. It prefers temperate warm weather, but it can endure the cold.

This oak tree has a massive diameter, so you can expect a thick bonsai over time. It’s well known for its lobed leaves and acorns, which look splendid as a small tree in a ceramic pot. A healthy specimen can live for a few centuries, as long as you look after it.

In terms of symbolism, the English Oak tree represents several meanings. Some of these include wisdom, being true to yourself, honor, nobility, and stability. With this species in your presence, you’ll find it easier to absorb knowledge and remember what you studied when you need it the most.

While you can grow the English Oak bonsai outsides, be careful of strong winds breaking fragile shoots. Water the soil until you see the liquid dripping through the drainage holes and then stop. Instead of wiring, use the clip-and-grow technique we taught you to shape it to the design you’d like.

Red River Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)

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Swamped in a genus that has over 700 species, the Red River Gum is one of the most popular Eucalyptus trees to grow as a bonsai. It forms part of the Myrtle family and is endemic to Australia. However, it also grows in several other countries and enjoys shade in incredibly hot temperatures.

In the wild, this Eucalyptus species grow quite tall, so you should simulate the design with a bonsai that reaches a medium or large size. The bark has loose slabs at the bottom, but it doesn’t form lignotubers to protect the stem. You’ll find groups of seven to eleven white flowers on the leaf axles presenting a stunning display.

The Red River Gum symbolizes a purifying effect, removing negative energy, promoting a calm environment, and improving concentration. For your studying, it will help you to focus on your assignments and tasks for longer while absorbing as much knowledge as possible.

It enjoys soil with a slightly acidic touch while it should retain moisture as much as possible. It can tolerate drought conditions, but it’s better if you keep the substrate moist. The foliage becomes quite dense with a massive spread after about 20 years.

Jaboticaba (Plinia cauliflora)

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Also known as the Brazilian grapetree, the Jaboticaba is also part of the Myrtle family with about 70 species in the Plinia genus. It’s native to many South American countries, such as Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Peru. The interesting name means ‘the place where tortoises are found’ or ‘turtle fat’.

Many people will recognize the purple-black fruit that has white pulp on the inside. They use it to make jellies and jams or even as wine. It’s a slow-growing tree with evergreen leaves that remain green in winter. The fruit attaches directly to the trunk, which gives it a unique appearance.

The Jaboticaba bonsai represents meditation, concentration, positive energy, and healing/recovery. When you’ve had a bad spell with exams and marks, it helps you to get right back up and try again. It also motivates you when you feel drained and you need an extra boost to get you through the day.

In the hottest period of summer, you need to shade it from direct sunlight as much as possible. When winter arrives, you’ll need to protect it from frost and extremely cold temperatures. When it’s the growing season, it enjoys a bath in a tub of water once a week instead of regular irrigation.

Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis)

While the Laurus genus only has four species, it’s part of the Laurel family that has 45 genera and 2850 species. The Bay Laurel has a few other common names, such as Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, and True Laurel. It mostly grows in the Mediterranean and United Kingdom.

As it doesn’t grow too tall, it’s seen as a small tree or shrub, so it’s ideal as a bonsai. There are pale yellow flowers that have a hint of green in them. If your bonsai manages to grow fruit, you’ll see small black berries that contain one seed each.

With only a few meanings to the Bay Laurel, the most significant ones are courage and determination. We know what it feels like when you want to give up, when life and your studies overwhelm you. Let this bonsai aid you along your journey to help you keep your chin up and keep learning.

The bonsai loves moisture but isn’t fond of wet roots, so you’ll need to ensure proper drainage at all times. Since the roots grow quickly, you should repot and replace the soil every two to three years. It loves sunlight, but it doesn’t do too well with strong winds, so an indoor space is ideal.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

The dogwood genus has its own family, namely Cornaceae, with only 85 species across two genera. While mostly an ornamental tree, it’s native to Mexico and North America, while you can find it in abundance in Florida and the Mississippi River. Other names you may see include Florida Dogwood, Cornelian Tree, Indian dogwood, and False Boxwood.

It has bright green-yellow bracts that show off during summer, holding about 20 flowers in the center. The green ovate leaves become red-brown when fall arrives, giving you a splendid display all year round. The tree generally has white bracts, but you might find cultivars with pink and red.

The Flowering Dogwood has a long list of meanings that include safety, loyalty, kindness, stability, fertility, wishes, strength, and protection. For the sake of your studies and work, we’re going to focus on determination and luck. Sometimes, things still go wrong no matter how hard you try. Everyone could use a bit of good luck.

When it’s normal temperature, you can get away with watering deeply once or twice a week. However, you’ll need to increase it if it becomes too hot to once a day. While you won’t need to spend too much time pruning, it’s a good idea to remove any dead leaves or branches during winter.

American Plum (Prunus americana)

The American Plum tree is part of the Rose family, while the Prunus genus hosts over 430 species that contain apricots, peaches, plums, almonds, and cherries. It’s commonly found in the United States, and many people confuse it with Prunus nigra, the Canada Plum.

Here’s another species that grows so small that it’s sometimes seen as a shrub instead of a tree. The roots prefer shallow pots and you may see suckers arise from the soil. Among the oval leaves on the branches you’ll find some thorns, so be careful when pruning your bonsai.

You’ll find many symbols with the American Plum bonsai, many of which can be connected to your studies. These meanings include perseverance, hope, warmth, transition, fruitfulness, good health, endurance, and overcoming adversity. Of these, our favorites are fruitfulness, endurance, and overcoming adversity.

This species is also fond of having the soil flooded once per week instead of regular watering. You can also add mulch to the soil to prevent evaporation and drying out. It enjoys being outdoors with slow-release fertilizer, but you can also keep it indoors with direct sunlight.

Common Aldar (Alnus glutinosa)

You might have heard of this tree by other names, such as Black Aldar, Aldar, and European Aldar. It forms part of the Birch family, and the genus has about 35 species with shrubs and trees. It mostly grows in Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia.

The tree reaches tall heights in the while, so you can aim for the same with your Aldar bonsai. It enjoys a formal upright style, but you can also get away with slanting. There are stalked, rounded leaves, and the male flowers produce catkins in summer.

There are only a few symbols you’ll find with the Aldar bonsai, namely will, determination, courage, and protection. While we’ve covered most of these already, we’ll aim here for protection to guard you against bad assignments and marks. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t study just because you have this tree in your possession.

Fortunately, the bonsai tree doesn’t require much maintenance and can handle some neglect while you prepare for your exams. It reaches maturity in about 20 years, but you may see it grow until it’s 50. It can handle poor soil and low watering, but we recommend you give it the best care you can.

Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)

With a family name as interesting as the bedstraw or coffee plants, there are about 140 species that have been accepted into the Gardenia genus. The most common one for bonsai is Gardenia jasminoides, which is simply referred to as ‘Gardenia.’ While mostly native to China, it moved into popularity in the United Kingdom in the 18th century.

The species is seen as a shrub instead of a tree, with cylindrical branches that are smooth to the touch. The white flowers have a glossy appearance, but sometimes they can look slightly yellow in the sunlight. After pollination, they produce oval orange fruit.

The Gardenia bonsai symbolizes a host of various meanings. Some of these include trust,  renewal, clarity, hope, dreams, and protection. We’ve selected intuition and self-reflection when it comes to your studies, as both as essential if you want to succeed in your exams and assignments. Sometimes it’s good to sit back and check if your answers and theories are correct before submitting them.

While it loves bright light, you need to ensure that it’s indirect to shield the leaves and flowers from burning. It needs watering daily in summer but makes sure it drains correctly and doesn’t clog the soil. Overwatering a gardenia is a quick way to kill it.

Red Flowering Gum (Corymbia ficifolia)

Here’s another favorite from the Myrtle family. The genus has about 100 species, while the Red Flowering Gum is endemic to Australia. The root crown swells into a lignotuber to protect it from damage and fire.

As the name implies, the Gum bonsai produces red flowers on a peduncle that delivers a glorious display. It has a dark brown trunk that will look good on desks and wooden shelves, while it also has a fibrous appearance. When it produces fruit, it looks like a small capsule shaped like an urn.

When it comes to the Red Flowering Gum bonsai’s meanings, you have clarity, scattered, and spiritual from which to choose. While clarity is certainly helpful for when you’re confused, we’re going to go for focusing without distraction and remaining centered. It will help when everything is chaotic around you and you need all your attention on your studies.

The gum bonsai tree can handle drought conditions, so you don’t have to worry if you don’t get a chance to water every day. You can also place it in partial or full sun, so it’s good for indoors and outdoors. It even grows well in clay soil.

Common Coral (Erythrina lysistemon)

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Part of the bean/legume family, there are about 130 species in the Erythrina genus. Other fascinating names for the species include Lucky Bean Tree, Umsintsi in Xhosa, Muvhale in Venda, Koraalboom in Afrikaans, and Mokhungwane in Sotho. As you can tell from these common names, it’s native to and widely popular in South Africa.

Grown mostly in parks and gardens, the Coral Tree is cultivated for its red trumpet flowers. After pollination, it forms long pods with hardy seeds that are easy to propagate. The gray bark is smooth and makes the tree look strong.

The main meaning of the Coral Tree bonsai is trusting your own judgment. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell if you’ll succeed or if you’re completing assignments correctly. While you can always ask for guidance, you need to learn to believe in yourself.

If you give the bonsai too much water, the branches will become weak, so you should only provide a little per week. You should also avoid fertilizer, as it will cause your tree to grow too quickly. It’s best to spend the spring pruning heavy stems.