Smallest Leaf Deciduous Species

Most elms, zelkovas, hawthorns and oriental hornbeam have very small leaves when growing as bonsai trees. On some maple species you can also get a drastic leaf reduction, but that requires quite an effort to achieve it.
There are species with even smaller leves but usualy they are just a tiny shrubs (up to 1 or max 2 inches/5cm trunk diameter), only suitable for very small bonsai trees. If you like small bonsai i am sure there are plenty of species available to you.
 
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The challenge with many dwarf cultivars is that small leaf size is often accompanied by other characteristics that may be problematic.

For example in the case of hokkaido Chinese elms, the rate of growth is glacial, and branching is twiggy and brittle. So even though the small leaf size, by itself, would tend to indicate a good candidate for bonsai, many other characteristics will be challenging.

hokkaido.jpg
 
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The challenge with many dwarf cultivars is that small leaf size is often accompanied by other characteristics that may be problematic.

For example in the case of hokkaido Chinese elms, the rate of growth is glacial, and branching is twiggy and brittle. So even though the small leaf size, by itself, would tend to indicate a good candidate for bonsai, many other characteristics will be challenging.

View attachment 380260
Yup. I lost a significant branch off my hokkaido elm this week because.... a bird landed on it. SNAP!
 
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