I live in zone 7 United States and want to find the best outdoor plants to grow in partial shade/sun. I am new to Bonsai and still learning. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Pines and junipers may be hard to keep healthy and compact but I guess that most, if not all broad leaf species will do well in partial shade. Most of my lot is under canopy and during the growing season direct sunlight is limited to mid-day, early-afternoon. I have collected trees that were predominate under canopy in my area (SE Tennessee 7b) with good results. Rock elm ( Ulmus thomasii), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), and whinged elm (Ulmus alata) specifically.
For us beginners I have to plug naturalized chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) for it’s durability, indifference to exposure, disease/pest resistance, and small leaf size.
I have also seen small stands of beech (Fagus grandifolia) growing under canopy. At slightly higher elevations (7a) there are eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) that do well in partial shade. Both are common bonsai but I have yet to try either in a container. If you can protect from frost, a lot of tropical trees do well in lower light conditions like ficus.
Deciduous broadleaf trees will get leggy too, if they leaf out in partial sun in the spring, but need shade/partial sun by the summer time in most locales.