How to be a successful bonsai beginner

[dbonsaiw]

What I need to figure out are things like:

- I have a pair of a bit older juniper nursery stock I haven't done anything with yet...do I practice patience, clean them and work toward beefing them up with a quality repot only for a year or more?

- Are nursery stock better grown up in better bonsai mix, or a denser not-so bonsai mix of good quality?

The work we perform on our trees is very precise and calculated. That is to say, if you aren't sure if you should be doing something, probably best not to do it. All the work we perform has the final product in mind. So the initial question you need to ask yourself is "what do I want from this tree?" If you have a stick in the mud and want a 5" caliper trunk, you probably should just be growing this out for a while. On the other hand, work like repotting is maintenance type work that needs to be performed every few years to keep the tree healthy in a container (not to mention to keep tabs on the nebari).

Bonsai has many exceptions, but when it comes to soil a dense soil is never good, especially not in a container. Regardless if it is nursery stock or whatever, the tree will fare much better in well draining soil. In broad strokes, roots don't like to sit in water. And dense soils in a container will create a water table somewhere in the pot that will always have way too much water and negatively impact the health of the tree (it may even kill it). A coarse inorganic soil mix will retain humidity for long enough while not keeping the roots wet. This will help grow the fine feeder roots you want. This will also allow you to water more often. When the water drains, oxygen will fill the spaces in your soil and your roots will thrive. Potting soil is for.... well, I'm not entirely sure, but it's horrific for bonsai.

 

[Ming dynasty]

I’m new to the craft and very curious therefore I have a lot of questions. I mainly focus on Japanese maple (Acer pal.). I have 2 books that I’m reading for more info (J.D Japanese maple and Peter Warren Japanese maple). I’m fixing to join the Atlanta Bonsai Society. Currently looking for a sensei who’s able to help and guide me through my journey. And/or a fiend or 2 who’s local and just started their journey so we can learn and grow together. Thanks y’all have a blessed plant caring day!

 

[bonsaikifu]

After reading a lot of beginner threads on this site over the years, I am going to create a thread of advice about how to get the best start on your bonsai journey.

Simply put - take advantage of all of the people who have gone before you!

At some level there is a bit of skeptic in all of us, and we need to fight the urge to dive in and just start doing stuff because we are excited and we want to start growing trees NOW! And plus we are pretty smart, and self-confident and think "how hard can it be?" And so we fail. A lot. Meanwhile we are surrounded by people with a lot of experience who can look at what we just did and say "well I could have told you that wasn't going to work, because I made the same mistake 30 years ago!"

So focus on repeating other peoples' successes, instead of other peoples' failures.

Find someone with experience, and use their experience as your starting point. Try to learn everything they know - and master it, even if it takes you five or ten years. Don't be the person who spends 25 years learning what other people already know doesn't work - repeating all the mistakes they have already made. Once you become experienced, you can always try to improve upon processes, or techniques, or designs. But you are starting from a position of knowledge, instead of a position of ignorance.

This site can be an amazing resource. There are people here with decades of experience, including professionals who make a living in bonsai who come here to interact with people without asking for anything in return (except perhaps a little respect). Many members here have participated in national shows and won significant recognition for their work. Wouldn't it be better to start by trying to replicate their success, instead of striking out on your own?

Listen. Ask questions. Listen some more. And then try to do what they tell you... exactly. Only when you can replicate their success should you try to improve upon it. Don't try to run before you can walk. You waste years and years of time... and get frustrated along the way.

Great piece. I also found Kifu Bonsai when i was searching for Bonsai Classes near me. I had gathered a lot of information on bonsai techniques which has allowed me to share this hobby with the world as well. It'such a piece of work.

 

[Cajunrider]

Now that I have had 4 years under my belt. I would like to take Leo's post to gauge my progress.
Starting from seed, take many years, easily more than 5 years, during this "nurseryman's phase" of raising bonsai, you learn and use very few bonsai techniques. It is mostly tree nursery horticulture.
Since I am a little advanced in age, I pretty much skipped this step except for a few trees that are not common like Tamarindus, Royal poinciana. There is one exception however: Bald cypress from seeds are the bomb. They grow quick and give you much better taper than nursery stock.

Taking nursery stock that may have 5 to 25 years of growth, and bringing it thru the steps to become pre-bonsai ready for it's first real styling, again is a narrow, limited number of bonsai techniques. Different from the techniques for seedlings, but no where near the full repertoire of bonsai techniques. Nursery stock can only teach you so much. Landscape trees harvested from an urban or suburban setting still fall into the nursery stock category. "Urban-yamadori" are still just older nursery stock, they are not the equivalent of wild collected trees.
After 2 years of playing with nursery stock, I discover that nursery stock are mostly grown for height. Taper in nursery stock are usually not as good as that of those in the wild or grown from seeds by me.

Yamadori, by which I literally mean trees collected from the mountains. And forest collected trees need a different set of bonsai related skills. Handing century old, wild collected stock is a specialized skill set that is very much a part of bonsai.
Having dabbled with collection, the only thing I can add is to study the species very well before collecting a high potential specimen. I might have a chance to collect one really good bald cypress next spring. While I have collected many BCs, this one gets me really nervous. Some day soon I will try collecting in the mountain once I am through with sloshing in the swampy forest in the South.

Now if you, as a beginner want to learn all bonsai has to offer, you need one or more trees in each of these phases of development. You will never learn the advanced techniques if you only start with inexpensive nursery stock. True given enough time, nursery stock can move through all these phases, but it will take decades to get there.
This is very true, we all have limited time. There is nothing to hold us back from trying the earlier phases at the same time.

As a beginner, make a 5 year plan. Learn the horticulture. Learn about initial training of nursery stock. Then plan for the purchase of advanced materials by the time you have been in the hobby 5 years. You don't need a bunch of advanced trees, but you should get at least one tree that is near exhibition quality. This will be the tree that teaches you the "real art" of bonsai techniques. You will need to learn display techniques. You will have to learn the refinement techniques. Owning an advanced tree will force you to stretch your skills.
I am following my plan that BNutter community helped to formulate. The only thing I want to add is that you must at least possess the skills to keep advanced trees healthy, otherwise you are wasting your money and killing precious trees.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Now that I have had 4 years under my belt. I would like to take Leo's post to gauge my progress.
Starting from seed, take many years, easily more than 5 years, during this "nurseryman's phase" of raising bonsai, you learn and use very few bonsai techniques. It is mostly tree nursery horticulture.
Since I am a little advanced in age, I pretty much skipped this step except for a few trees that are not common like Tamarindus, Royal poinciana. There is one exception however: Bald cypress from seeds are the bomb. They grow quick and give you much better taper than nursery stock.

Taking nursery stock that may have 5 to 25 years of growth, and bringing it thru the steps to become pre-bonsai ready for it's first real styling, again is a narrow, limited number of bonsai techniques. Different from the techniques for seedlings, but no where near the full repertoire of bonsai techniques. Nursery stock can only teach you so much. Landscape trees harvested from an urban or suburban setting still fall into the nursery stock category. "Urban-yamadori" are still just older nursery stock, they are not the equivalent of wild collected trees.
After 2 years of playing with nursery stock, I discover that nursery stock are mostly grown for height. Taper in nursery stock are usually not as good as that of those in the wild or grown from seeds by me.

Yamadori, by which I literally mean trees collected from the mountains. And forest collected trees need a different set of bonsai related skills. Handing century old, wild collected stock is a specialized skill set that is very much a part of bonsai.
Having dabbled with collection, the only thing I can add is to study the species very well before collecting a high potential specimen. I might have a chance to collect one really good bald cypress next spring. While I have collected many BCs, this one gets me really nervous. Some day soon I will try collecting in the mountain once I am through with sloshing in the swampy forest in the South.

Now if you, as a beginner want to learn all bonsai has to offer, you need one or more trees in each of these phases of development. You will never learn the advanced techniques if you only start with inexpensive nursery stock. True given enough time, nursery stock can move through all these phases, but it will take decades to get there.
This is very true, we all have limited time. There is nothing to hold us back from trying the earlier phases at the same time.

As a beginner, make a 5 year plan. Learn the horticulture. Learn about initial training of nursery stock. Then plan for the purchase of advanced materials by the time you have been in the hobby 5 years. You don't need a bunch of advanced trees, but you should get at least one tree that is near exhibition quality. This will be the tree that teaches you the "real art" of bonsai techniques. You will need to learn display techniques. You will have to learn the refinement techniques. Owning an advanced tree will force you to stretch your skills.
I am following my plan that BNutter community helped to formulate. The only thing I want to add is that you must at least possess the skills to keep advanced trees healthy, otherwise you are wasting your money and killing precious trees.

After 2 years, I am moving away from seedlings and less developed stock. If I didn't already kill them or plan to use them as grafts, I gave away my seedlings for the most part. Rather than buy a bunch of stuff that will take forever to develop and that I will likely kill through impatience, I plan on buying one or two better pieces every year. I have abandoned the idea of growing fat trunks from young stock. If it's a thin trunk, the tree will end up developed as a shohin. From this point forward, I will basically be buying the trunks I want on the tree for the most part.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

My own collection is / was mostly things I've grown from seed and inexpensive nursery stock. The "is / was" reflects the fact that trees come, trees go. I have been moving on some things (gifts to others, or compost heap) and have picked up others as my tastes change. Lost a few things due to having to be out of town frequently this year.

But I recently followed my own suggestion and bought an imported azalea that was a significant investment on my part. THe cultivar is 'Nyohozan' and it is "sumo" style, bought it in May. I really haven't done much with it. It had been disbudded before I purchased it. We'll see if I have more time for working it next year.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Cajunrider - glad you are finding that "plan" somewhat helpful. It seems to be what in hindsight I thought would have helped me most. But it is just my hindsight. Its hard to "know" the best way to do anything.

 

[dbonsaiw]

I came across this article and thought I'd share. In addition to introducing me to some great bonsai artists outside of Japan, the article gives some insight on the artists' approach and advice for newbs. Thought it was good stuff.

The Most Influential Bonsai Artists (from outside Japan) - All Things Flowers Blog by Sydney Florists Flowers Across Sydney

Bonsai is an art form that uses cultivation techniques to produce miniature trees in small pots that resemble their full-sized counterparts and has a history that stretches back more than 1,000 years in Japan. However, since the end of the second world war, the rest of the world has fallen in...

blog.flowersacrosssydney.com.au

 

[tdesaul]

I came to this Forum to find out about whether a certain brand of tool is good and I discovered that I don't know enough about anything.
What is a good book to buy that will explain things like :
Airlayering (what?)
How to take a big tree and make it little
How to take a little tree and make it stay little and branch out
What trees or shrubs can do "cuttings"

I'm so lost.... but, Im working about 6 trees right now...
I bought 2 at a bonsai greenhouse to maintain (chinese elm, juniper)
I dug out 2 from the ground...both are oak (I think)
I bought 2 that weren't started as bonsai trees but I want to work them (lemon, fig)
I'm about to go dig up some poison oak and give it a try.

 

[MattE]

I came to this Forum to find out about whether a certain brand of tool is good and I discovered that I don't know enough about anything.
What is a good book to buy that will explain things like :
Airlayering (what?)
How to take a big tree and make it little
How to take a little tree and make it stay little and branch out
What trees or shrubs can do "cuttings"

I'm so lost.... but, Im working about 6 trees right now...
I bought 2 at a bonsai greenhouse to maintain (chinese elm, juniper)
I dug out 2 from the ground...both are oak (I think)
I bought 2 that weren't started as bonsai trees but I want to work them (lemon, fig)
I'm about to go dig up some poison oak and give it a try.

first thing first, you will probably kill a couple , dont let that discourage you.
know your temperature zone and look for trees that will survive with in that zone or that you can over winter in a shed or a house without killing.
start watching youtube and take what you see with a grain of salt but if what you see is repeated alot there is a good chance its useful info.

i recommend any ficus for starting Chinese elm and any type of jade for,youtube i recommend nigel saunders, the bonsai supply , daves bonsai, Eisei-en bonsai ect

 

[rockm]

I came to this Forum to find out about whether a certain brand of tool is good and I discovered that I don't know enough about anything.
What is a good book to buy that will explain things like :
Airlayering (what?)
How to take a big tree and make it little
How to take a little tree and make it stay little and branch out
What trees or shrubs can do "cuttings"

I'm so lost.... but, Im working about 6 trees right now...
I bought 2 at a bonsai greenhouse to maintain (chinese elm, juniper)
I dug out 2 from the ground...both are oak (I think)
I bought 2 that weren't started as bonsai trees but I want to work them (lemon, fig)
I'm about to go dig up some poison oak and give it a try.

First I would get out to see actual bonsai --not at the garden center, not in a book or online. IRL, in person, hopefully you live somewhere (if you'd include your location info, things would be so much easier for us to help you), that has an arboretum or garden or seller that has decent bonsai. In-person is really the only way to see what is possible and if you look carefully, how it's done. World class bonsai exhibits, such as the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in D.C., the North Carolina Arboretum In Raleigh, or the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Washington state, are among the best places to go if you're in the area, or taking a trip. More locally, bonsai clubs are the next best thing. There are dozens and dozens of clubs around the U.S. Club members can be the best resource you run across, you can learn five years worth of things in one afternoon helping a member repot trees, or maintain their personal collections. THey can also besources of cheap, but excellent bonsai material, from trees to pots and tools, to soil.

Second, I would skip collecting anything (any oak is not an easy subject even for folks who've been doing this for a while). I'd skip it because you're needlessly complicating you ability to learn much of anything about actual bonsai--collected trees are not bonsai, they are plants that need specialized care years before they can even begin their bonsai journey. I'd also skip the cuttings for while for the same reasons--they aren't going anywhere bonsaiwise for years and will simply slow down and complicate things. Save both until you understand WHY you're collecting something (hint-it's not because its "free"), or HOW to develop those cuttings.

Third, good choice on getting some actual bonsai to care for. That's the only way to learn how to do it.Futzing around with seeds, seedlings, etc. doesn't really teach you much about actual day-to-day care and horticulture bonsai requires.

Fourth, read everything you can in BOOKS. Stay offline for a while. Actual books require some expertise, or the publisher wouldn't invest in the author. Online ANYONE can publish anything. The majority of bonsai stuff online is garbage. Reading and understanding will lead to the answers to your questions about making big trees small and inducing branching.

Here are some decent books that might be a good place to start:

The Bonsai Book: The Definitive Illustrated Guide: Barton, Dan: 9781631583797: Amazon.com: Books

The Bonsai Book: The Definitive Illustrated Guide [Barton, Dan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Bonsai Book: The Definitive Illustrated Guide

www.amazon.com

The Little Book of Bonsai: An Easy Guide to Caring for Your Bonsai Tree: Dupuich, Jonas: 9780399582592: Amazon.com: Books

The Little Book of Bonsai: An Easy Guide to Caring for Your Bonsai Tree [Dupuich, Jonas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Little Book of Bonsai: An Easy Guide to Caring for Your Bonsai Tree

www.amazon.com

The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Creating, Growing, and Displaying Bonsai with Over 800 Photographs: Norman, Ken: 9780754821809: Amazon.com: Books

The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Creating, Growing, and Displaying Bonsai with Over 800 Photographs [Norman, Ken] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide...

www.amazon.com

 

[dbonsaiw]

I came to this Forum to find out about whether a certain brand of tool is good and I discovered that I don't know enough about anything.
What is a good book to buy that will explain things like :
Airlayering (what?)
How to take a big tree and make it little
How to take a little tree and make it stay little and branch out
What trees or shrubs can do "cuttings"

I'm so lost.... but, Im working about 6 trees right now...
I bought 2 at a bonsai greenhouse to maintain (chinese elm, juniper)
I dug out 2 from the ground...both are oak (I think)
I bought 2 that weren't started as bonsai trees but I want to work them (lemon, fig)
I'm about to go dig up some poison oak and give it a try.

Welcome aboard. You should post your zone - knowing where you are will help people give better advice.

There's honestly a ton of great material on this site to get started. I would also recommend you go to here http://bonsai4me.com/bonsai_basics.html and read all the articles.

Airlayering is a method of propagation - removing a piece (or pieces) of your tree to make more trees.

I learned a lot from Meriggioli's "Bonsai Maples".

 

[Bohica]

After reading a lot of beginner threads on this site over the years, I am going to create a thread of advice about how to get the best start on your bonsai journey.

Simply put - take advantage of all of the people who have gone before you!

At some level there is a bit of skeptic in all of us, and we need to fight the urge to dive in and just start doing stuff because we are excited and we want to start growing trees NOW! And plus we are pretty smart, and self-confident and think "how hard can it be?" And so we fail. A lot. Meanwhile we are surrounded by people with a lot of experience who can look at what we just did and say "well I could have told you that wasn't going to work, because I made the same mistake 30 years ago!"

So focus on repeating other peoples' successes, instead of other peoples' failures.

Find someone with experience, and use their experience as your starting point. Try to learn everything they know - and master it, even if it takes you five or ten years. Don't be the person who spends 25 years learning what other people already know doesn't work - repeating all the mistakes they have already made. Once you become experienced, you can always try to improve upon processes, or techniques, or designs. But you are starting from a position of knowledge, instead of a position of ignorance.

This site can be an amazing resource. There are people here with decades of experience, including professionals who make a living in bonsai who come here to interact with people without asking for anything in return (except perhaps a little respect). Many members here have participated in national shows and won significant recognition for their work. Wouldn't it be better to start by trying to replicate their success, instead of striking out on your own?

Listen. Ask questions. Listen some more. And then try to do what they tell you... exactly. Only when you can replicate their success should you try to improve upon it. Don't try to run before you can walk. You waste years and years of time... and get frustrated along the way.

Looking for like minded bonsai people I am new to forum and bonsai . I am near Gettysburg Pennsylvania

 

[tdesaul]

First I would get out to see actual bonsai --not at the garden center, not in a book or online. IRL, in person, hopefully you live somewhere (if you'd include your location info, things would be so much easier for us to help you), that has an arboretum or garden or seller that has decent bonsai. In-person is really the only way to see what is possible and if you look carefully, how it's done. World class bonsai exhibits, such as the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in D.C., the North Carolina Arboretum In Raleigh, or the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Washington state, are among the best places to go if you're in the area, or taking a trip. More locally, bonsai clubs are the next best thing. There are dozens and dozens of clubs around the U.S. Club members can be the best resource you run across, you can learn five years worth of things in one afternoon helping a member repot trees, or maintain their personal collections. THey can also besources of cheap, but excellent bonsai material, from trees to pots and tools, to soil.

Second, I would skip collecting anything (any oak is not an easy subject even for folks who've been doing this for a while). I'd skip it because you're needlessly complicating you ability to learn much of anything about actual bonsai--collected trees are not bonsai, they are plants that need specialized care years before they can even begin their bonsai journey. I'd also skip the cuttings for while for the same reasons--they aren't going anywhere bonsaiwise for years and will simply slow down and complicate things. Save both until you understand WHY you're collecting something (hint-it's not because its "free"), or HOW to develop those cuttings.

Third, good choice on getting some actual bonsai to care for. That's the only way to learn how to do it.Futzing around with seeds, seedlings, etc. doesn't really teach you much about actual day-to-day care and horticulture bonsai requires.

Fourth, read everything you can in BOOKS. Stay offline for a while. Actual books require some expertise, or the publisher wouldn't invest in the author. Online ANYONE can publish anything. The majority of bonsai stuff online is garbage. Reading and understanding will lead to the answers to your questions about making big trees small and inducing branching.

Here are some decent books that might be a good place to start:

The Bonsai Book: The Definitive Illustrated Guide: Barton, Dan: 9781631583797: Amazon.com: Books

The Bonsai Book: The Definitive Illustrated Guide [Barton, Dan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Bonsai Book: The Definitive Illustrated Guide

www.amazon.com

The Little Book of Bonsai: An Easy Guide to Caring for Your Bonsai Tree: Dupuich, Jonas: 9780399582592: Amazon.com: Books

The Little Book of Bonsai: An Easy Guide to Caring for Your Bonsai Tree [Dupuich, Jonas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Little Book of Bonsai: An Easy Guide to Caring for Your Bonsai Tree

www.amazon.com

The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Creating, Growing, and Displaying Bonsai with Over 800 Photographs: Norman, Ken: 9780754821809: Amazon.com: Books

The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Creating, Growing, and Displaying Bonsai with Over 800 Photographs [Norman, Ken] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide...

www.amazon.com

Thank you for these resources! Your advice is sound and I can't wait to share my bonsai journey. I'm researching these books now!

 

[Mitchiwah]

My first 3 bonsai's died from all the leaves falling off. I kept them watered, made sure they got lots of light, fertilized them sparingly, then I caught my cat plucking all the leaves off.

 

[cmeg1]

Nothing wrong with hydroponic/organic instruction too!!!!!

Harley Smith Master Growers Video Library

growclasses.npk-industries.com

 

[tdesaul]

My first 3 bonsai's died from all the leaves falling off. I kept them watered, made sure they got lots of light, fertilized them sparingly, then I caught my cat plucking all the leaves off.

I hope your cat is named "Bonsai" now!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Saying “please” and “thank you” goes a long way when soliciting help.

 

[luke1984]

After reading a lot of beginner threads on this site over the years, I am going to create a thread of advice about how to get the best start on your bonsai journey.

Simply put - take advantage of all of the people who have gone before you!

At some level there is a bit of skeptic in all of us, and we need to fight the urge to dive in and just start doing stuff because we are excited and we want to start growing trees NOW! And plus we are pretty smart, and self-confident and think "how hard can it be?" And so we fail. A lot. Meanwhile we are surrounded by people with a lot of experience who can look at what we just did and say "well I could have told you that wasn't going to work, because I made the same mistake 30 years ago!"

So focus on repeating other peoples' successes, instead of other peoples' failures.

Find someone with experience, and use their experience as your starting point. Try to learn everything they know - and master it, even if it takes you five or ten years. Don't be the person who spends 25 years learning what other people already know doesn't work - repeating all the mistakes they have already made. Once you become experienced, you can always try to improve upon processes, or techniques, or designs. But you are starting from a position of knowledge, instead of a position of ignorance.

This site can be an amazing resource. There are people here with decades of experience, including professionals who make a living in bonsai who come here to interact with people without asking for anything in return (except perhaps a little respect). Many members here have participated in national shows and won significant recognition for their work. Wouldn't it be better to start by trying to replicate their success, instead of striking out on your own?

Listen. Ask questions. Listen some more. And then try to do what they tell you... exactly. Only when you can replicate their success should you try to improve upon it. Don't try to run before you can walk. You waste years and years of time... and get frustrated along the way.

Hi need advice on when to shape and cut my tree. It's about 3 years old

 

[BrianBay9]

Hi need advice on when to shape and cut my tree. It's about 3 years old

Not sure where in this thread, but I'm sure someone must have mentioned to provide specific information when asking for help. Generally where do you live? What growing conditions do you have - balcony, back yard, farm? What kind of tree are you growing? Pics can help lots when we're trying to give advice, and it's more fun to have a look at trees too.