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Do you have time to cut it back hard this year and let it back bud in the ground and then dig it next year ? Also - you will have many large lateral roots over 2 " to 3" in diameter. these will have fine roots at the ends that you will not be able to capture. It would be better to cut some of...

Rotate the tree to show the lower curve - makes it look more powerful. One of your photos shows this. Have you started to wire and pull the branches down ? Nice job keeping the birch alive in a pot - not easy to do. The bark looks amazing; crackly and white......Nice tree with some wire and...

4" square pots should do fine. It is best not to grow the seedlings in a damp medium such as peat; however if you have some growth in the seedling you should be able to get the seedling out and then into a coarser material like pumice or lava or turface. You may looose a few seedlings in the...

Hey Dan....very cool tree. I actually prefer the viewing angle from the back or side of the tree where you see the lower curver better. This is one of your snow covered photos of the tree on your bench. The snow on the needles gives the tree a fuller appearance as well...... Tom

Try wiring a bunch into different shapes with curves and bends thar you like - without too much preconceivied ideas of what the end result should look like. Then plant them out for several years and once the wire bites in good - remove the wire. let them grow out further. With Pitch Pine you...

The leaves and apples on an orchard tree are probably too coarse and large for a convincing image. You would be better served looking for wild seedlings that have been chewed by deer to get a smaller more compact tree. The named varieties best suited for bonsai are well described on the...

There is a difference between the two....the cut ones have thrown lateral shoots (now just buds) very low on the seedling. As these grow they will create a bulbous base which gives you the desired taper. The uncut seedlings don't have the low bud break. It is less of an issue with Pitch Pine -...

Paul...have you considered rotating the tree so the "Y" at the base is not so strong? Either put the large tree in front with small tree behind or the small tree in front with the larger tree behind? Creating some depth may help the image. It is hard to tell because photos just flatten...

The main lower branch does look weak - and you have to be careful when you start to wire and bend that branch as it is likely the first branch to die. It is the important branch if you want to make a cascade. The top is obviosuly very strong with lots of budding - but perhaps too strong for a...

Why not look for smaller, odd shaped, abused or twisted pines along the creek bank or elsewhere? If you are going to collect pines (time and effort) spend it on something other than a free sapling. Ps. look for Pitch Pine or Table Mountain Pine in your region - those make very good bonsai...

Agree with Ms. Vic that the collectors are well known with ample collecting experience. I posed the questions about the roots of the Ponderosa and specifically the Limber because awhile back I was thinking about buying the Limber myself. When you see the size of the box, and the collectors notes...

Consider also that the Ponderosa and the Limber Pine are in custom grow boxes; in fact the collector says so on his website, ie. that there is a huge tap root that goes to the bottom of the box of the Limber. So unless you have really good experience in removing roots etc. over time; there is...

My only comment is that the idea of making a cutting from a seedling was started with Japanese Black Pine - this results in getting buds very low on the trunk - which over time builds mass at the base of the tree. This in turn creates better taper. With a Pitch Pine - this is not needed -...

I agree with previous posts; it looks like # 3 thru #5 are yews. The first photo looks like azalea These look like they were cut back hard several years ago - that is good for you as alot of new growth lower and closer to the base. Soemone did you a favor. Collect as many as you can. Hard to...

Damping off can be a real problem with pine seeds. It is very hard to prevent. I have had good success in NY getting germination - but not much sucess afterwards. This year I sowed a bunch of red pine and black pine during later winter; in a wooden box in the ground - covered with chicken wire...

Also check to see if there is a graft union as most landscape trees of this type were not grown for bonsai purposes. Paul H is also right when he says look for taper. I would be surprised if these were not almost straight trees. This also makes them tough to use as bonsai material. It is worth a...

Sub-Alpine Fir ie. Abies Lasiocarpa make great bonsai - but not sure if they can survive east of the Rockies longterm. They are an alpine tree, with roots more sensitive than you would think. They do not like our east coast heat and humidity. I have had several and they have not survived - but I...

Many flowering and fruiting varitieis are grafted trees - so before you buy anythig you should look for a graft union. It is best not to use grafted material for flowering or fruiting bonsai. It can be done but it is more difficult. In my opinion and in this order, in terms of easily...

You should dig around the base to see if this is a grafted tree ? Has this been mentioned ? It may still be worth the effort if this is a good graft - but you should know before you make the purchase. If you read the tag on the tree and it is a named cultivar of JBP it probably is grafted. The...

The pumice used by Randy Knight is coarser and larger than the product offered by Dry Stall. Randy's pumice is anywhere from 1/4" to 3/8" diameter. At least 1/3 or 1/2 of the Dry Stall bag will be sifted and removed. It passes easily thru an 1/8" screen. You need to wash the sifted Dry Stall as...

Jim....as a follow-up to my first response I looked at your photos. Many straight branches all originating low. Do any of these have a dominant central leader? Those are the better trees. I am concerned that these are not worth your efforts. It will take years and many hours of carving to create...

Yes...as a former yew digger it is better to pick the very best trunk line now. The real problem is back budding. Of course yews will back bud and will even do so low on the trunk but the catch is having a good full root system. You don't have that after you dig one up. In my opinion if you...

Looks like wooden braces secured to sides of the box and then into deadwood ? Not usual but I guess if you have a hundred of these a few small holes is no big deal.....

The grafted varieties of prunus that one often finds are for ornamental or landscape garden purposes. The graft is often high and poorly executed. The bark will have a distinctive line where the graft union meets. You willl get suckers or shoots growing below the graft union as well. Very...

Pinyon Pines as nursery material are always grafted and grafted quite high - making a very difficult choice for bonsai material. Michael Hagedorn has a very nice collected Pinyon and should be viewable on his website. His original article was in an old issue of Bonsai Today. They are...