Introduction/Newbie questions

M

Michaelf

Sapling
Messages
34
Reaction score
18
Location
Macon, Ga
USDA Zone
8a
Hey, my name is Michael. I live in middle Ga, and I'm looking to try my hand at bonsai. Ive always had a interest in this art just never pulled the trigger on it. The reason I have decided to now is I think this will be a cool hobby for myself and my 8yr old daughter to work on together.

To the questions. I'm wanting to get a red Japanese maple. I don't want to start with seeds, but on the other hand I don't won't to buy something that is already shaped. I've seen online while researching something called "pre bonsai". In my uneducated guess those are just seedlings that look like they need years worth of growth before being touched. I don't want to get something like that and tell my daughter here our tree, can't do anything with it for 5yrs though. Any info on what I should purchase and where from would be greatly appreciated. Thx in advance. Oh and be ready for a whole lot of noob questions.
 
Pre bonsai come in various levels of development. Some are very far away from initial styling and others are ready. Price usually corresponds.

There are various online bonsai nurseries that show you the photo of the actual pre-bonsai tree you will get.

Happy growing!
 
Sounds like a righteous plan!

Our boy @ConorDash has a maple somewhat similar to what I think you are looking for...of course, he's in England, but maybe he can share a pic and we can point you to similar.

Other than cutting some branches after dormancy, that maple will Probly be pretty boring for a while too!

I think you should get a couple of cheap garden center Junipers to style up too!

Welcome to Crazy!

Hey....what would be Crazier than an 8 year old winning this contest?
http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/fall-2016-contest-whos-in.24687/

You guys are welcome to join!

It should be a fun learning experience!

Sorce
 
Thanks for the information. I think i may get two trees now lol. Since you say that the maple may take awhile to start on, I may just buy one of those to work on myself. Gonna go to a local nursery next week and try to pick out a boxshrub or juniper. When doing this what should i be looking for when selecting the tree.

Sorce, it be awesome for her and I to win that contest! Unfortunately I dont think we habe have enough knowledge at the moment to even get a second look. But that's what you guys are for. I need to be taught the basics. Hope you guys have plenty of patiences.
 
KingJades said:
Most of the articles on that site are damn good for us beginners.
Click to expand...
Yea I've noticed. Read a good bit already. Gonna be reading some more tonight. I need to find a first cut section. I'm scared to cut on them lol
 
@Michaelf
If you do go out to purchase a Japanese maple, make sure it is not a weeping variety, they do not make good bonsai because of their growth habit and because they all will have ugly grafts (a union of two different plants growing as one) usually high up on the trunk. Ask for a tree form/upright growing Japanese maple, these plants want to be trees and they can grow large and give you that single tapering trunk that makes a convincing bonsai. Anything you'll find at a normal nursery will have a graft hopefully low down near the soil line. These are perfect to learn on, but they probably won't win you any awards...

Just look for plants with interesting trunks, whether it's the texture, or some nice curves, or just something that stands out to you. Ones that have fat trunks near the soil line with some curves and taper will save you years of growing!

That contest would be perfect for you and your daughter to participate in, she could really enjoy the competition and it's all about learning :)
Good luck and have fun with it!
 
Thanks for the info cbroad. I think im just going to a local nursery next week and check out what they have and if i see anything interesting that I think i can work with I'll pick it up and give it a shot. I really want to get into the contest so I'm gonna rush out and buy what I think I need to get started. All opinions are welcome on that topic also. As far as the maple goes how tall would you recommend it being when i purchase it?
 
Michaelf said:
Thx for the warm welcome. Wish me luck
Click to expand...

My best advice for you is to start reading everything you can get your hands on. Not just here, but other blogs and books. You can learn lots of basic stuff and cut down the learning curve and confusion some.

Join a club if you can and try to get to a bonsai show and see some demonstations if you can.
 
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Believe it or not Ive been reading and watching videos for about two months now and still have lots to learn. I tried to join a forum in my home state that is also a club, it's a few hours away from the house, but that's no problem because ill have good company with me. Had a problem with the email address. Gotta figure out what's up with that. Anyways I think i need to go he my hands on a plant and see what I think i have learned. It crazy how much I have gotten into this, but I'm super stoked that I'm getting close to buying my first bonsai project.
 
Michaelf said:
As far as the maple goes how tall would you recommend it being when i purchase it?
Click to expand...
I don't want to scare you but the bigger the better, it's all about selecting a nice trunk and usually the fatter ones are better. But... Usually to get fat trunks the tree needs to be a decent size (a 1 inch caliper trunk could be 6+ feet tall, if you found a 3" caliper Japanese maple, it's probably going to be at least 10' tall), and then it will probably be cut down to a few inches and then the next trunk section is grown and then that's eventually cut back (that's how you get taper). Japanese maples are notorious for being expensive so it may not be the best introductory tree. Look at the nursery's reduced area or ask someone where they keep the old and ugly plants, you can find some nice scores and they'll be cheap!

Paradox said:
My best advice for you is to start reading everything you can get your hands on.
Click to expand...
Like Paradox said
 
@Michaelf
We're all getting close to the end of the growing season so you may be limited on what and how much work you can do to any given plant (this coming from someone that just did a trunk chop a couple of days ago... :oops:o_O).
 
I remember a while back I was at a local nursery and they had 6 or 7 foot bloodgood Japanese maples for around $40.00. Maybe one of those would be a good choice?? Need to research this taper thing some more though lol.
 
cbroad said:
@Michaelf
We're all getting close to the end of the growing season so you may be limited on what and how much work you can do to any given plant (this coming from someone that just did a trunk chop a couple of days ago... :oops:o_O).
Click to expand...
Should I wait until next year to get started then??
 
Don't rule out seeds, as a father I'm sure youre aware of fast the years pass. Plant a few seeds with your daughter and spend the next few years practicing / killing trees with her. Once you get a hang of things those seedlings will be bonsai candidates. How cool would it be to hear your 22 year old daughter brag about her "grown from seed bonsai" she planted with her father. Time is on her side, like Warren Buffet and his ATMs
 
If they're still there I'd grab a couple, that's a good price regardless of what they look like as long as they're alive.

It depends on your first frost date... Any pruning will encourage new growth, and if that new growth hasn't hardened off by the time it gets cold it could be damaged.

Summer is actually the best time to prune maples because they can bleed too much if done in spring, but it is getting late. If it was me, I'd buy a maple and only prune a little if any and study it through the fall and winter, and buy some small junipers, boxwood or Japanese hollies to play with now.
 
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