Interested in bonsai

[Noobjuice]

Ever since watching karate kid and Mr Miyagi it's been something deep down i have apreciated. These last few weeks I have been obsessed with researching everything I can about the hobby. Needless to say I wanna give bonsai a try.

The last 2 days I have been keeping my eye out for new material. Found quite a few different pieces nothing jaw dropping but something to start with.(still trying to identify a couple of them)

My goal is to get a ficus or 2 and dig up some box hedges from my yard to practice with. While I collect some other material to work on in the next few years. I have a pretty large crepe myrtle in my yard I want to air layer and some azaleas I would love to do something with.

Anyways can anyone point me to some other good you tubers or websites I can learn from? I've watched a good bit of graham potters videos.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Please add location to personal profile. Also need to join local Bonsai club for hands on and real help.

 

[Tieball]

Memory failure this moment....but I seem to recall a thread created that listed "first most helpful books bought". You might find some good information in that posting...where others learned more.....and find some of those books used at secondhand bookstores or used books on eBay for sale. There was also a thread on "best websites for learning". You might find that helpful also.

 

[just.wing.it]

Bjorn's bonsai videos are good too!
I watched Graham Potters too, early on.
Then after 2+ solid years of practicing bonsai, I went back and watched them all again.
It's amazing to see what I missed the first time around, or simply how I now see something differently than I did 2+ years ago.

Welcome to crazy!

 

[sorce]

How about some Carolina?

https://m.youtube.com/user/jgeanangel

There are sections on Crepe and Azalea.

Sorce

P.S. Welcome to Crazy!

 

[Gregory DeNinno]

Nigel Saunders has a nice youtube channel. I would start with a ficus, they grow fast and are forgiving. But honestly, just about anything will work if its growing in your yard or at least in and around your city/town. Have fun, experiment, and have patients. It takes years to develop a tree, that is part of the fun You will kill a few things along the way, that's okay. Learn from the mistakes and move on.

 

[jeanluc83]

Welcome!

You picked a good time to get into the hobby. There is some time before spring for you to do some research but not long enough that you will get board and do something stupid out of season. Head over to Evergreen Gardenworks and read all of the articles then reread them. It will give you a good base of knowledge.

Also look up a couple of the "is my tree dead" threads here. They are a good source of everything you should not do.

Find a club in your area. It will help having like minded crazies to talk to.

 

[M. Frary]

Vance Wood has some you tube videos about mugo pines you can check out.

 

[sorce]

Vance Wood has some you tube videos about mugo pines you can check out.

YouTube search....

Bonsai Stuff !

Sorce

 

[M. Frary]

Bonsai Stuff

That's it.
I just type in Vance Wood bonsai videos.
I'm going to see if he would like a camera man for some when I talk to him next.
Maybe bring in a stunt tree.

 

[sorce]

That's it.

"Bonsai Stuff"
It's so Vance!

Love it!

I look forward to you being cameraman, this way you can follow the garbage can lids, and we can see where they land!

Sorce

 

[Noobjuice]

How about some Carolina?

https://m.youtube.com/user/jgeanangel

There are sections on Crepe and Azalea.

Sorce

P.S. Welcome to Crazy!

Thanks for that link I actually watched one of his videos a few days ago. Didn't realize he was from the carolinas.

 

[Noobjuice]

Welcome!

You picked a good time to get into the hobby. There is some time before spring for you to do some research but not long enough that you will get board and do something stupid out of season. Head over to Evergreen Gardenworks and read all of the articles then reread them. It will give you a good base of knowledge.

Also look up a couple of the "is my tree dead" threads here. They are a good source of everything you should not do.

Find a club in your area. It will help having like minded crazies to talk to.

Thank you, the hardest part right now is the wanting to get my feet wet. It's been in the 70's for a week and half now and I want some material haha. But I know we will have another cold spell that will last a few weeks. So now is the best time to do my research and identify future material. I'll deffinantly look into all the info posted in this thread over the next few months.

 

[just.wing.it]

Dang....round here, it ain't safe to call it springtime till March.
Makes me a little jealous.

 

[Noobjuice]

Dang....round here, it ain't safe to call it springtime till March.
Makes me a little jealous.

Yeah 2 weeks ago we were hit with about 4-6 inches of snow and 2 days later it was mid 60's to low 70's.changes in the seasons is a roller-coaster around here but usually mid March is when it starts to change for good.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You got some good advice, especially John Geanangel's videos. I would also contact John G, if his place is less than a 3 hour drive from you, ask him if you could visit. There is nothing better than seeing trees live and in person. Seek out your local bonsai club. Attend a few meetings, even if you don't join. The local club will give you ideas what works well in your area.
Articles on Evergreen Gardeners website care very good.
Bjorn Bornholm website and videos are great.
Bonsai Tonight blog of Jonas Dupuich is running a series of beginning articles.
Crataegus blog of Mike Hagadorn has great info.
The 3 sites above are west coast, make climate adjustments before taking their advice.
Bill Valvanis blog is great, NY based, hosts national show.
Graham Potter and other suggestions above should keep you busy.

Can't go wrong with Ficus. You are in an ideal climate for azalea, well worth specializing in.

Have fun, remember to enjoy what you are doing. And just get started.

One more thought. To have patience needed to let trees grow, you need at least 25 in one stage or another, or you will tend to over work your trees. I need 75+ for myself.

 

[petegreg]

Found this reading today...

http://bonsailearningcenter.com/project/learning/

 

[A. Gorilla]

Dude, you live right by these people.

Go check them out.

http://www.greenthumbbonsai.com/

 

[Noobjuice]

Dude, you live right by these people.

Go check them out.

http://www.greenthumbbonsai.com/

Yeah I rode by the address listed for that place but it looked like a random house in a neighborhood with no sign of bonsai anywhere. I'll deffinantly be calling them in the near future to see what they are about. I scoped a few nurseries today just to get a feel for what they offered, I'll deffinantly be checking a couple of them out again when they get there spring stock in.

I think this first year will be me getting a few cheap easy pieces to work on my techniques and such and get a few nicer pieces of material in grow boxes for future projects down the road.