Learning Bonsai to Save Beloved Trees

[key]

Hello everyone! I'm not sure if introductory posts are customary here, but I wanted to say hi. My name is key, and I'm not just super new to bonsai -- I'm super new to gardening too. I have so much to learn, and I'm hoping to glean inspiration and wisdom from you all so that I can achieve the dream of growing a small bonsai collection from the seeds and/or cuttings of trees that are important to me.

My journey started this past summer when the tree I love most at my condo complex -- a tipuana tipu -- was very suddenly marked to come down. It was only being given another month to live, so I threw myself into learning everything I could about propagating trees from cuttings in the hopes of extending its life in a new form. Although none of my cuttings managed to root, I'm happy to say that a handful of residents and I successfully campaigned to save the tree -- so my bonsai quest is no longer so dire, and I don't have to go through what would have been a heartbreaking loss.

This spring I'm hoping to grow seedlings from my tree and see if I can have success that way instead. (Cuttings will not be possible now, as the tree has been pruned and the branches are out of reach.) I did briefly grow sprouts at the same time I was trying with the cuttings, but the seedlings succumbed to a spider mite infestation when they each had three or so sets of leaves. I'm so new to gardening that I didn't know what spider mites were until I looked up information on strange webbing on leaves, and by the time I tried to take steps to remove the pests, the seedlings were either too far gone or too weak to survive my attempts. Tears were shed, but I'm excited to try again.

I'm going to enjoy looking at all your posts around the forum and learning as much as I can! And I'd be very interested in hearing anyone's sentimental stories about their bonsai. Did you ever save a tree you loved or "take it with you" in the form of a bonsai? Maybe a tree from your childhood home when you moved, or one that was slated to be destroyed? Thanks, and take care!

 

[JackHammer]

Welcome. I think the common story around here is closer to- "I had a beloved tree and it died. It taught me a lot and now I have that memory and lots of different trees. I try to do better with each tree.
I killed a beloved tree I had but it brought me deeper into bonsai.

 

[Carol 83]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Welcome to the Nut House. Seeds are a long journey, might want to get yourself some nursery plants to practice on.

My favorite tree was a cherry tree we had in the backyard when I was young. Easy to climb and the cherries were plentiful.

 

[Paradox]

Welcome

There was a large Eastern White Pine outside my childhood home that I had a tire swing hanging from. I loved that big old Pine. Spent many hours in its shade. It was large even when we moved in when I was 5. Now I'm over 50 so that tree was probably at least 70 years old and probably older.

Last time I visited my folks, the tree had been cut down because it had begun to die and was a danger of potentially falling on the house. I am still sad it's gone.

 

[19Mateo83]

Welcome to the Nut House.

Hey!!! That’s my line

Welcome Key!

 

[gooeytek]

Welcome, and good luck with your seedlings. These grow pretty fast.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Welcome to the site!

You might want to check out the contest forums where people have been growing bonsai from seed - just to get an idea for the time horizon and best practices.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Hey!!! That’s my line

Welcome Key!
View attachment 525244

I do remember hearing that before. I'll use Welcome to Crazy instead.

 

[19Mateo83]

I do remember hearing that before. I'll use Welcome to Crazy instead.

It’s all good

 

[key]

Thanks for all these replies, folks! I loved hearing about your favorite trees from the past... I'm sorry that some of them are gone.

I recently had a look at my childhood home's front yard in the hopes that the Japanese maple we had there 40 years ago was still around, but sadly it is not. I had thought about contacting the residents and asking if they'd be okay with my taking a cutting. One of the weirdest letters they would have gotten in the post? Probably. Alas, it was not to be.

EDIT: I should mention though that the pine tree I planted in our back yard in 1997 is still there though -- and it's HUGE. Just to add a positive story in here too.

And thanks for the tip about the contest forum, @bonsainut! I'll have a look.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I planted Tipuana tipu seeds in a pot a couple years ago. What I've learned is that they like the soil to be moist. When the soil starts to dry out, the leaves close up. After watering, the leaves open back up and look much happier.

They are from 6" to over a foot tall now. The best time of year to prune or repot is late winter.

Just give them plenty of water, sun, and a soil that drains and they should be fine.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I had thought about contacting the residents and asking if they'd be okay with my taking a cutting.

There is a tree down the road from me that I am absolutely going to ask the owners about taking some cuttings from. A little intimidating... a long gravel drive... but I have faith in humanity!

 

[Wulfskaar]

There is a tree down the road from me that I am absolutely going to ask the owners about taking some cuttings from. A little intimidating... a long gravel drive... but I have faith in humanity!

The hard part is convincing them you're not selling anything.

 

[Millard B.]

Welcome to Bonsai Nut, I've been involved in bonsai for a very long time, a lot of usefull info can be had here, I just learned that roots from Desmodium will re-generate readily, I'm about to reduce the root mass of 3 fifteen gallon Desmodium as to fit them into bonsai pots. I was trying to learn bonsai from a Sunset paperback book, then I joined the South Palm Bonsai Club in 1980, I bought 2 Bucida spinosas at a yard sale, $20 was a elot of cash to me at that time! My first workshop was with a Japanese guy named John Naka,, he cut it back to a hard line and drew a sketch of what he envisioned, I brought it back to a second workshop with him, he made a couple adjustments to the apex. Every year around March the tree would drop all it's leaves and put on all new leaves within 2 weeks. In 2018 it dropped it's leaves around Thanksgiving. I worked on that tree for 38 years, found out upon close inspection that on the original trunk chop Mr. Naka made there were two tiny "snake Bite" looking holes side by side, BORERS! I just brought home from a friend's nursery the first load of 11 fifteen gallon 25 year old Bucidas, threre are 32 more 7 gal and about 24 field grown Bucidas that he wants Gone. Every cut will have an insecticide applied then tar type pruning sealer applied. My advice to you just staring your journey into bonsai would to start with a hardy tree, either Portulacaria afra or Ficus nerifolia and join a local bonsai club. My girlfriend and I are vendors at the Memorial Weekend Bonsai Convention in Orlando for the past 5 years selling my homemade stoneware pottery. When packing up at the end of the show I happened to put 2 of the Portulacaria afras planted in lava rock into one of my pottery crates. Just before last Christmas I was looking for a particular pot to take to the Kannopolis Show as a donation. The two Portulaacaria afras were still alive, not happy but still alive and did recover! 7 months in a crate on the porch, no bright light or water!