Any start to finish type progression threads?

JDK

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Hello I am new to bonsai. I was wondering if anyone could point me towards any good threads for learning? I have been reading quite a bit but would love to find a thread with a full begging to end type of journal so to speak.

Thanks
 

Hack Yeah!

Omono
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Welcome, there have to be 100's , just use the search function for the specific trees your interested in
 

sorce

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Welcome to Crazy!

Its not easy to find the best long runnimg threads....

But start with searching threads by these folks...
@Brian Van Fleet @Smoke @Dav4
I know they have long term threads, with recent updates.

Fun to watch the tree's change......
But your trees in your yard need observation.
And application of techniques and timings particular to your zone.

Sorce
 

Bonsai Nut

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Hello I am new to bonsai. I was wondering if anyone could point me towards any good threads for learning? I have been reading quite a bit but would love to find a thread with a full begging to end type of journal so to speak.

Thanks

Welcome to the site! That is one thing there are tons and tons of here... Is there a specific type of tree you are most interested in?
 

JDK

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I am interested in the native trees of my local area (NE Ohio). I have access to lots of land that contains beech, maple, apple. I would like to start there. I really like the beech bonsai in particular. I also love the beech group plantings. I also like the shohin style.

I was considering using an air layering technique to acquire some starter material from the land I have permission to harvest from. Is this a good plan?
 
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Bonsai Nut

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I was considering using an air layering technique to acquire some starter material from the land I have permission to harvest from. Is this a good plan?

It's a great plan... if you don't live too far from the collecting area. Air-layering isn't too hard if you do it in your back yard with water handy... it is more problematic if you have to walk down the street a couple times a day with a watering can in order to keep your air-layers moist :)

I don't have any personal experience air-layering beeches since they are somewhat difficult to grow down here. But I expect others will chime in.
 

JDK

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It's a great plan... if you don't live too far from the collecting area. Air-layering isn't too hard if you do it in your back yard with water handy... it is more problematic if you have to walk down the street a couple times a day with a watering can in order to keep your air-layers moist :)

I don't have any personal experience air-layering beeches since they are somewhat difficult to grow down here. But I expect others will chime in.

Wow I guess I did not realize I would have to water the layer that much.......
I wonder if I could use some type of drip system? Any thoughts?

The farm I have access to is a bit of a drive but it is 200 acres with lots of different trees.
 

JDK

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Instead of air layering maybe I could just go out and chop some good candidates and let it develop in the ground? Sorry if some of this is noob
 

Bonsai Nut

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Wow I guess I did not realize I would have to water the layer that much.......
I wonder if I could use some type of drip system? Any thoughts?

The farm I have access to is a bit of a drive but it is 200 acres with lots of different trees.

You may not have to water twice daily... you just can't let the airlayer dry out - even once - or all the new roots will die. So if you do a big air-layer, and wrap a big bundle of moss around it that stays moist for two or three days at a time, you may be set. You could also get creative and create a funnel at the top... and hope for rain :)

There have been plenty of trees I wished I could air-layer but they just aren't located close enough to me (or perhaps I am just too lazy :) )
 

sorce

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Contemplating I.V. bags to keep layers wet aint nothing new! Get her did!

NE Ohio is like a hotbed for Bonsai, at least here!

You don't want to whack anything as it stands and leave it...especially beech I reckon, slash and grab! Throw it in a pot!

Best thing you can do is cruise around and get some pictures of a few maybe's.

In the beginning, just be scraping the surface and if you can't find good roots, move on.

You gotta find an area in your woods that is most likely to produce good material that is also easy to collect. Ravines, Game and Human trails, windy hilltop areas...and don't discount any seedlings, in fact this first year should be like 90% seedlings of every type, so you can understand how roots grow into particular soils, so you can better gauge what a good old specimen will do for you in the future, and so you can expose any carelessness you may have to fix when collecting that good good!

Shit, for every seedling you collect, throw a rock on top another, create material for the future!

http://oplin.org/tree/

Sorce
 

JudyB

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"Finish" is something we rarely get to in this hobby LOL...:D
There's lots of stuff to read here. What part of Ohio are you in? You should put your location in your profile, it will help people give you advice that suits your climate. Welcome to another Ohioan.
 
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Greetings from a fellow NE Ohioan! If I were just getting addicted right now I would: focus on the Juniper and Maple and other species specific sections to see some good progressions in addition to searching by the names mentioned. They have lots of good case studies.

Right now would also be a good time to check out the free Mirai video called spring fundamentals for good seasonal advice. Honestly I would watch all of the free vids.

You are going to need to be patient with the collected material, so if you have the urge to create a sudden transformation, my advice is to grab a few junipers. Either procumbens nana or shimpaku are at nurseries around here. These can give you a quick and satisfying taste of styling a tree. Just don’t remove more than half, preferably a third, of the foliage in one go. Maple Ridge has Shimpaku for 10 dollars a tree bring cash. These make really good practice trees.

Other random wisdom:
Don’t be in a hurry to jam a developing tree into a bonsai pot.
Learn the progression order in general for all trees: Trunk/nebari development first then refining the tree.
It’s temting to grab a bunch of small starter plants or seeds, but the most common techniques involve starting with a larger tree with the size trunk you like and interesting initial movement and starting from there.
Seriously digest this forum. So many threads have so much good info. You will find that books are very general and sometimes dated. This such a good resource to have here.
 

Potawatomi13

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Hello I am new to bonsai. I was wondering if anyone could point me towards any good threads for learning? I have been reading quite a bit but would love to find a thread with a full begging to end type of journal so to speak.

Thanks

Tree never finished until dead. Always in motion is life of tree;). Can get basic idea from Ryan Neil videos but will not be finished tree.

Don’t be in a hurry to jam a developing tree into a bonsai pot.

AMEN and will be about thousandth one to re state this truth:rolleyes:!
 

JDK

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Maple Ridge has Shimpaku for 10 dollars a tree bring cash. These make really good practice trees.

Is this in Painesville or Concord?

It’s temting to grab a bunch of small starter plants or seeds, but the most common techniques involve starting with a larger tree with the size trunk you like and interesting initial movement and starting from there..

That was my plan.... I was going to start by searching out a couple thicker trunks with good movement and digging them up.
 
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Border of the two. I think the address comes up painesville. It’s right down the road from wildwood gardens, which is a bonsai nursery that does workshops. Wildwood is very much worth checking out. It’s such a beautiful property, and there are some really awesome trees to enjoy.

In all seriousness, If you find a good nursery to stop at send me a message on here. Season opens March first for most. I enjoy cruising nursery stock on my days off.
 

JDK

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Border of the two. I think the address comes up painesville. It’s right down the road from wildwood gardens, which is a bonsai nursery that does workshops. Wildwood is very much worth checking out. It’s such a beautiful property, and there are some really awesome trees to enjoy.

In all seriousness, If you find a good nursery to stop at send me a message on here. Season opens March first for most. I enjoy cruising nursery stock on my days off.

I saw Wildwood gardens but I could not obtain any info on them. Hours and workshop times etc? I will call them. Thanks for the tip

I really want to hit some farm land I have access too and try and pluck a couple wild beech
 

Cable

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O-H...

I'm a NE Ohio B-n00b, too. I joined the Cleveland Bonsai Club and am learning a ton. One of their LT members did a beginner workshop in Avon last summer and he's doing another one. Even though it is basic stuff I'm taking it again because you can never have too firm of a grounding in the basics when you're starting out.
 
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I would be all over the meetings but work Saturdays. If you know of a workshop coming up could you message me on here with the info ?
 
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