Recent content by Alkaid

Thank you very much for your advice. I have joined the Bonsai Society of Portland and I'm sure I will be able to get pointed in the right direction.

I bought this Shimpaku from Buddhamonk the other day. (Thanks again.) As a beginner, I am very weary about styling it, but I don't want it to get out of control either. I have wired a few branches to horizontal but I just wanted to see if anyone has some input on what direction to take this...

Thanks everyone for the great leads. I should have some nice stock to work with in no time.

Hi all, I am new to bonsai and have purchased a few small ten dollar starter plants. I am however interested in having something to work with now, and not in 5 years. Here is a picture of a nice little Shimpaku that one day might become a decent bonsai. This is sort of where I am at...

I am wondering if I should prune back this tree fairly hard. I have read that pruning in summer encourages new back budding. Any thoughts on this?

I gather this joke revolves around sealing being a contentious topic of discussion then, right?

Thanks for your kind help in assisting me with this tree, TheSteve. I have removed those branches and understand why they needed to go. Here are the pictures. Front: Left: Back: Right: Overall: Do I need to seal these cuts?

I'm glad I made the swap. This will be much more of a challenge and more rewarding if successful. So to be clear, those left most branches can be removed now? I'm paranoid about it.

I'm starting to see it now. These are the "dreadful branches" I've read about. So they are each about a quarter the diameter of the main trunk. Should I lob them off now? And then what, seal it or leave it be?

Do you think it would be okay to remove those two main branches on the left now? They are pretty big. I look at it and think what on earth is this going to look like without those branches there... Won't the main trunk have a nasty bend there?

Thanks all for the great information. I believe that I will wait a few years on the air layering as Rockm mentioned above, to both allow time for branch development and to practice this technique beforehand. Am I right that significant pruning on deciduous trees should take place in the fall...

Here is the trunk, it certainly appears to be grafted. Anyway the graft seems quite clean but maybe you all can tell me what I'm looking at here.

Hi everyone, I had a recent post where I purchased a mislabeled J. Procumbens as my first bonsai and as a result of the feedback, I returned it for this A.P. "Hanami Nishiki" nursery stock. I think that I will learn more about bonsai by actually creating one. It is in a 5 gal container and...

Thanks everyone for the great input about this tree. I decided to return it and get nursery stock that will actually teach me something about bonsai in a more traditional sense. I decided on a Japanese Maple "Hanami Nishiki." It is 5 gallon and very handsome. I will update my location and...

Thanks for the honesty... Really it was a gift from someone that I picked out based on its appearance so I can't really say that I'm unhappy with it. I am however curious about your comment, "When they are alive. " Are they prone to premature death? And if so, is it possible that their...