beginner

  1. finnisferal

    bonsai-ing experiment

    i'm new to bonsai trees and i just bought a bunch of random seeds to try and grow. i will list them below and hopefully someone will have some advice for how to bonsai them. i'm aware that some or all of these trees may be difficult to bonsai or might not survive at all. i just want to learn...
  2. A

    Help with my Desmodium/Vietnamese Bluebell

    I got a Vietnamese Bluebell from a nursery in town about 4 weeks ago, and I ended up taking it back to the nursey and getting it repotted, and pruned about a week later, as you can see from the photos. I feel like its been losing so many more leaves and I have not been seeing much new growth at...
  3. S

    beginner bonsai user

    I just bought some bonsai seeds off of amazon which may or may not be to my downfall since i see a lot of people dislike it, but any general advice for tips? im barely in the germination stage. Im exited and just put the seeds into the soil yesterday
  4. D

    Little Hinoki literati

    I think this might be my first post on this forum… started my bonsai journey about 2/3 years ago with a Hinoki starting set from Deshima. After watching countless video’s online, quietly lurking this forum and reddit and doing a bonsai beginner’s course at Deshima bonsai I decided I wanted to...
  5. D

    Hackberry tree

    Hello. I am pretty sure that this is a hackberry. I am in central Minnesota so it would be a northern variety. A year or two ago this tree (see pictures) was chopped down. A month ago, I was clearing out the area where it was growing, because it was full of volunteer trees like this one. I...
  6. T

    Did I Trim Too Much?

    Working on my first Shinpaku from nursery stock. I am worried I did too much pruning and concerned I may have killed the tree. The image with the red markup is what I’m planning for trunk direction. Is this good?
  7. doc spring _work

    Root-over rock cascade progression thread!

    Really excited for this one! I've been playing around a bit with small stumps and other things and after a few months of toying with the basics I'm thrilled to start work on my first (expensive) bonsai! A lot of my previous work I don't feel could be called bonsai as it was however I'm certain...
  8. D

    Honeysuckle collected from yard. Which buds to keep or destroy?

    I recently collected this Amur honeysuckle from my yard. It was about 5 feet tall. I chopped the main trunk down quite a bit. After two weeks it is aggressively budding. I pinched most of the buds that I know are in terrible spots. Which of the rest of these buds should I keep? What do you guys...
  9. P

    Help with propagating bushes and root suckers

    Hello, so I've scouted for good plants to propagate and I seem to have found a juniper and a rosemary. Attached are the places I'm considering air layering, do they seem alright? On another note, I've found a lot of alright looking olives but the issue is they are all growing from an existing...
  10. P

    Getting first bonsai/yamadori and general questions

    So I've been interested in bonsai for a while and got a seed kit as a gift. As I imagine you all know, it's slow and inconsistent way. As such I've decided to obtain a grown tree. I have a family member with a farm house and there's a few species there that might work so I'm looking for advice...
  11. B

    Serissa Indoors with grow lights?

    First Bonsai here! Just wanted to know the feasibility of growing specifically a serissa indoors? I got this plant blind and didn’t realise how finicky it is, so right now I’m trying to master keeping it happy and healthy that before going into bonsai techniques. I’ve seen recommendations for...
  12. 80615

    Birch - pruning dead branches immediately after collecting?

    Hi, just this week I collected a birch tree from the wild and placed it in a wooden box. I kept the rootball moist and placed it in a mix that is mostly made up of pumice with 15% bark. Due to my current living situation it only gets a around 4 hours of direct sunlight in the afternoon, but this...
  13. dillowDrowned

    Beginner NJ Native Bonsai

    Hello ! Very glad to have found this community, I have been doing a lot of research in my spare time, and I am right on the verge of buying my first tree. I just have a simple question: Are there any native NJ trees or bushes that are friendly for beginners? I have a few on my radar, but there...
  14. raenstorming

    I could really use some styling advice for my Juniper procumbens 'Nana' cascade to-be.

    First off, I’m sorry these photos suck. I hope they’re okay enough to be useful. There’s an interesting branch (top of the trunk’s curve) that I plan on making the apex; I have it wired upwards into an S-shape already. Besides that, I’m stumped with what to do with the upper half of the tree’s...
  15. B

    How can I preserve this nebari while growing out this juniper?

    Hi guys, I just planted this juniper in a larger pot (not pictured). How can I preserve the nebari while I grow it out? Do I need to wire the roots in some way? Thanks!
  16. B

    How is taper achieved with upright conifers?

    Hey guys, I’m a little confused on how taper is achieved with formal upright conifers like an incense cedar. If I grow it out in the ground and then chop the main trunk and wait for a new leader to form, wouldn’t that leader come out off to the side so it wouldn’t look formal upright anymore...
  17. C

    I'm nervous, but excited!

    I just purchased this trident maple. It will be my best tree yet. I'm super excited to get this and get it potted up. I don't have it yet, but I should get it next week. I have a 21" x 21" wooden box with holes and such that I made that I'll put it in. I'm just a little nervous about getting it...
  18. doc spring _work

    Cherry cuttings

    Got a few branches (not truly a few) from a cherry orchards late winter pruning! And if these all root I'm sooo screwed 🤣 I've arranged to have around 7 of them planted.. I don't think they'll all be successful but if they are I have quite a swarm of plants to work with. Might do a clump...
  19. jbhampton31

    Large Tridents Please Help!

    I am a beginning my 2nd yr in bonsai. I purchased these trident maples from a widow of a club member who has passed. I got these trees late last spring and I am looking for help on how best to get these trees back on a path towards becoming bonsai. Trident #1 has 3 trunks and a big calloused...
  20. B

    Second attempt on nursery juniper

    Hey guys! Here’s my second attempt on pruning / styling a nursery stock juniper. Looking for some feedback and what you guys think.
  21. B

    How should I take care of my Chienese elm

    Hello guys, I recently got a chienese elm tree for my birthday (Jan 22nd). ( I live in central europe). I watered it as my friend who gave it to me suggested. He said this tree is decidious and I shouldn't be surprised if it doesn't grow that much. As you can see it grew a little bit 😄😄 I think...
  22. B

    Styling my first juniper nursery stock, need advice!

     Hey guys, just chopped up my first nursery stock juniper. I can’t decide what to do next. I’m open to informal upright or semi cascade, whichever makes the most sense with what the current structure wants to do. I can’t decide which will be the new leader. I was thinking about cutting off...
  23. czaczaja

    Czaczaja's 2023-2026 Little Christmas Tree Entry

    Went over to a couple of hardware stores at lunch to do my final sale hunt. Got 5 trees (Pinus sylvestris?) and settled on the one below. I see some people submitting a couple of trees and deciding to pick the winner later? Can you confirm if that's ok @Eckhoffw ? I was planning on doing some...
  24. Apex37

    The Benefits for a Beginner Taking a Workshop?

    I still consider myself very new to bonsai, but going into my 3rd year in this hobby, I’m finding more of a desire to want to do a workshop having never done one before. My biggest hesitation? Cost. You look at most seminars, it usually costs around $150 for a single day at a seminar, $300-$350...
  25. Myrki

    New here. Ideas for this bonsai?

    Hello everyone. First post here. I got this juniper (not sure if Chinese, Japanese, etc), and I wired it as seen, kind of just going for something unique, not totally certain on eventual style. Anyway, I have done some light pruning/trimming on foliage which has 5+ tips growing out. Outside...
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