trunk

Hey guys, beginner here. I keep hearing that in order to thicken the trunk of a tree, you have to put it in the ground. What is keeping it from forming branches too high on the trunk as if it was growing normally? For example I see some 10-15 foot tall redwoods outside near my house, and...

Hi everyone, I had a question about a project of mine that I want to continue on the way to becoming a bonsai, it's about an Acer Palmatum. A quick note: I'm going to Airlayer off the top over the graft this spring to first get rid of this problem, next year (after Airlayering) it will be put...

I am planning to air layer my olive in spring and looking for some advice whether what I'm planning on doing is viable. I want to put the layering pod up as high as possible under the branches to end up with a nice short trunk on the layered tree. This will leave me with a tall trunk to later...

Looking for a bit of help and guidance. Suggestions. Good-to-knows. Anything that’ll help. I’m fairly new to bonsai, and I’ve had this guy for a little bit, a trident maple. The trunk is about 2” wide at the base before it tapers ever so slightly up. This trunk is very straight and forks into...

At the moment almost all of my trees are Prebonsai in large containers so I can grow their trunks and branches as quickly as possible. How would fertilizing differ in this stage from refinement? Would I want a balanced fertilizer in both cases or would a different fertilizer ratio be better for...

Hello, all! On Thanksgiving day at my parents’ place we went for a walk through their woods and I saw this curved elm amidst the forest of straight trunks. I love the sweeping curve so I am considering it for collection. Now onto the questions lol. Should I root prune some and wait a couple...

Hi all! Just wanted to send some pics of a buttonwood I found. Styling suggestions/virts always welcome! The tree is budding everywhere, I’m really excited to see where it goes.

I have a very juvenile pre-bonsai which in the past year has shot out a couple whips at the base of the trunk. I'm wondering if I should prune off the lower whips. My thought process is that since they're so low, they will only suck energy and thickness away from the main leader. I am...

Hello all, I live in central Florida and throughout my years living here, I’ve noticed an abundance of Chinese elm trees in landscapes and in the wild. The trees have the orange flaky iconic bark that Chinese elms possess and the small leathery elm leaves. The trees max out at about 30 feet...

I just planted some of my smaller palmatums in the ground, and I want to get a sense of their development speed. I have had a hard time finding any threads showcasing Japanese maples' speed of trunk growth in the ground over the course of years. I see lots of refinement progressions, but not...

Dug up this oak a few months ago and it’s bursting with beautiful new foliage. Do you guys think this is suitable material for a good bonsai? Maybe if I chop it low and start a new leader? I dug it up because I thought the nebari was beautiful and there was a little taper at the base.

Hi, I have recently collected this tree (2 days ago, it was now or never) from a forest near my grandads house. I have potted it up in a plastic pot with regular potting soil (all that I have available) and given it a deep watering. In the photos you can see where I have cut the tree in order to...

Hello, I have an azalea stump that I’m going to be transforming into bonsai. Pictured below is my desired front: Given that this is the front of the future bonsai, what styles would you guys recommend for me? I am not creative at all and I will not be able to create a beautiful tree...

Hey friends. I’m curious what you guys’ opinions are as to how good the backside of a bonsai trunk looks. Does it matter or does it not? Can an ugly trunk backside just be hidden by branches and foliage over time? or does it take away from the value of the tree? For example, I have this...

Purchased this tree in a bit of haste when first getting into bonsai (outside of owning an indoor ficsus). I was attracted to it because of its apparent vigour/twin trunk, only to learn multiple reasons why this wasn't perhaps the best choice. These include vertical growth, node distance, leaf...

Hey friends, I recently dug up this very interesting American Beech from the forests of West Virginia. I thought it had very interesting and beautiful features. i am not experienced with deadwood or much wiring though, and I don’t know if it has potential. What do you guys think? worth it...

Hello friends, Today (May 20) I purchased a Sakuragata Satsuki azalea from Schley’s Bonsai nursery and I need help transforming it into something beautiful. I’m new to azalea bonsai. To begin, when is the best time to drastic prune this piece? Can I begin now (May)? Will duct seal work as...

Where should I cut back to on this field grown Trident maple? The top where it was cut back by the previous owner has a fair amount of inverse taper and I am unsure of where the best place to start a new leader would be.

Hey guys, This is the first tree I've ever wired. It's a Ficus sp. I've grown from a cutting for about a year. This was mostly just for practice, but I wanted to see what others thought of my job, and any tips/advice they may be able to give me. I wasn't really sure how old the tree should be...

So it’s been maybe 3-4 months since I found out bonsai was accessible to me like when Mr miagi gave Ralph machio his first bonsai. Full disclosure my cat leapt of a shelf didn’t quite clear the first tree I owned. Needles to say that didn’t and well. Fast forward 3 months and two good indoor...

Hi all! I'm very new to the world of Bonsai trees and have today purchased my first one, which is a Japanese Holly. After watching a few videos on how you go about pruning/wiring/caring etc, I'm left with the question of whether or not I'd trim one of the main branches near the base? It seems...

Would very much appreciate advice on choosing a leader for this recently grown air-layered red maple. I'm new to the art and chose this odd branch back in April because of the odd twisting fork. I didn't know any better (and probably still don't :)) so I figured it would be interesting in some...

Hello everyone. I have some mahaleb cherry and crabapple seedlings and want to give their trunks a dramatic shape while they are still flexible. What is the best season to do it: in spring or early fall? I live in a fairly cold climate, the temperature in greenhouse can drop to -5C. Heavy bends...

Hey! I bought a ficus carica (around a foot and a half tall) from the garden center. I want to turn it into a bonsai! :D My understanding is that I should keep it in a nursery pot for a while so I can thicken the trunk, then replant it in a training pot. What is the best way to go about...

Hi I got this today, After all I’ve read im very concerned for the health of the trunk as the wire looks like it’s been cutting in for a while. Should I get it off right away as careful as possible? After that anything else? Any help very much appreciated, I have emailed the nursery to ask...