A bunch of questions from a beginner

[Katie0317]

Thank you to so many here who have been helpful with my questions so far. I'm grateful. It's humbling to be an avid gardener and feel like your skills don't apply to bonsai. It's another world but I'm really looking forward to learning and growing trees

I have a bunch of questions and thought I'd put them in one thread. I'm kind of embarrassed to ask so many questions!

First...Has anyone bought a tool roll they really like for their bonsai tools? I'm just starting to buy some things...Scissors, wire cutters and am getting ready to buy a few more. A place to put chopsticks, tools, etc...I'll be sharing with my husband. I'm thrilled he's taken an interest in bonsai but we have a different way of managing tools and I thought a tool roll might help.

I've bought scissors and a wire cutter and my next purchase will be a concave cutter. I feel stainless steel will be the right choice and I don't want to buy a terribly expensive one. Does anyone have a pair they like that they bought on Amazon or BO or elsewhere that they're happy with?

Are all cut paste brands pretty much the same? Is the brand important? The owner of the bonsai nursery we went to cut off a Y shaped branch I noticed when checking out and he used cut paste on it afterwards. When do you know to use cut paste? On specific sized cuts? I bought root hormone and intend to root that branch along with with several others.

We bought a tiny bag of the bright lime green time released 14-14-14 fertilizer, they were out of larger sized bags. Does anyone use that fertlizer and know what brand it is? Do people have a holy grail fertilizer they swear by? Is it dependent on what part of the country you're in?

I bought three wire sizes and my water jasmine is ready to be put in a bonsai pot. I noticed they teach a class in wiring and it's 160.00. The class doesn't include a tree or materials to keep. They have fake trees to learn on. I'd rather watch youtube videos and spend the 160.00 on materials. Does anyone think that's a mistake? I've watched a number of videos watching people wire various plants and it doesn't look terribly difficult. What rules of thumb do you use to choose wire and how do you know when to remove it? I guess that's why they teach classes! Maybe it is worth 160.00 but I've managed to learn a lot of things on my own...Trial and error. Any thoughts?

I'm growing the Chinese Elm in potting soil to fatten the trunk. Why does everyone dislike the trees with an S curve? As a beginner I was attracted to it although I'd like to join the 'cost of chips' contest and would like a straight trunk for that. I just wonder why people dislike the S shape? On all trees?

That seems like enough questions!

Thank you in advance for your opinions and help with this. I really do appreciate it! Katie

 

[Deleted member 38190]

You're not a beginner

 

[Deleted member 38190]

If you need help... @ShadyStump come over

 

[Katie0317]

You're not a beginner

Indeed I am.

 

[Deleted member 38190]

I've bought scissors and a wire cutter and my next purchase will be a concave cutter. I feel stainless steel will be the right choice and I don't want to buy a terribly expensive one. Does anyone have a pair they like that they bought on Amazon or BO or elsewhere that they're happy with?

Yes. I just bought stainless steel pruners from CastleGreens on Amazon and I'm really happy with it. It is made of plastic, but it will do for the next year or two.

 

[Deleted member 38190]

If you want to buy the ones I have... here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/CastleGreens...&keywords=bonsai+pruner&qid=1628957847&sr=8-3

 

[Deleted member 38190]

If you want REALLY good ones (for later on, professional pruners) then here's the link: https://www.americanbonsai.com/American-Bonsai-Stainless-Steel-PRO-Scissors-p/ab100-09p.htm

Bonsai Nut recommended these to me

 

[Deleted member 38190]

The first one costs 7 dollars, and it works fine
The plastic seems kind of cheap, but it will be fine for the next year or two

 

[Deleted member 38190]

I'm growing the Chinese Elm in potting soil to fatten the trunk. Why does everyone dislike the trees with an S curve? As a beginner I was attracted to it although I'd like to join the 'cost of chips' contest and would like a straight trunk for that. I just wonder why people dislike the S shape? On all trees?

I really like the S shape too! (Though I too am a beginner, just bought my Chinese elm) I have no idea why they hate the design.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

This (free) video is passed around on here for wiring and could help you feel more confident, I know after seeing it I would not consider paying 160 for a wiring lesson

Bonsai Wiring Essentials

Uncover professional secrets to wiring better, faster and more accurately in this FREE mini-class, and develop beautiful bonsai trees!

www.craftsy.com

 

[Eric Schrader]

I did a basic wiring YouTube video recently using a ficus as an example:

Whether you want a $160 lesson depends more on you than on anything else. Hands on is great with a teacher, but many people can just learn for free from YouTube.
I have both paid for wiring instruction (16 years ago) and get paid to teach wiring in workshop settings. I think it is definitely something you can learn on your own. I have students come in who already know how after trying it twice, and I have students who still do it wrong after 2 years. Might just be hand-eye-brain coordination stuff.

 

[Katie0317]

If you want REALLY good ones (for later on, professional pruners) then here's the link: https://www.americanbonsai.com/American-Bonsai-Stainless-Steel-PRO-Scissors-p/ab100-09p.htm

Bonsai Nut recommended these to me

To be honest the best pruners I've ever used are made by Felco. All their tools are top of the line. I grow roses and it's the gpld standard and worth every penny. They sell them on Amazon. The #6 is the model they sell the most of and the ones I bought my husband. I use the #2 edition because I have small hands but they're the same other than size. But if weren't for roses I wouldn't spend that much just to get started. I'm willing to spend up to 60.00 on a good tool. I don't want anything cheap that won't last. It frustrates me when I'm trying to do something and I don't have the right tool and a tool that doesn't do a good clean cut.

 

[Katie0317]

I did a basic wiring YouTube video recently using a ficus as an example:

Whether you want a $160 lesson depends more on you than on anything else. Hands on is great with a teacher, but many people can just learn for free from YouTube.
I have both paid for wiring instruction (16 years ago) and get paid to teach wiring in workshop settings. I think it is definitely something you can learn on your own. I have students come in who already know how after trying it twice, and I have students who still do it wrong after 2 years. Might just be hand-eye-brain coordination stuff.

That was helpful. At first I thought why not remove leaves and branches first and then I saw it was much easier to see when you could add motion to the branches! I'm not yet entirely clear about why one must be clockwise and the other counter clockwise but I get hung up on small things sometimes. That's the first video I've watched on wiring and I learned quite a lot. Thank you.

 

[Katie0317]

This (free) video is passed around on here for wiring and could help you feel more confident, I know after seeing it I would not consider paying 160 for a wiring lesson

Bonsai Wiring Essentials

Uncover professional secrets to wiring better, faster and more accurately in this FREE mini-class, and develop beautiful bonsai trees!

www.craftsy.com

Brilliant! I can't stop watching this person! He's an outstanding teacher and makes wiring look easy with his 'slingshot' method. Best videos I've seen so far teaching anything related to bonsai. Thank you for posting this! I have a water jasmine and it was quite tall. Perhaps I should't have cut the top off but I was already rooting another cutting from it. I've been avoiding it because it really is ready to be potted and it's not the sort of plant that has any shape whatsoever. I found one video where the person simply braided its reedy branches. Maybe that will work but I think the trunk on mine is thick enough and I don't think braiding it is the way to go. I may post a photo of it to see if anyone has any thoughts on how it should be shaped. Anyway, this teacher is really outstanding. I agree with you about paying 160.00 for a class that wouldn't be an improvement on this. Thank you, Katie

 

[_space_bard_]

I was an aviation electrician for 7 years, and I collected quite a few specialized wire cutters and snips, from very small to very large. I'll probably buy some fancy Bonsai scissors and pruners one day, but only when I have a couple trees I feel are worth the specialized bonsai tools.

 

[Katie0317]

I was an aviation electrician for 7 years, and I collected quite a few specialized wire cutters and snips, from very small to very large. I'll probably buy some fancy Bonsai scissors and pruners one day, but only when I have a couple trees I feel are worth the specialized bonsai tools.

i can appreciate that completely. I think I made do for so long with our roses and orchids and when we started buying better quality materials...Not just tools, but all aspects of care...From dirt, orchid medium, fertilizers, pots and so on it became more enjoyable and our plants appreciated it. I'm the same way in my kitchen. I could bake a fancy French dish in a ratty pan with old beat up tools that don't fit my hands but it's a tremendous pleasure to use products I genuinely enjoy using. I spend hours cooking (my husband burns a lot of calories and can eat like a horse) and I genuinely enjoy my kitchen tools. If I didn't enjoy using them I'd buy cheap stuff. Any time I buy a tool I hold it in my hand to see if 'it fits. If it's too big, too heavy or whatever I don't really want to use it and either don't buy it or return it if it's from Amazon. I just don't like cheaply made things. I enjoy something well made. I'd rather have fewer things that are quality than lots of things that are poorly made but I do understand your point.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

I have at least one of his books but I think that video is even better than the wiring section in there.

Nothing can beat hands on practice and another really helpful tip but I forget who to credit from the nut is to imagine where you will wire along the branch first to find the best line before committing.

 

[Ugo]

Hi Katie,

Im also a novice in bonsai but after buying tools throught the years I realized that SS tools are not as sharp as regular black steel.
They will resist rust for sure but the level of sharpness is not the same (might be just a personal opinion).
So Im taking good care of my black steel tool and no rust so far!

If I was to invest in new tools ill go with Kaneshin again:

[KANESHIN of bonsai tool]

You mentionned:
Maybe that will work but I think the trunk on mine is thick enough and I don't think braiding it is the way to go.

I suggest you to watch videos about a trunk splitter.
You will see the kind of work you can do with this tool.

 

[Michael P]

Ah Felcos! Mine are 32 years old and are still better than any other bypass pruning tool I've tried.

I don't own any stainless steel bonsai tools, but what Ugo says about ss is generally correct. It isn't as hard as good black steel and does not hold an edge as well. Rust isn't really a problem. Dry and store the tools carefully, and give them a spray of WD40.

 

[cishepard]

I have two canvas tool rolls like this one. I think they are great - very useful when going to a class or demo. I don’t like my equipment rattling around in a tool box.