Karmage

Sapling
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Hello everyone, I’m kinda new to bonsai...well by new I mean I suck at keeping them alive. I’m trying to start over and I recently got a Brush Cherry. My question is, I obviously want to make it grow larger and was wondering if I should repot it into a larger pot or let it stay in this smaller pot it came in for a while?
 

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JosephCooper

Shohin
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If you want it to grow faster, then put it in a larger pot. if you want it larger, let the cherry go for 6 months or so in a larger pot.

I like it this size, personally :)

You'll hear people tell you to put it in the ground, but I think it's easier to put trees in very oversized pots instead.
 

Karmage

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If you want it to grow faster, then put it in a larger pot. if you want it larger, let the cherry go for 6 months or so in a larger pot.

I like it this size, personally :)

You'll hear people tell you to put it in the ground, but I think it's easier to put trees in very oversized pots instead.


Well maybe I’ll just get a deep pot to place it in and let it grow in that. Since I plan on keeping it indoors, what soil should I use and when should I repot it?
 

JosephCooper

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Well maybe I’ll just get a deep pot to place it in and let it grow in that. Since I plan on keeping it indoors, what soil should I use and when should I repot it?

You should repot around mid-March, and use some standard bonsai soil like akadama.
 

TN_Jim

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If you want bigger/faster/healthier, I would strongly consider keeping this tree outdoors following the last freeze date.
 

Karmage

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M. Frary

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Maybe start out with easier to keep species of trees.
 

Solaris

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What would you recommend?
What kind of trees do you like?
I'm a little north of you, and have had good experiences with seedlings from flowering cherries, black cherries (wouldn't recommend them, though, they're a pain in the ass as bonsai), redbuds (they flower prettily, but they have ginormous leaves), red maples (not good bonsai, but probably the most common tree around here), Norway maples (probably worse than the reds), and just about every apple seed I've stuck into substrate. If I can keep the seedlings alive and happy in spite of my care and stubborn insistence on using wholly organic potting media, you can keep older trees alive and happy. I've heard good things about Amur maples, but haven't tried them yet, and tridents are just a little less cold-hardy. I can't speak for any conifers; I don't think I've had one that's lasted more than a year. Clearly, I'm doing something wrong with them.

Note that none of those are tropicals; they'll all need to stay outside for the winter. If you're wanting something to stay indoors, you'll need a tropical and to set up sufficient light and humidity. Humidity trays and misting, despite what you might read, are not sufficient. Get a terrarium or an aquarium for this. Schefflera arborica isn't well-regarded as bonsai, but it's damn hard to kill and can get to look nicely tropical, and I'm pretty sure I'd need a priest and a silver sword to kill off my Ficus benjamina. I've been moving it around every month or so, and I think the only time it dropped leaves was when I made the mistake of trying to bring it into the office (it, apparently, likes work even less than I do). Portulacaria afra isn't properly a tree, it's a succulent, but I'm rather fond of it and the fact that the leaves taste like Granny Smith apples - you can taste-test them to see how they're doing (if they're not sweet enough, it needs more light) - appeals to me. Just call it a bonsai of a jade and watch the purists cringe.
All three of those are much happier outdoors than in, mind; they're just resilient enough to tolerate human habitat. If you stick them outside for the summer they'll grow much more.
 
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