Beginner wanting to begin!

Rook

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Hello! I'm brand new here - just joined today - and brand new to bonsai as well! I'm really intrigued by the art and can't wait to get started. To that end, I've decided I want to start a bonsai from a cutting of a juniper tree I've had in my front yard since I moved here. The tree is as old as I am and I know that I'll be moving fairly soon, so I thought it would be neat to be able to take the tree (or at least a tree started from my tree) with me.

My question, I suppose, is how do I do this? I've read almost every page I could find and they go through the steps, but they're not really specific enough. Here are the things I'm still fuzzy on:

1. What do I plant them in (tray-wise)? Do I do a lot in one big tray or should I take my chances with one cutting in one pot?
2. I've read that juniper needs to be outside and that cuttings should be placed in the shade so they don't fry. Would it be alright to keep them in my sunroom? It gets good light but not blaring light, and the temp stays about the same as the outdoors. We have some pesky critters who will try to eat things I plant and, when they realize it's not anything they're interested in, they'll just demolish it (I swear they're out to get me).
3. How do I take cuttings?

I'm sure I'll have many more questions as I get into this, but this is plenty to start, I think :)
 

Ross

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If you're moving soon, just try as many different ways as possible. I'd probably stick a bunch in small little starter pots outdoors in the shade and hope you get one or two that work. You could try a couple in the sunroom, but it's hard to properly water any plant that is indoors. Use a sharp blade and keep the cuttings watered. Good luck, welcome aboard!
 

sorce

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I'd make 3 trays with about 10 in each, place them all in different microclimates, a few from each tray should take.

Maybe find a self layered section, or layer a section if time permits!

Or dig up the whole thing, but something about a big hole just doesn't say curb appeal!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 

DougB

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As for learning your best bet is to become a member of a bonsai club/society. NC has several exceptional groups and the outstanding bonsai exhibition at the NC Arboretum in Asheville. Depending on where you are moving you can find out how to contact a local club at this site.

And welcome. Remember you need to find a great amount of patience and your first task is to learn how to not only keep a tree alive, but to have it thrive.
 

Pattik

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I will second joining your local club. My husband and I played around with bonsai for years, feeling we didn't want to make a long drive down to the club meetings. We've made one meeting so far, become a part of the bonsai basics class and in just one class came away with so much.
 

Paradox

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I recommend reading everything you can.

Not a popular answer, but it is the best way to start on your bonsai journey along with getting a few cheap plants to torture, I mean work on.
 

Rook

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Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely look into joining a club. As for patience, I'm not a patient person and I'm kind of hoping this will help with that! I do love to garden and tend to my garden, though, so perhaps I'll be alright.

I'm not moving terribly soon (more like a few months to a year, depending on whether or not my grad school applications are accepted...) so I have a bit of time. Do I need shallow trays or deep trays? I assume holes in the bottom would be a good idea for drainage, right? And... Where would you recommend getting cheap plants to practice on? I was looking around online and the only place locally that sells bonsai had them listed at a lot more than I can afford.
 

jk_lewis

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We can't teach you bonsai from scratch. It just doesn't happen that way.

Go to your public library and check out some books on the subject. Read them. Look at the pictures. Buy a book. The Charlotte club may be closest to you. There's a good one in Raleigh, too.

We CAN make suggestions on specific topics -- maybe. But the key word there is "specific."

READ.

Check the articles at www.evergreengardenworks.com. READ.
 

edprocoat

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My experience with starting Junipers from cuttimngs is the ones I try to start fail miserably and occasionally I will find some clippings near the base of my bench that from the combo of water running off with ferts in it causes them to self root. I have seen others with near perfect success starting cuttings. Even if you start a cutting its a long time till it will look like a Bonsai. Why not listen to M. Frary and get a few cheap Junipers from nursery or box store and cut them down and have some fun while learning?

ed
 

grouper52

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As for patience, I'm not a patient person and I'm kind of hoping this will help with that!

Posted elsewhere here recently: "A man teaching a demo at Brussels, when a cooing woman said, "You must be very patient," replied to her: "No, I'm not patient. But I have learned to wait."

Juniper cuttings are not a great idea. I agree with those here who recommend junipers from box stores or nurseries. A Juniper procumbens "nana" is a great place to start, IMHO.
 

Paradox

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Just a question first. You mention going to grad school. Will you be able to provide and outside place for the tree to live while you are at grad school and a place where you can provide winter protection.
A better question is what is the year-round weather at the places you are considering grad school? All of these things factor into your choice of plant.

If you cant provide an outside place and winter protection where you can keep an eye on its needs, and/or you are considering grad school in Florida, then probably an indoor plant like a ficus or Brazilian rain tree would be a better choice.
 

Rook

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We can't teach you bonsai from scratch. It just doesn't happen that way.

Go to your public library and check out some books on the subject. Read them. Look at the pictures. Buy a book. The Charlotte club may be closest to you. There's a good one in Raleigh, too.

We CAN make suggestions on specific topics -- maybe. But the key word there is "specific."

READ.

Check the articles at www.evergreengardenworks.com. READ.

I thought "What kind of pot/tray is best to use to start clippings?" was a pretty specific question...

And I've BEEN reading. But my three questions are things that none of the sites I read specified. I don't do well with vague, so I wanted to see if I could get specific answers. I thought these were fairly straightforward and was surprised that none of the sites mentioned them. So I joined this forum and asked.

As for grad school, if I get my way, I'll be staying in this city. My other choices are a program on the coast, a program between here and the coast, and a program in VA. If I stay here, I'll either continue to live with my parents or move into an apartment. Either way, the plant would have sun (they wouldn't mind if I left a plant at their house and visited daily to care for it). If I moved elsewhere, I'd look for an apartment with a patio or something so that my bonsai could get adequate light. I'm not looking to start a forest - just a tree or two.

I want to do the juniper clippings because this tree is special to me. I'm not sure how long it'll last (the last ice storm took a toll), or how long I'll be living here, so I thought it would be nice to take sprout a tree and take a piece of it with me. I'm going to at least give it a try, whether it's likely to work or not. What have I got to lose?

I'll also head over to the nursery and see if I can find a good, affordable "practice" tree. I've been meaning to check out their hot pepper stock anyway. I love the plants I have, but...you can never have too many hot peppers :D
 

bonsaiBlake

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Best time to take cuttings from juniper and its relatives, ceadar, cypress and others, is in January-February. Any time after this your success rate drops dramatically. Having heated soil either through a seed mat or bottom heated table will also dramatically increase your success rate. Best to wait till next year, though it never hurts to try. People use a variety of different mediums for propagating, I have been taught to use fine perlite. (from someone with 45+ yrs in the plant biz) it works extremely well, dip-n-grow is a very good hormone, others will work as well. Good luck and welcome to the sport. READ READ READ then think for awhile, read some more, and then consider typing, very carefully.

Happy growing,
Blake
 

Shorty54

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If the tree has some sentimental meaning to you. I say take the whole tree. Then you can take cuttings later. Just my 2 cents....I'm new as well, but I know if it was a well developed tree I could dig up. I'd try it for sure!
 

Potawatomi13

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If you get with a club how about seeing if someone in that club has some experience with rooting them to help you along. The only cuttings I ever did well with were willows.
 

Rook

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I can't take the whole tree - it's way too tall! It's had 22 years of unhindered, unpruned growth... I'll wait till next January to take some cuttings - thanks! In the meantime, perhaps I'll pick up a nursery plant and see what I can learn...
 

jk_lewis

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I thought "What kind of pot/tray is best to use to start clippings?" was a pretty specific question...

And I've BEEN reading. But my three questions are things that none of the sites I read specified. I don't do well with vague, so I wanted to see if I could get specific answers. I thought these were fairly straightforward and was surprised that none of the sites mentioned them. So I joined this forum and asked.

If you are going to grad school, I suggest you learn how to handle "vague" and a bit more about using the library. Your pot/tray question is easily answered in any book on plant propagation. I suspect it has been answered here on B-Nut, too, and a search might just have found it -- as would a Google on "cuttings technique". Professors tend to enjoy the "vague" bit on the theory it makes their students do some of the work, rather than have it handed to them in a spoon.
 

Rook

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If you are going to grad school, I suggest you learn how to handle "vague" and a bit more about using the library. Your pot/tray question is easily answered in any book on plant propagation. I suspect it has been answered here on B-Nut, too, and a search might just have found it -- as would a Google on "cuttings technique". Professors tend to enjoy the "vague" bit on the theory it makes their students do some of the work, rather than have it handed to them in a spoon.

There's quite a big difference between "This information about the most successful way to start a bonsai from a cutting is vague and I'd like more specifics so that my attempt is as successful as possible" and the kind of vague I'm likely to encounter in grad school. Did you even stop to wonder what I'd like to go to grad school for? No? Creative writing, in case it matters. That implies that I can handle certain kinds of vague, but I don't like the vague of "Do this particular task that obviously has do's and don't's - but I'm not going to tell you these so ha!"

What I have a difficult time with is people being rude and confrontational for no reason (you're going to say this is simply a part of life, right? I disagree that pointless rudeness is something people should just accept. So sue me). I came here to ask three simple questions about things I considered unanswered even after reading quite a bit. I intended to read more. I even said that I'd been surfing the internet for a little while and would like some supplementary help. Excuse me if I didn't turn to the library right away. In other circles I travel in, library books are few and far between, often outdated, and contain information that's usually wrong and potentially harmful. Plus, I find information acquired from first-hand experience (i.e. a large group of people who are devoted to the art and practices) to be much more helpful, accurate, and on-point than information acquired from a book that is likely out of date (my library isn't the best) and was written by one or two people and perhaps (if I'm lucky) edited by another person. That's the experiences of three people as opposed to the experiences of, what, fifty? A hundred? I'll take the wide knowledge base of a forum full of people with years of hands-on experience over three people who got a book published. I'm not knocking books (I'm applying to MFA creative writing programs, remember?) but how-to books aren't always accurate.

Not once did I imply that I was expecting everyone here to hold my hand through this process (and if it came across that way, I certainly didn't mean for it to). I browsed some posts on here before posting my questions - the environment seemed friendly enough and the people seemed helpful. For the most part, I'm sad to say that I was sorely mistaken. Thank you to those who have offered constructive suggestions beyond "Just read a book, you idiot". I will take your suggestions to heart and do my best to follow them, but I will not be hanging around here to be treated like an idiot child.

Just one question... Do you get a kick out of being a jerk to people who ask for help? Because it certainly seems that way and I just want to point out that it's really sad.
 
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grouper52

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I will take your suggestions to heart and do my best to follow them, but I will not be hanging around here to be treated like an idiot child.

Just one question... Do you get a kick out of being a jerk to people who ask for help? Because it certainly seems that way and I just want to point out that it's really sad.

Hmmm .. . . . ... . . or, more precisely - Uhhh . . .. ... .. . .
 
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