Best bonsai for $200-300?

rockm

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"I just want to add that even D material needs a significant amount of time to become anything interesting"

Well, I'd disagree, or at least have you define "significant" time :) I've developed a decent D tree from scratch in seven or eight years...Time ALWAYS makes ANY bonsai better if you know what you're doing up front.
 

Ron Dennis

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while I agree with you rock ... I just want to add that even D material needs a significant amount of time to become anything interesting ... however it certainly is more resilient to the youthful squirming of newer bonsai practitioners....

@Kiani ..... take a breath... you need to slow ur roll on this... for some perspective on how a tree like that will develop it will be at least 2020 before you really start to see something great out of that tree... and that is ok

Perhaps, I should make this a wholly different thread; however, for someone like myself who started this great hobby in later years it will be the journey rather than the destination that we must enjoy. Because of time I most likely will never see the beautiful results in my trees that so many of you have attained and that is okay. I have enjoyed the time and work with my trees, the study and meeting and becoming friends with some really great people I would have not known otherwise. Yes, I am enjoying the journey and hoping to see some interesting points (tree development) along the way.
 

Brian Van Fleet

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"I just want to add that even D material needs a significant amount of time to become anything interesting"

Well, I'd disagree, or at least have you define "significant" time :) I've developed a decent D tree from scratch in seven or eight years...Time ALWAYS makes ANY bonsai better if you know what you're doing up front.

Right and true rockm. But...it's easy to forget a newcomer's perception of time after you've been doing this for a while. 7-8 weeks can a "significant amount of time" if you're new. This guy (no offense guy...we've all done it, now is your time) just bought a tree last week, repotted it, cut it back, and is considering cutting it back again and maybe putting it into a smaller pot...that's more work in 7 days than some of mine have had in 7 years, but it took a long time to get into the right rhythm of thinking in terms of seasons and years rather than weeks and months. Now I'm THRILLED as I look at the trees, that I only have to repot about 8 this year (<20%)!
 

Kiani

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This guy (no offense guy...we've all done it, now is your time) just bought a tree last week, repotted it, cut it back, and is considering cutting it back again and maybe putting it into a smaller pot...that's more work in 7 days than some of mine have had in 7 years

I think my new avatar is quite fitting.
 

rockm

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Aww, now don't feel that way.:) Thing is, all of us have been where you are...at the beginning, wanting to leap ahead and have a beautiful tree from the start. Most of us found that that it's not quick and it's not easy. Trees were killed, lessons were learned...;-)

What we're trying to tell you is to slow down a bit. Have a look around. Think about it. Get more information. See trees in person before trying to leap ahead. A lot of us have tried to make that leap and ended up wasting time and trees.
 

Kiani

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Aww, now don't feel that way.:) Thing is, all of us have been where you are...at the beginning, wanting to leap ahead and have a beautiful tree from the start. Most of us found that that it's not quick and it's not easy. Trees were killed, lessons were learned...;-)

What we're trying to tell you is to slow down a bit. Have a look around. Think about it. Get more information. See trees in person before trying to leap ahead. A lot of us have tried to make that leap and ended up wasting time and trees.

I know, and I appreciate all of your help and advice :)

House of bonsai has a work shop in mid March that is called "bring in a bonsai tree of yours that baffles you". I think that's the class for me, I'll take all 3 trees in :D
 

Ang3lfir3

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"I just want to add that even D material needs a significant amount of time to become anything interesting"

Well, I'd disagree, or at least have you define "significant" time :) I've developed a decent D tree from scratch in seven or eight years...Time ALWAYS makes ANY bonsai better if you know what you're doing up front.

yeah needed clarification I guess... but I was putting it in novice terms ... hence the reference to 2020 ...


bonsai time seems so fleeting when you realize that lots of work takes decades to complete... and we each maybe only get 9-10 of them if we are lucky ..... I have actually decided to speed things up... so working on more trees each year so I can get more work done in each decade
 

Kiani

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I gave my shimpaku juniper a quick trim tonight, nothing drastic, just wanted to keep the branches in proportion from the lower ones to the top as the top branches were becoming very thick. After the trim, I put her in a nice new pot I picked up for $30 from house of bonsai. I still plan on going to a bonsai club soon to get hands-on advice on where to go with this tree and how to style it.

x3tidu.jpg
 
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jk_lewis

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It looks OK. Perhaps, however, you shouldn't have repotted into quite such a shallow pot at the same time you "trimmed" your tree.

Please edit your profile so we can tell at a glance where you are from and offer advice based on that. In MY area it still is a bit early to be repotting.

And, you do know that juniper should be kept outside?
 

Redwood Ryan

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Not bad, but please stop with doing all this. You need to slow down. You are only going to end up killing the trees.
 

october

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The tree looks good. However I am concerned about this last one in the shallow pot. I would imagine that you had to take off quit a bit of the root ball. To be honest, I am not sure that the tree can survive on this little rootage. Well, not all at once anyway. There is more to root pruning than just sawing off the bottom 30-%50 of the root ball. Actually, many times, a saw is not even necessary. Just patience and a chop stick. You need to just keep going all the way around the root ball over and over again gently scraping and pulling the roots off of the ball to untangle them. I use a saw only on the most extreme, pot bound, cemented like root balls

The best advice I can offer is when and if you find a bonsai club, I would inquire about root pruning practices. Many times, a tree cannot go into a bonsai pot out of the nursery can. It is usually moderately root pruned, then put into a grow pot. Grow pot refers to the purpose. Then when the tree has filled the grow pot with fibrous roots and recovered well. This usually takes about 2-3 years, then it can go into it's first bonsai pot. Sometimes, if the nursery can the tree is in is small enough and the tree healthy enough, it can go into a bonsai pot.

All in all, the tree looks good though. However, if in about 6-8 weeks, the foliage on the entire tree turns a different color or becomes more pale, you will knwo that the tree is not going to make it. I wish you luck. It is a nice starter tree.

Rob
 

alonsou

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Kiani,

Next Kofu Bonsai Kai meeting should be on Saturday 18th, it's located on Anaheim (should be very close to you), bring your trees to the pre-meeting workshop, there are several very knowledgeable members willing to help you, you don't need to pay a dime to ask for help, if you like and want to become a member then, that is a different story. They also helped me when I first started on Bonsai, and I keep going to every single meeting I can and keep learning from them; since then, I have managed to kill fewer trees compared to before I joined the club.

The forum its also a good place to seek help, but there's nothing even close compare to getting help first hand from guys that have been doing this for +30 years or more.
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Not bad, but please stop with doing all this. You need to slow down. You are only going to end up killing the trees.

He might, especially with the shallow pot, but telling him to stop...not going to help, no doubt you've been given the same advice...maybe recently. You wanna get good at bonsai, you're gonna kill some trees. Want an omelette, you're gonna crack some eggs...

Nice job, kiani, on styling. Now, learn how to keep it alive...watch the watering closely in that shallow pot, will be a daily chore...
 
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Kiani

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It looks OK. Perhaps, however, you shouldn't have repotted into quite such a shallow pot at the same time you "trimmed" your tree.

Please edit your profile so we can tell at a glance where you are from and offer advice based on that. In MY area it still is a bit early to be repotting.

And, you do know that juniper should be kept outside?

Hi, sure I'll update my profile. I'm in Orange County, CA. I was told now is a good time to re-pot, by the nursery staff when I bought the tree. They also said the pot was a good size. Yes I keep them all out on the balcony :)

Not bad, but please stop with doing all this. You need to slow down. You are only going to end up killing the trees.

I've stopped. No, really this time I have.

The tree looks good. However I am concerned about this last one in the shallow pot. I would imagine that you had to take off quit a bit of the root ball. To be honest, I am not sure that the tree can survive on this little rootage. Well, not all at once anyway. There is more to root pruning than just sawing off the bottom 30-%50 of the root ball. Actually, many times, a saw is not even necessary. Just patience and a chop stick. You need to just keep going all the way around the root ball over and over again gently scraping and pulling the roots off of the ball to untangle them. I use a saw only on the most extreme, pot bound, cemented like root balls

The best advice I can offer is when and if you find a bonsai club, I would inquire about root pruning practices. Many times, a tree cannot go into a bonsai pot out of the nursery can. It is usually moderately root pruned, then put into a grow pot. Grow pot refers to the purpose. Then when the tree has filled the grow pot with fibrous roots and recovered well. This usually takes about 2-3 years, then it can go into it's first bonsai pot. Sometimes, if the nursery can the tree is in is small enough and the tree healthy enough, it can go into a bonsai pot.

All in all, the tree looks good though. However, if in about 6-8 weeks, the foliage on the entire tree turns a different color or becomes more pale, you will knwo that the tree is not going to make it. I wish you luck. It is a nice starter tree.

Rob

Hey MP, Now I'm going to be staring at the tree in 6-8 weeks constantly like a madman.

When I took the tree out of its nursery pot, the roots were not surrounding the entire pot, especially not the lower half. I removed the lower half and used a large fork to slowly remove as much soil as I could from the top half. It took around 15 minutes.

Thanks for the help and advice.

Kiani,

Next Kofu Bonsai Kai meeting should be on Saturday 18th, it's located on Anaheim (should be very close to you), bring your trees to the pre-meeting workshop, there are several very knowledgeable members willing to help you, you don't need to pay a dime to ask for help, if you like and want to become a member then, that is a different story. They also helped me when I first started on Bonsai, and I keep going to every single meeting I can and keep learning from them; since then, I have managed to kill fewer trees compared to before I joined the club.

The forum its also a good place to seek help, but there's nothing even close compare to getting help first hand from guys that have been doing this for +30 years or more.

Thanks alonsou, have I missed the Febuary meeting with Harry Hirao? This page has just the month and name of instructor, but not the dates. So I'm not sure if I have time to attend this months meeting or not. (www.kofukai.org/5.html)

And do the Kofu Bonsai Kai meetings cover a specific topic every time or can we walk in with any bonsai tree to get general help and guidance?

Thank you.

He might, especially with the shallow pot, but telling him to stop...not going to help, no doubt you've been given the same advice...maybe recently. You wanna get good at bonsai, you're gonna kill some trees. Want an omelette, you're gonna crack some eggs...

Nice job, kiani, on styling. Now, learn how to keep it alive...watch the watering closely in that shallow pot, will be a daily chore...

Thanks Brian. I check the trees every day. Is there anything in particular I should be doing to make sure it makes it?

I hear that junipers like to be *almost* dried out between watering? Is this true?
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Mist the foliage morning and afternoon, and water just a little more often until the roots get growing again. Until they colonize the pot, they can only absorb what they're touching. Stick a chopstick in the soil and use it like a dipstick. It will have roughly the same moisture content as the roots, so you can estimate by pulling the stick up and feeling if it's soggy, damp, or dry. For the next month, I would water when it just feels damp. When u water, do it three times. Get the soil surface wet...wait a few seconds...get it wet again...wait a few more seconds, then water well, until water drains out the holes in the bottom. When I water, I do several at a time, spray one, the next, then the third and maybe fourth....then go back to the first one again, and on down the line...repeat....
 

Randy

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Senior Gonzalez,

Check out the January Newsletter. Last page (pg 5) on the right side labelled "Pre-Meeting Workshop". The calendar looks like 2011.
 

jkd2572

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This may not be popular but go on eBay and buy a tree in you price range. It is market value at its finest. I have purchased many very nice trees that way.
 

Kiani

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Senior Gonzalez,

Check out the January Newsletter. Last page (pg 5) on the right side labelled "Pre-Meeting Workshop". The calendar looks like 2011.

Thanks Randy :)

This may not be popular but go on eBay and buy a tree in you price range. It is market value at its finest. I have purchased many very nice trees that way.

I think I'm done with buying trees for now. I spent around $180 on trees (2 junipers and one Chinese elm). I think that's enough for now, as I'm also pushed for space in my 1 bedroom apartment. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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