Brand new to bonsai.

[SerenityChef]

So, I've been lightly reading & researching. Decided to go the slow way, and collected 3 saplings from my yard. American maple, red maple, and I think the third is a red oak.

I have trimmed the taproot on the oak. The 2 maples' roots aren't very deep. They are in a 50/50 mix of perlite & sphagnum moss & inside a greenhouse right now (just had a lot of heavy storms, planning on letting them grow outside as much as possible)

Am renting my house currently, so don't really want to plant them in the ground.

I guess my plan is now to let them acclimate to being in pots, fertilize them lightly, mist them daily, and leave them be until fall. Sound like a good plan?

 

[sparklemotion]

Welcome!

Skip the misting. Fertilize at at least the package recommended rate once you see new growth.

Put them outside, even through storms. Greenhouse is better than indoors, but you want fresh air.

Be careful about overwatering.

After you've seen some new growth, read up on trunk wiring and put some crazy twists into the trunks. Any twists you put in now will mellow out as the trunks thicken. You may end up cutting a bunch off in a couple of years, but better to start with movement than a straight stick.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[jeanluc83]

Welcome!

Decided to go the slow way, and collected 3 saplings from my yard.

You certainly have. Understand that three trees are about 10-20 YEARS from being a bonsai. I'll also point out that they are not the best candidates either. That said keep growing them. You will at the very least learn about keeping trees in pots alive.

While you are waiting on these to grow I would try to find a club in your area. It is much easier to learn in person. Many will do beginner workshops this time of the year.

I've been lightly reading & researching.

Read until your eyes bleed! There is lots of information out there. A good places to start:

Evergreen Gardenworks read all the articles twice then read them again
Kaizen Bonsai UK based but still valid, lots of inspiring bonsai videos
Bonsai4Me also UK based, some good tree progressions and species guides
Bonsai Tonight one of the best bonsai blogs that I have found

Good luck.

 

[Clicio]

I guess my plan is now to let them acclimate to being in pots, fertilize them lightly, mist them daily, and leave them be until fall.

Welcome!
Well, don't leave them be until fall; leave them be for at least 3 years.
You can wire them as suggested, but they need to grow, to thicken, and to be very healthy before any serious bonsai training.

 

[SerenityChef]

Haha, so put them all outside, was having my morning cigarette and had a bird fly past me with the red maple in his beak.

 

[theone420]

Haha, so put them all outside, was having my morning cigarette and had a bird fly past me with the red maple in his beak.

haha yeah I lost a few oak seedlings to birds this year. I had to put a screen over my new growing oaks, I guess they like the fresh roots. the screen also helped to put movement in them down lower because I allowed them to hit the screen and keep growing

 

[rockm]

Haha, so put them all outside, was having my morning cigarette and had a bird fly past me with the red maple in his beak.

Which is one reason why working with seedlings is mostly useless if you want to learn anything.

Growing seedlings in pots is mostly growing seedlings in pots. It's not really bonsai. You don't practice many bonsai techniques or duties with seedlings. You just wait--for decades--until they're big enough to make a believable bonsai out of.

I'd recommend getting an actual bonsai--mallsai, whatever. While you wait for those seedlings to grow some, actually DO bonsai with an established tree. That tree will probably wind up in pretty poor shape--most beginners' first trees do. BUT you will learn the everyday, weekly, monthly and yearly chores and refinement jobs that need to be done.

 

[M. Frary]

Which is one reason why working with seedlings is mostly useless if you want to learn anything.

Growing seedlings in pots is mostly growing seedlings in pots. It's not really bonsai. You don't practice many bonsai techniques or duties with seedlings. You just wait--for decades--until they're big enough to make a believable bonsai out of.

I'd recommend getting an actual bonsai--mallsai, whatever. While you wait for those seedlings to grow some, actually DO bonsai with an established tree. That tree will probably wind up in pretty poor shape--most beginners' first trees do. BUT you will learn the everyday, weekly, monthly and yearly chores and refinement jobs that need to be done.

Blunt.
To the point.
Also the best advice you've recieved.

 

[coltranem]

SerenityChef,
I started my journey the same way you did last year by grabbing some seedlings from the yard. However I also took a bonsai class and took home material. Since then i have bought nursery plants both from a bonsai nursery and box stores. I have learned a lot more working on the nursery trees.

 

[BigBen]

Welcome, enjoy your stay.

There's some very sound advice above.
You're gonna love this place!

 

[Danny Tuckey]

After you've seen some new growth, read up on trunk wiring and put some crazy twists into the trunks. Any twists you put in now will mellow out as the trunks thicken. You may end up cutting a bunch off in a couple of years, but better to start with movement than a straight stick.

Careful to not forget about the wire or this may happen ?

 

[petegreg]

Careful to not forget about the wire or this may happen ?
View attachment 195365View attachment 195366

... picture of month. ?

 

[queenofsheba52]

Welcome to Bnut!

I like to mess around with little saplings from my yard too, but I also have had lots of fun working with inexpensive nursery stock.

Enjoy your bonsai journey.

 

[SerenityChef]

Bought a gold lace juniper for $20 & startedplaying. Haven't found any classes locally, or bonsai shops. Did this to it. Pretty sure I've screwed the pooch on it somehow. Lol.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I have noticed that when working with junipers, it's better to keep some more foliage when in development. Removing stuff is easy, putting it back isn't.
It gives you more options to go with on the long term.
In my mind, sculpting them goes as follows:

Find base & front.
Working down to up.
Clip ugly foliage and weak stuff.
Wire, wire, wire (could take a day or two).
Set main branches. Set secondary ones.
Decide what can go and what can be used to develop further (leaving extra branches for future deadwood for example).
Then refine.
Then be unhappy with it, start over..

It might help you a little. I'm not following classes, but i need checklists like the one above. Otherwise I'd ruin everything i touch.

 

[Solaris]

I've also found out the hard way that there is a limit to the bends I can put on a juniper when I'm wiring. If I do too much bending, it will drop the branch.

Good thing they look good with deadwood, but still...