Does anyone know about shohin bonsai trees?

[hinmo24t]

Welcome to the smaller world of bonsai. The wealth of experience available here and elsewhere now should help speed your journey.

I'm another shohin devotee. Initially most of my smaller trees died. It is much harder to keep tiny trees alive through summer. It is also much harder to design effective looking trees in a small scale. After years of practice with larger bonsai I now have the skills to be able to design and maintain smaller bonsai so that part of the collection is rapidly expanding. Some have been shown in the Shohin Thread above.

they do dry out a lot easier, i noticed that when shifting to bonsai trainers from nursery pots and getting into shohins

 

[TinyArt]

bonsai trainers

= azalea/bulb pots as you move toward shohin?

 

[Shibui]

When I got to the bottom 14 they said 'Shibui bonsai' underneath and I Googled it and it took me to a website with the same name. Does that mean it's where you got them?

I guess you could say they all came from Shibui Bonsai because I run that business which means I get first choice of any trees with good potential.
I don't bother with Jade tree here. too cold for them outside and I'm not going to start the indoor/outdoor yearly transfer when there are so many other species that make better bonsai and survive outdoors here all year round.
Serissa is another one that I have a few of but have not been able to make decent trunks yet as they just produce thousands of suckers from the roots.

I'm new to bonsai and was intrigued to see that you find Chinese Elm easy to grow as Shohin. How did you go about creating a shohin from a Chinese Elm? That would be an easy tree for me to learn on.

The Chinese elm I use for shohin is a variety called 'Seiju' It has smaller leaves than the standard type and much closer internodes so when pruned I get closer shoots so better ramification to make tiny branches. Grow shohin elms just like any other deciduous species - Grow until the trunk is thick enough (or purchase a tree with suitable trunk) then prune back and work with the new shoots that grow to make the rest of the trunk and the branching. Chinese elms are good because you can start with a thick root cutting and it will grow new shoots out the top that can form branches of a broom style bonsai. The middle tree in image 3333 was grown like that an is only around 3 years old.

Do you just start by chopping it back or is it done in stages?

Depends on species. Many deciduous, including Chinese elm, can be chopped right down in a single chop. A few species are more sensitive and do not bud on bare branches or trunk so you need to pick stock more carefully or chop in stages and let it shoot and rest between chops.

 

[JudyB]

I share your love of smaller bonsai, and it can be challenging but so rewarding. Be aware that they can be addictive! A lot of people who have larger trees move towards smaller trees as they get older, the biggest trees can be harder to manage. I started with smaller ones, got into huge trees and came back round to the smaller guys again later. Here's a link to my thread about my little guys.

small beauty

Here are some shots of a couple small pretty trees. Deshojo and dwarf apple. It's cold outside so nice to bring some happiness into the room... The apple is new to me, it's a true dwarf apple, not a crabapple. Looks like fun to me.

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Katie0317]

I guess you could say they all came from Shibui Bonsai because I run that business which means I get first choice of any trees with good potential.
I don't bother with Jade tree here. too cold for them outside and I'm not going to start the indoor/outdoor yearly transfer when there are so many other species that make better bonsai and survive outdoors here all year round.
Serissa is another one that I have a few of but have not been able to make decent trunks yet as they just produce thousands of suckers from the roots.


The Chinese elm I use for shohin is a variety called 'Seiju' It has smaller leaves than the standard type and much closer internodes so when pruned I get closer shoots so better ramification to make tiny branches. Grow shohin elms just like any other deciduous species - Grow until the trunk is thick enough (or purchase a tree with suitable trunk) then prune back and work with the new shoots that grow to make the rest of the trunk and the branching. Chinese elms are good because you can start with a thick root cutting and it will grow new shoots out the top that can form branches of a broom style bonsai. The middle tree in image 3333 was grown like that an is only around 3 years old.


Depends on species. Many deciduous, including Chinese elm, can be chopped right down in a single chop. A few species are more sensitive and do not bud on bare branches or trunk so you need to pick stock more carefully or chop in stages and let it shoot and rest between chops.

Thank you for sharing good information. I don't see any images though. You mentioned image 3333 and I don't know where I would see that? I do see a number of Serrissa trees for sale but didn't know about suckers on them. I'd enjoy seeing the photos. Thank you. Katie

 

[Katie0317]

I share your love of smaller bonsai, and it can be challenging but so rewarding. Be aware that they can be addictive! A lot of people who have larger trees move towards smaller trees as they get older, the biggest trees can be harder to manage. I started with smaller ones, got into huge trees and came back round to the smaller guys again later. Here's a link to my thread about my little guys.

small beauty

Here are some shots of a couple small pretty trees. Deshojo and dwarf apple. It's cold outside so nice to bring some happiness into the room... The apple is new to me, it's a true dwarf apple, not a crabapple. Looks like fun to me.

www.bonsainut.com

Judy, those are so charming! Did you bring them indoor only to photograph them? I can't imagine they could survive indoors. Thanks so much for sharing those with me! Katie

 

[JudyB]

Judy, those are so charming! Did you bring them indoor only to photograph them? I can't imagine they could survive indoors. Thanks so much for sharing those with me! Katie

Yes they are all outside trees, but easy enough to bring in for a photo shoot. Thanks!

 

[Enfield Snapper]

Bonsai Empire just posted another video by Morton Albek showing some shohin techniques throughout the year.

 

[Katie0317]

Bonsai Empire just posted another video by Morton Albek showing some shohin techniques throughout the year.

Thanks so much for sharing this! I'm looking forward to getting my first shohin plant. There's someone on Etsy who has many and when I looked at her location she's very near me. I DM'ed her and she welcomed us to come to their nursery when they're back in town in Sept. I'll get something very easy to start. Thank you for post this....Katie

 

[Njyamadori]

I’m also curious about shohin too ! I’m thinking about starting a competition/asking someone else to start it for me that’s about making shohin from seedlings/saplings . Here’s the link if you are interested but I also want to develop shohin also . Right now I’m planning to make Shinpaku and Beautyberry Shimpaku and I want other people to join the Journey also ! I’m still a beginner (1 year) and I would like to learn from other people . Shohin look easy but it’s probably actually the hardest. Bjorn even talked about shohin trees are hard to maintain the shape !