Hey all

NightShade

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Hey all,
My name is Justin and I'm new to BonsaiNut. If someone has any tips I would love to hear. Thanks everyone


-Justin
 

milehigh_7

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Wow! Tons O' newbies lately! That is awesome. Welcome!


The first thing they will want you to do is put where you live in your profile.
 

jk_lewis

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We do best with "tips" on individual trees. It's difficult, if not impossible, to offer "tips" in gneral

Buy a book or two (or go to the library), or check out the articles at www.evergreengardenworks.com, then get a tree and ask away.
 

Brian Van Fleet

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We do best with "tips" on individual trees. It's difficult, if not impossible, to offer "tips" in gneral

Buy a book or two (or go to the library), or check out the articles at www.evergreengardenworks.com, then get a tree and ask away.

I dunno...we could probably start a general tips sheet. I'll get us started, let's see where it goes (extreme sarcasm alert...)

1. Don't keep bonsai trees on top of the TV set...they tend to fall off the back of today's low-profile models.

2. Glued-on rocks do prevent effective watering.

3. Don't water every day if the soil is already wet.

4. You can't effectively "do bonsai" unless you have enough trees that one can recover while you torture the others.

5. Junipers are outdoor trees. No matter how many you may see moving into the suburbs. So are Ficus trees...they just need to winter in the South.

6. Bonsai wire is not a decoration. Neither are mudmen, excess rocks, gnomes, elves, or anything your girlfriend would call "cute".

7. Never, under any circumstances, repot your bonsai more than 3 times a year, or prune it faster than it can rebelliously grow back.

BTW, Welcome Justin...have fun!
 

NightShade

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I was referring to tips on staying on this site and not getting banned
 

DaveV

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Thats funny - I took your request for tips on Bonsai as Brian did. For tips on staying on this site I would basically follow the golden rule : treat others as you would like to be treated.

I would add to Brian's recommendations to include:
1)Have WELL DRAINING SOIL. This was my biggest learning curve - as simple as it is. I found small lava rock to be very useful.

2) As a beginner, don't buy anything expensive at first because it could end up dying.

3) Try to find a bonsai club to join. What you can learn from other personally will save you time and money. Books are OK but one-on-one instruction is more informative.

4) Subscribe to a Bonsai journal - I personally like "International Bonsai" .

5) Chinese elms are easy trees to start with. If you buy a deciduous tree, learn about over-wintering first. Most deciduous trees need a cold period for at lease two months - depending where you are located.

There is more but thats a start.

DaveV.
 

DaveV

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Sorry, I didn't see the "scammer alert"
 

jk_lewis

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But the tips are all good.

Another one . . . Never, never, never, EVER buy a "bonsai" from a little old man with a pickup truck at the side of the road.
 

NightShade

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Talk about bonsai and respect your fellow forum members and you'll never be banned.
Thank you Bonsai Nut for your tip, and thanks all for the other witty and funny but practical tips
 
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