Im new to bonsai and looking for tips

[88mkiii]

Ok im new to bonsai, and i understand the basic idea and know you can bonsai just about any tree bush or shrub. How ever there are things i cant find out no matter how much i search the web. Ok to start i have 3 wild picked Texas loblolly pine trees i want to bonsai that are about 2 inches tall. im also trying to sprout some honey mesquite trees. my question is how to i trim the roots and cut the top off of the trees so the trunks can grow WITHOUT killin the trees? oh and how do ppl get their bonsai's to grow on rocks like the one in the photo well i have alot of questions




my pines

 

[darkwaterdevil]

That needs years and years to grow before anything. Look up rout I've rock.

 

[bonsaibp]

No cutting the top or anything for that matter for several years. Try thinking about getting larger material (1-5 gallon size) and making it smaller rather taking a seedling and growing it out to the point where it's big enough to make small.

 

[GrimLore]

We have seedlings growing in a large variety of pots and honest they will make some really nice "TINY" displays in a few more years. You are far better to get a larger specimen, perhaps a Juniper and learn cutting and styling as your seedlings grow. There are a lot of larger hardwoods that sell dirt cheap at places like Home Depot at end of season, winter them and learn on them in the Spring - you will have fun, learn a lot, and at the same time gain the knowledge needed to keep your seedlings alive.

There are a lot of root over rock demos on youtube, I find combining the different methods works well.

 

[Dav4]

Welcome. I hate to be the bearer of bad news , but Loblolly pines are not good bonsai subjects. Their growth is too lanky and their needles are too long, even on the largest bonsais. Still, it might be fun to grow them for a while and use them for practice. Fwiw, depending on where you live, the native Virginia pine would make for better material, as would numerous other species of decidouos or coniferous trees that might be available at landscape or specialty nurseries. Good luck

 

[88mkiii]

ya i wanted to start with something wild and i travel alot between houston and corpus christi. i could only find the sprouts of the pines, everything else i found was to big. Now i am existed about doing a honey mesquite tree cuz they grew with a cool shape in the wild. i have a bunch of seeds and sprouts i want to order i just wana try one from scratch. I have a bonsi from walmart cheap it looked nice and seamed really healthy but it started doping a lot of leaves the day after i took it home, and idk what it is. no tag came on it.

texas honey mesquite tree

 

[GrimLore]

Pic of the WalMart plant please - If it is a Ficus it most likely drop its leaves after moving it and that is normal - we brought all of ours in for the winter and agian this year they dropped all foliage and have started to sprout new growth afet a couple of weeks.

 

[88mkiii]

Pic of the WalMart plant please - If it is a Ficus it most likely drop its leaves after moving it and that is normal - we brought all of ours in for the winter and agian this year they dropped all foliage and have started to sprout new growth afet a couple of weeks.

i dont have pix of the walmart tree its at another house, after doing some web searching the leaves on the walmart tree look like it might be a Chinese Elm, i know its not a Ficus though. It was kept outside when i bought it, so i didnt think it was droping its leaves due to the season. but if it is a Chinese Elm it would make a lil more since to me

 

[GrimLore]

Where are you located? Please add that to your Profile so we can try to help

 

[88mkiii]

Where are you located? Please add that to your Profile so we can try to help

Im in houston texas its cool here but by no means a cold winter heres a pic of the walmart tree sorry its not the best pic it had tuns more leaves on it when i got it last week

 

[NewWorldBonsai]

Im in houston texas its cool here but by no means a cold winter heres a pic of the walmart tree sorry its not the best pic it had tuns more leaves on it when i got it last week

View attachment 29651

It looks like a Fuiken Tea (Carmona microphylla). They are a tropical tree and cannot take temperatures below 32F and many recommend protecting from anything below 40F.

Keep it warm and sunny as possible, they are rather hardy. Window ledges can be good- or bad if they get really cold at night or have poor insulation...

Water it only when the soil dries out and it will probably make it to Spring.

Good luck

 

[Poink88]

It is a fukien tea and looks like dry & weak to me. Remove the moss and (likely glued) rocks on top then soak in water. Leave it for a few minutes then drain excess.

I keep mine outside as much as possible. It takes 35*F well for me and goes inside below that. I water mine about twice a week...depending on how well the roots are functioning and how much foliage you have.

Mine looks happiest outside during summer under shade.

Good luck!

 

[deutsch]

Yeah a Fukien it is. I have one exactly like that I bought at a wal-mart last year for $10. Which wal-mart store? I live in Houston too, but have been searching for more or a chinese elm from there. I got mine from the wal-mart off of 1960/fm bypass in Humble. It has been thriving the past year being kept outside all year just protecting in garage when it gets below 35f. Be sure to remove that hard glue and moss stuff and possibly repot with beter soil. Thats what I did. Mine also does great hangin out in the shade most of summer. Morning sun and afternoon evening shade spraying it ocassionally to keep moisture humidity up.

 

[88mkiii]

Yeah a Fukien it is. I have one exactly like that I bought at a wal-mart last year for $10. Which wal-mart store? I live in Houston too, but have been searching for more or a chinese elm from there. I got mine from the wal-mart off of 1960/fm bypass in Humble. It has been thriving the past year being kept outside all year just protecting in garage when it gets below 35f. Be sure to remove that hard glue and moss stuff and possibly repot with beter soil. Thats what I did. Mine also does great hangin out in the shade most of summer. Morning sun and afternoon evening shade spraying it ocassionally to keep moisture humidity up.

i got it at the 1960 and tc jester store ill try re potting this week and try to keep it warmer, i just dont see why it started losing leaves after i put it in a warmer place than out side, i hope i can fave it cuz it had a nice look to it. any suggestions to soil for re potting that would be best for saving it?

 

[Poink88]

DO NOT REPOT NOW. Wait till March. Just remove the glued rocks as I mentioned. Fukien tea may shed leaves whenever its environment changes ...like moving it inside or from store to your home.

 

[GrimLore]

If you clean up that area outside the window it looks like that plant could sit on that stump nicely Also I will repeat get rid of that stone and moss, DO NOT change anything until Spring. I will add - If it was me in that area I would leave it out on that stump and cover it with a large cheap plastic pot when and if there is a HARD frost Although most people think they need to be moved in at 40f it has been our experience they take 35f without problem...

 

[88mkiii]

ok can due however i am about to go back to corpus christi texas. its a coastal city its pretty warm even this time of year and quite humid and dosnt rain much. any tips for that kind of zone??

 

[GrimLore]

So you are taking the plant back and forth from Houston to Corpus Christi - Sorry you lost me a bit on that... Those are very different weatherwise.

 

[88mkiii]

no i live in Corpus, i bought the tree in Houston while i was visiting. now im going home tomorrow im taking it with me

 

[GrimLore]

Clean off the moss and the stone crap thay put on it, then just let it winter ouside in Corpus. It will defoliate as it should and in the Spring toss it in some decent soil - I suspect that lil specimen will live well and give you many years of personal happiness