Jumping into the fray - first trees

Jaberwky17

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Hello to all. I officially started with some trees about a month ago, purchasing the following stock from a local nursery. They were all labeled as bonsai and I was stupid and bought based on looks, not really paying attention or researching species. Shame on me.

  • Japanese White Pine – yes I know but I wanted to try.
  • Hinoki Cypress – one tiny (could become shohin) and one larger bushy one
  • Blue Shimpaku – tall and thin. Nice blue needles.
  • Golden Shimpaku – tall and very bushy and healthy looking.
  • Kingsville Boxwood – I got several of these from an Ebay grower with good reputation and the plants seem to be in fantastic shape.


I made a large batch of soil, using equal parts sphagnum, cheap clay cat litter, and tiny pumice gravel. I added a healthy dose of vermiculite and a dash of slow release fertilizer pellets. This recipe is inspired by a common sense FAQ I found online.

I got all specimens out of their tiny flimsy nursery pots, washed the roots, and potted in various well draining containers (some are small bonsai pots), root bundles wired in order to secure and align the trunks to my liking. I used a chopstick to poke around in the root ball in the soil to fill in voids, then soaked the pots with a mister and applied a few drops of liquid plant food. The nursery pots were simply too small and unstable to use as they were. The only roots I touched were one of the cypress. It was SO root bound I had a really hard time getting it loosened. By the time I was done I lost about 1/3 of the total root mass, but the remainder were in good shape. I dusted with rooting agent before potting.

My trees can get full sun for most of the day on my back deck, and twice daily soil checks and necessary watering with the mister. I use a finger check in the pot corner and/or a chopstick for dryness. All the repotted plants are in partial shade for a few weeks after repotting, and the boxwoods are in partial sun rather than full all the time.

Finally, I saw a shape in the blue shimpaku and decided to wire it. The wiring process was really cool – it was awesome to see the shape, sketch it out, and then recreate the sketch. Speaking of wiring, I took some online advice and made my own copper annealed wire. I stripped several gages of home wiring and looped them into coils. Stoked up a good fire in my outdoor boiler and got the coils good and glowing, then quenched in water. It worked wonderfully.

So now my plan is to watch and let them grow. Water as needed, keep out of brutal sun as needed, watch for pests, study their structure for a year. Start building a cold frame next month so that I’m ahead of the game for this winter.
 

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GrimLore

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Sounds like you are on the right track! Please note some will tell you the kitty litter clumps to much(I find it does not if not to much is added). Also be careful when using vermiculite - be certain to use some type of dust mask. There is nothing wrong with using it just never breath in the dust :cool: I must also tell you your approach sounds like a good one and Welcome to B-NUT! :)

Caution: Not a real huge worry but taking home a plant and not being POSITIVE you can grow it AND Winter it proper stops most of us from doing any chops or wiring the first full season. Keep an eye on that wire so it does not leave scars and always look up or question as when the best time is to prune or cut any species and save yourself some headache :)
 
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jk_lewis

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We would, of course, like to see some pictures.

Try to find a local bonsai club. They're scarce up where you are, but . . .

This is the only Minnesota club I could find: MINNESOTA - Minneapolis

Minnesota Bonsai Society. Meets the first Tuesday of the month (except January) at Jehovah Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1566 Thomas Ave., St. Paul, MN. (Corner of Snelling and Thomas, 4 blocks north of University Avenue). Claude A. Worrell, P.O. Box 32901, Minneapolis, MN 55432. Visitors welcome.

I dusted with rooting agent before potting.

Dusting roots with rooting hormone isn't a great idea. The stuff pushes roots out of STEM tissue. On roots, strangely enough, it can inhibit root formation.

Good luck with your new trees.
 
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Jaberwky17

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A couple more images

10 characters
 

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Paradox

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Thanks for the pics.

I hate to burst your bubble, but those guys, as cute as they are, are all a very long way from being 'bonsai'.

They are all pretty tiny and need to do A LOT of growing to get some trunk thinkness.
Doing much styling to them now will slow that down. Being in those small pots won't help that either.

Also, cypress are very very slow grower so they will take even longer.

You are looking at at least 20 years before they could even be ready for initial styling.

Contrary to popular belief, most of us don't grow from seedlings, but take larger trees and cut them down.

You've repotted them this year so there's not much else you can do but keep them alive for now.
Next spring, I would plant them into your yard and let them grow for some years.

Try to find something a bit bigger that you can work on now and that you can see some progress relatively faster.

First you need to learn how to keep things alive. Dead trees don't make good bonsai. That said, you will kill some along the way. Don't get discouraged.
Second, you need to learn about when the best time to do things is. That varies by species and your location.
Read as much as you can, both on these forums and books if you can get them.
Join a club. Ask questions, there are people here willing to help.
Good luck and welcome to the addiction
 
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Jaberwky17

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Not Really Burst

I hate to burst your bubble, but those guys, as cute as they are, are all a very long way from being 'bonsai'.

Thanks for the input - duly noted. I realize that some of the species are slow growers and I don't expect to be able to do anything with them in the near future. However they do make very nice trees for my deck. I have already dug up some lilac from my yard for rooting, and will scout for larger trees to tackle - that need was made perfectly clear after researching a little.

For the record - I don't think I actually called any of my trees bonsai in my OP. No bubble to burst here.
 

Paradox

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They are all definately good for learning and seeing if you can keep them alive. When you can do that sucessfully, it will give you confidence to move on to better and more expensive material.
 

Dav4

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I made a large batch of soil, using equal parts sphagnum, cheap clay cat litter, and tiny pumice gravel. I added a healthy dose of vermiculite and a dash of slow release fertilizer pellets. This recipe is inspired by a common sense FAQ I found online.
The clay cat litter you added to your soil mix may become a huge issue. Clay amendments to soil mixes need to hold up to the effects of moisture and freeze/thawing for YEARS. If the clay particles break down, it will turn your soil into a heavy mush-like mass that will be impermeable to oxygen, and this will smother the roots. It's my understanding that only certain European cat litters have the properties needed to safely use them in soil. Most people state side use products like turface, oil-dry (your mileage may vary here, too), or akadama, which is imported Japanese clay soil used exclusively for bonsai.
 

lordy

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Unfortunately, you will probably hear "put them in the ground to develop some size" many times. However it is good advice if you are going for fatter trunks. It seems a by-product of keeping a tree in a bonsai pot is that it's growth slows considerably. On the other hand, shohin-sized trees can be quite nice developed in pots. So, learn about the horticulture of trees in pots for now, and then move on to larger trees and developing the finer points of form and art.
 

Vance Wood

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You need to accept the fact that if you are really serious about doing bonsai it is necessary that you understand that most good bonsai are larger trees that have been cut down into bonsai that are much smaller than the material they were started with.

Bonsai is a lot like sculpture. A sculpture is a work of art where an image is created in wood or stone out of a larger piece of raw material. No where do you find a sculptor starting with a small rock hoping that some day it will grow up into a finished image of some item he has chosen to sculpt.

I know this is kind of a mixed metaphor but it uses its absurdity to demonstrate the absurdity of "the growing things up into bonsai" process many start out with. It is possible to grow things up into bonsai using smaller material grown for a particular purpose with a planned program beyond most beginners reference point to comprehend or patience to engage.
 
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Jaberwky17

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Agreed

Unfortunately, you will probably hear "put them in the ground to develop some size" many times. However it is good advice if you are going for fatter trunks.

It's so refreshing to have so many people talking about a preference for fat versus skinny....

First, I have some small trees that satisfy the desire for something to look at and style a bit over the next few years. I have no illusion about small trees becoming gorgeous big trees anytime soon. They are what they are and I will appreciate them for it.

Second, I have some medium sized specimens (2" plus trunks) that are collected or nursery purchased with the intent of allowing root development and trunk development. Lilac, azalea, amur maple. These will go into boxes or the ground.

Third, I will be getting some 10-15 year old viburnum from a landscaping project - big 4-5" trunks. After some time spent getting a strong root system back, they can be cut down and developed. Also boxes or ground.

Fourth, I have some small yamadori coming in the form of Utah and Rocky Mountain juniper - collected by family who is a botanist for a US national park - their job includes removal and transplanting of these plants on a regular basis.

So I have a few options to look at. Thanks for the input - looking forward to some challenging but rewarding times.
 
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