My first attempt at Bonsai

[plantmansam]

Hi all,

I have been a member of this site for almost a decade but haven’t posted in a long while. I grew interest in Bonsai around the time I registered for the site, but never really got started. I recently got the urge to give it a go and decided to just go for it. This is what I did with a dwarf Alberta spruce from a big box store nursery. It was a 1 gallon pot size for $15. I cut back quite a bit and took off probably 1/3 of the roots. All comments & criticisms gladly welcomed and appreciated!

I certainly had fun working with the tree and enjoy looking at it. I plan to continue in this hobby as much as time permits!

Thanks !

 

[Joelshack2362]

For a $15 learning tree that looks like a good deal. Getting your hands dirty and making mistakes is not a bad thing. Hopefully more knowledgeable members will respond. I think from what I have learned is sometimes you want to do the original root work and repot at one time and then after a year do some wiring. But maybe this species can handle it.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Please take my comments with a grain of salt. I'm only ~5 years into this hobby, so still in rookie territory.

Do you have an example pic or drawing of a design you're trying to go for?

Maybe a pyramidal style like this?

Criticism (big grain of salt!)...
1. There are a couple bar branches or near-bar branches (2+ branches coming out of the same point on the trunk) that might cause swelling at that point on the trunk.
2. It looks 2-dimensional. I see one branch maybe in the back.
3. Wiring may need to improve a bit. If you push down on one side of the bar branches, does it move the branch on the other side? I did that exact thing to mine.
4. Might have been better to bend branches down closer to the trunk(?). They do look pretty thick, so that might be tough to do.
5. You took off a lot of the foliage, so it may need several years of just growing to regain health. I think there's no problem with leaving branches for later removal in order to keep the tree a little stronger while it recovers.
6. The soil looks very organic, so just make sure it drains.

Going forward...
1. Let it recover and grow. This might take a few years.
2. Look into pruning (when/how) in order to achieve some kind of foliage pads via ramification.

Otherwise, @Joelshack2362 is right... getting your hands dirty is the best way to learn and you have done better than most with your first shot at it. I'd bet that your second attempt would be even better.

 

[plantmansam]

Please take my comments with a grain of salt. I'm only ~5 years into this hobby, so still in rookie territory.

Do you have an example pic or drawing of a design you're trying to go for?

Maybe a pyramidal style like this?

Criticism (big grain of salt!)...
1. There are a couple bar branches or near-bar branches (2+ branches coming out of the same point on the trunk) that might cause swelling at that point on the trunk.
2. It looks 2-dimensional. I see one branch maybe in the back.
3. Wiring may need to improve a bit. If you push down on one side of the bar branches, does it move the branch on the other side? I did that exact thing to mine.
4. Might have been better to bend branches down closer to the trunk(?). They do look pretty thick, so that might be tough to do.
5. You took off a lot of the foliage, so it may need several years of just growing to regain health. I think there's no problem with leaving branches for later removal in order to keep the tree a little stronger while it recovers.
6. The soil looks very organic, so just make sure it drains.

Going forward...
1. Let it recover and grow. This might take a few years.
2. Look into pruning (when/how) in order to achieve some kind of foliage pads via ramification.

Otherwise, @Joelshack2362 is right... getting your hands dirty is the best way to learn and you have done better than most with your first shot at it. I'd bet that your second
attempt would be even better.

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave thoughtful and constructive feedback.

I didn't have a picture I was working from but yes, I wanted to go more of a conical or pyramid type shape. I like the idea of using a picture as a guide to assist with structure and styling.

I did learn about the bar branches causing swelling in the trunk from a few YouTube videos. I had taken off too many growth points before I realized this and then I was afraid that if I cut more to stagger the branches, it might look too sparse.

It does very much look 2 dimensional. I also noticed this after taking off (too much?) foliage, or in other words, too late! There is a branch in the back. If I leave it as is, might some growth come back in due time that could help out in this regard? Perhaps I could wire new branches to fill in some of that empty space?

I had a feeling that I didn't do a great job wiring it, and yes, if I push on one of the branches, the one on the other side moves as well. I noticed that when I was bending them, but I didn't realize that it was a problem. It makes sense that you'd want them to be independently bendable. I was also afraid of wiring it too tight.

The branches were indeed tough to bend further due to their thickness. I was trying to bend them as much as I could from the elbow without them snapping, and that's about as far as they'd go. Perhaps thicker/stronger wire would have helped?

At this point, the biggest question is whether I can keep this thing alive! I will be sure to look into pruning and trying to achieve some foliage pads.

Thanks again!

 

[Wulfskaar]

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave thoughtful and constructive feedback.

I didn't have a picture I was working from but yes, I wanted to go more of a conical or pyramid type shape. I like the idea of using a picture as a guide to assist with structure and styling.

I did learn about the bar branches causing swelling in the trunk from a few YouTube videos. I had taken off too many growth points before I realized this and then I was afraid that if I cut more to stagger the branches, it might look too sparse.

It does very much look 2 dimensional. I also noticed this after taking off (too much?) foliage, or in other words, too late! There is a branch in the back. If I leave it as is, might some growth come back in due time that could help out in this regard? Perhaps I could wire new branches to fill in some of that empty space?

I had a feeling that I didn't do a great job wiring it, and yes, if I push on one of the branches, the one on the other side moves as well. I noticed that when I was bending them, but I didn't realize that it was a problem. It makes sense that you'd want them to be independently bendable. I was also afraid of wiring it too tight.

The branches were indeed tough to bend further due to their thickness. I was trying to bend them as much as I could from the elbow without them snapping, and that's about as far as they'd go. Perhaps thicker/stronger wire would have helped?

At this point, the biggest question is whether I can keep this thing alive! I will be sure to look into pruning and trying to achieve some foliage pads.

Thanks again!

I had mostly the same problems with mine, which is why I thought I should share what I've learned. The wiring on mine is actually way worse and I need to redo it.

But yeah, at this point, it's all about keeping it alive and hopefully helping it thrive.

I hope to see an update on this and your next projects!