New and looking for help

theditor

Seed
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Hi all!

I've been fascinated by Bonsai for a long time and finally feel like it's time to "put up or shut up" and start a couple of my own trees this spring. A piece of advice I've seen more than once has been to find other people to learn from, and since there doesn't seem to be a society in my area (Western MT) I thought I should register here.

I'm mostly interested in outdoor conifers that are native to the region, so I want to try a rocky mountain juniper and ponderosa pine - I'm aware of the legginess issue with pondies but I like them too much not to try. Maybe also varieties of white or whitebark pine and Western Redcedar. Also maybe sagebrush if that's a thing.

I'm in a 5b climate zone here. What should I expect? What are your thoughts on my tree selection? What are the advantages of finding wild specimens to harvest or working with nursery stock? How much can i expect to spend on this hobby on the first year, assuming I start with 2-4 trees? What questions do I not even know to be asking right now?
 

Warpig

Chumono
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I know it's not exactly what you're looking for and maybe you have already looked into these. Or how close they would be for you, but just in case you haven't, you might want to check into these.

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brentwood

Chumono
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Just a quick add from a beginner, nursery stock, worked in its original container, will get you further than transplanting from the wild... Chinese juniper, yew, elm from your local nursery are all likely to survive the pruning you do - I'd wait to inflict that on a harvested pine, for example.
Brent at evergreen garden works has some great articles for beginners, took most of above from that.

Much luck!
Brent (unrelated)
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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Welcome to Crazy!

Montana!

Nice

Sorce
 

Colorado

Masterpiece
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How much can i expect to spend on this hobby on the first year, assuming I start with 2-4 trees?

What is your credit card limit? ;)

I’d suggest starting with some nursery stock to learn watering, repotting, what soil mix works for you, pruning, etc before you go dropping 500 bucks on a nice piece of yamadori Ponderosa or Rocky Mountain juniper.

If you intend to collect your own, the same advice would apply. If you are unable to properly care for a repotted piece of nursery stock, your chances of successfully collecting a tree from the wild are slim.

I think your tree selection sounds good. When I first started out I accumulated a number of trees that aren’t really hardy in my zone (which is basically the same as yours). Ficus, etc. Now, I’m resisting the urge to buy anything that isn’t winter hardy in my climate. Shuffling in and out isn’t much fun for me.

Have fun!
 

JudyB

Queen of the Nuts
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Welcome! You should take a moment and put your location in on your profile page, so people can give you good advice for your climate.
 
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