New to BN

[BBeach]

Hi all, I'm relatively new to both bonsai and this forum. I've had a few trees in the past, but in my hurry to have a "finished" tree I would purchase, prune, root prune, and pot all in one afternoon. After having several trees die I have decided to take things a little slower. I currently have three trees that would be considered pre-bonsai at this point; a JBP that I am hoping to style in cascade, a hemlock that I think will make a nice literati, and a coastal redwood that I'm hoping will make a nice formal upright.

That's it for now, I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi.

 

[KennedyMarx]

Welcome to the site. I think a lot of us are like you and had to learn to be patient. I know I definitely have. If you search on here there is a thread in the pines section by Eric Schrader about growing pines from seed. Some of what's in there may be applicable to growing your pine. He has several articles on his blog as well: http://www.phutu.com And another member here, Brian Van Fleet, has a book he put together about JBP refinement. You can find it on his blog: www.NebariBonsai.com

 

[sorce]

Bbeach. Welcome!

You can do all those things without killing a tree. If done properly, at the right time of year.
Why did your trees die? Out of season? Too much root pruning? Too much Top pruning pines? Bad soil? Did you curse at them? Lol

Just saying, you have to pinpoint the reason so you can fix that. Cuz say you did all that (purchase prune roots and repot) to an elm in spring, it should live.

Unless you keep it inside in the dark after wards!

So what went wrong?

Just don't want that lovely little cascade to find the same fate! Thats a nice lil start!

Sorce

 

[Cadillactaste]

It's not fun to lose any material...but, all a good experience. Learning the what we did wrong allows us to grow in our knowledge. Helps puts things in perspective. That cascade has great movement from what I can see.

Do you have a local bonsai nursery near you? If so...I am jealous...

 

[jk_lewis]

Don't be surprised if the pine wants to do something else. They don't take to having the apex below their feet for long.

 

[ghues]

Hello Bbeach and welcome to the nuthouse. Patience in and with Bonsai is one of the hardest things to do but the rewards will come with it.
My strongest recommendation to you is to seek out a club to join....here is a link to the Pacific Northwest Bonsai Club Association where you can find information about all the clubs in Washington, check it out and hopefully you'l find one close to you and join it.
http://pnbca.com/
Cheers Graham

 

[BBeach]

KennedyMarx - Thanks for the links. I have been reading Brian's posts on pines to help make sure I don't lose this one.

Source - I was working with pre-bonsai junipers from my local nursery and in the middle of the summer I would bare-root and then prune away +50% of the roots. After root pruning I would repot with the original soil and then water the heck out of it in full afternoon sun.

Cadillactaste - Cascade is one of my favorite styles so when I saw this tree I had to buy it. I have one dedicated bonsai nursery and one full service nursery that carries a pretty decent supply of pre-bonsai as well as "finished" and collected trees.

Jkl - I've heard that the JBP doesn't like to grow in the cascade style. I'm assuming this will take quite a bit of training/wiring throughout it's growing process to ensure it stays where I would like it.

Ghues - Thanks for the link to the PNBCA. I've talked to a couple members of the Seattle based club, but I haven't pulled the trigger on joining yet. I could probably cut my learning curve quite a bit if I join and learn from more experienced people.

 

[coh]

Looks like you picked a bad week to join bonsai nut...

Anyway, welcome to the group. The pine has an interesting trunk and I hope you'll post progression pics as it develops.

Any photos of the redwood? I'm a sucker for those and have 3 in various stages of development.

Chris

 

[Cadillactaste]

Cadillactaste - Cascade is one of my favorite styles so when I saw this tree I had to buy it. I have one dedicated bonsai nursery and one full service nursery that carries a pretty decent supply of pre-bonsai as well as "finished" and collected trees.

Lucky you...nothing bonsai related near or around me. But...having contacts here has put me into acquiring bonsai material I am pleased with at the end of the day...and any time I glance upon them.

I admire cascades as well. And literati too. One reason I purchased the rosemary is for possible laterati style down the road. If I can make myself prune it's foliage. Lol right now...I am letting it have a few seasons to just grow and do what it wants.

 

[BBeach]

Looks like you picked a bad week to join bonsai nut...

Anyway, welcome to the group. The pine has an interesting trunk and I hope you'll post progression pics as it develops.

Any photos of the redwood? I'm a sucker for those and have 3 in various stages of development.

Chris

My redwood isn't really photo worthy yet. It's about 8-10" tall right now with a 3/16" trunk. I'm going to grow it out in my backyard for a couple years before I do anything with it.

 

[edprocoat]

The JBP looks already styled like a cascade, and a very good looking one too boot ! Did you style it that way or collect/buy it that way ? It looks like a collected old tree with a nice aged bark, I doubt that trunk could be bent like that as thick as it is. BTW welcome to B-nut !

ed

 

[BBeach]

The JBP looks already styled like a cascade, and a very good looking one too boot ! Did you style it that way or collect/buy it that way ? It looks like a collected old tree with a nice aged bark, I doubt that trunk could be bent like that as thick as it is. BTW welcome to B-nut !

ed

I believe that the nursery where I bought this from field grows their JBP into several different styles. They had a few more trees that were closer to an informal upright. The only thing that I have done is tilted the trunk about 30 degrees, to enhance the cascade design, when I slip potted it in May.