New to Bonsai

[nkydiesel88]

Hey everyone I just got my first Bonsai tree the other day. It's a Ginseng Ficus. I like it and i'm trying to grow it out a bit before doing any pruning.

I actually am enjoying it, so I ordered a Chinese Elm seedling that should be here on Friday and may be ordering a Japanese Maple seed pack to germinate over winter this year.

Anyway here is my Ficus.

 

[Teddscau]

Hey there Diesel! I'm new to bonsai as well. Ginseng ficus are not usually considered to be true bonsai in the bonsai community, due to their unnatural tuberous roots. That being said, my first "bonsai" is a ginseng, too. They are excellent for practicing bonsai with. Honestly, ginseng ficus are incredibly tolerant trees. Have you read up about pruning ginseng ficus leaves? Also, have you read up on bonsai? The key things to research are: trunk (thickening, chopping, taper), branches (pruning, styling), leaves (pruning), and roots (pruning, nebari). You'll also want to look up what time of year to work with the trees you're ordering, as certain types of trees can only have their leaves pruned at curtains times, branches pruned at certain times, repotted at certain times, etc. You'll also want to be looking into overwintering/dormancy of your non-tropical trees. A (winter) dormancy period is essential for certain species. When you get your elm, you'll probably be wanting to plant him in your garden so that his trunk can thicken and whatnot. Oh, you probably haven't heard about fusion before, eh? Check out http://fusionbonsai.com/

Your ginseng looks much better than mine, by the way . Oh, have you checked out any kaizenbonsai videos yet? They're amazing >.<

 

[nkydiesel88]

Tedd,

Thanks for all the great info. The fusion stuff is very interesting and something I may look into at a later time. Right now it's harder as my wife and I just moved into our first place and there's not much room. However, I will look into the pruning techniques I've just been feeding/watering it hoping for some branch growth so I can do some training. It may not be a award winning bonsai but the Ficus should help me practice!. The Elm is on it's way so I will have to plant that in a 1 gallon for growth but in the mean time instead of getting seeds I may hit some nurseries in the area so that I can find a prebonsai Japanese Maple so I actually have something to train, practice, and learn on.

 

[Teddscau]

Glad I could help . Hopefully you can find a pre-bonsaied tree. Where I live, I definitely wouldn't be able to find anything. Have you thought about chrysanthemum bonsais? They only live for a few years and can be difficult to manage, but they are inexpensive and are fully bonsaied in a little over a year. I bought a chrysanthemum a couple of days ago for that very purpose. You can definitely practice branch pruning with those guys. You just buy a dozen and learn from your mistakes. After you become confident in bonsai, you might even want to consider raising a Chinese quince for bonsai. They're trunks are gorgeous. Oh, and I have one tip for general plant care: if your bonsai (or any other plant) gets root-rot, cut off the sickly roots and water with water and hydrogen peroxide for a few days. I forget the ratio of hydrogen peroxide to water, but it shouldn't be hard to google. I learnt about the hydrogen peroxide thing from a carnivorous plant forum I go on. Oh, congratulations on your new house!