Newbie saying hi

STLBonsai

STLBonsai

Seedling
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Location
St. Louis, MO
USDA Zone
7a
Hi all,

Greetings from St. Louis. I've had an interest in bonsai for awhile but decided to take it on seriously as a new hobby recently. I stumbled upon this site after reading The Little Book of Bonsai and have since checked out a couple more books on the subject.

Since winter is approaching, I wasn't going to shop for any trees until the weather warms up (I don't really have many great spots indoors for plants) but wanted to see if you guys have any tips from when you were starting out.
 
Only few years in myself.

1. Get at least several trees so you don’t overwork one or two trees

2. Learn about watering and soil types and how much to water based on tree needs/soil type etc. one watering plan doesn’t necessarily work for every tree you have

3. Read up on wintering trees. Trees are designed to live outside including winters but might need some protection

4. Be careful not to buy everything right away. Soon you will have many “small sticks” and wish you had fewer larger trunk starts.
 
welcome. Id recommend spending the next few months looking into a few species which youd like to try out next year that are common in your area. Also plan ahead for repots now so you can get the soil materials which will work for you. consider how often you practically can water. Most of us water every day, sometimes twice in summer.
 
consider fast growing weed tree species as good learning material as well. For me here in NJ, things like red maple are great for deciduous learning and timing. Keep an eye out around february on neighborhood boards for peopld looking to remove shrubs and such. Some good mature collectable stock can be found this way. If you have connections in the construction industry, especially with site work contractors, hardscapers, or general contractors, you can often offer finders fees for material getting ripped out.
 
Welcome;
If you have 1 spot indoors that's warm, average 70 degrees or more and lots of light try a Brazilian Rain Tree (aka BRT).
Lots of info on them here.
When outdoor temps are right put them out for the Summer.
They Grow fast, very hard to kill, and in 28 years or so growing them I have never seen any pest.

Also Japanese Black Pine (aka JBP) for a strictly outdoor tree.
 
Hi from another Newbie!
I don't have any tips but I do have a warning.

This hobby takes a lot more time than you may think.

Also, apart from actually working on your trees with knowledge people, this is the best place to come for information!

I look forward to seeing what you do,
Greg
 
Welcome! I'm only a half hour or so away on the Illinois side. The Missouri Botanical garden has a Japanese festival every Labor Day weekend that I have heard is awesome. I've never been since we're always out of town that weekend. I believe that St. Louis has a bonsai club that meets there once a month.
 
Welcome Aboard Bonsai Nut!

This is an excellent site to get support on starting out in bonsai and in developing trees over time. All of us have gone through the bonsai learning curve for those first few critical years.

You may get a whole lot of advice so I’ll keep it short.

Per @Mike Westervelt …Join and go to the St Louis Bonsai Society meetings. They will have experienced folks, local pros, speakers and workshops. Also trees for sale that will be good for your area.

My personal recommendation is when one first begins to purchase prebonsai, to get at least 3-6 of one species x three species and keep your collection there until each is mastered before moving one.

Just some thoughts.

Cheers
DSD sends
 
Lots of good advice so far. My limited experience has taught me to observe neighborhood trees. See what's growing around you, especially native species. If it grows there without man's help, it will definitely grow in a pot with added TLC.

You'll see this a lot: Watering is the first and hardest part to manage. Water and substrate go hand-in-hand. There are dozens of threads (and probably more debates) discussing soils/substrates. I won't get into the weeds here; I'm still figuring out what works in my climate. The simple and popular technique is a basic bamboo or wooden chopstick stuck deep into the pot to measure soil moisture.

I don't have any developed tree yet, but it has been said by members much wiser than I that to have a tree or two already on its way to being a good or great specimen gives you experience before you get your baby trees to that point. It makes sense to me.

Learn how to get your trees to thrive, rather than simply surviving. Basic horticultural techniques for healthy growing of each species. You can't style dead trees.

Lastly, know that the awesome trees that you see here and at bonsai club meetings and shows and YT videos took years. Like 10 to 20 years minimum, depending on species. I learned the hard way that there is a time/season for everything in this art of patience. The YT videos where the practitioner repots, prunes, wires, and creates deadwood all at once are never (that I've seen) followed up with recovery videos. Because the tree almost certainly died. I'll grant that there are exceptionally resilient trees out there, but I'm speaking from my own experience.

WELCOME!
 
Join year 2 of the celtis from seed progression contest!! most of us started stratifying seeds around this time (or for c. africana none was needed).
 
STLBonsai said:
Hi all,

Greetings from St. Louis. I've had an interest in bonsai for awhile but decided to take it on seriously as a new hobby recently. I stumbled upon this site after reading The Little Book of Bonsai and have since checked out a couple more books on the subject.

Since winter is approaching, I wasn't going to shop for any trees until the weather warms up (I don't really have many great spots indoors for plants) but wanted to see if you guys have any tips from when you were starting out.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the site from a fellow St. Louisian! If you're looking to get your first tree or three, I'd recommend waiting until March, which is a great time to repot all temperate trees in this area.

Definitely consider joining the local club (I happen to be the incoming President). We take a break for December and January, but we have monthly meetings and workshops from February - November. You are welcome to drop in at a meeting or two before deciding to join the club. We have an active St. Louis club discord server and this coming year we'll actually have two club shows (one in May and one at the Japanese Festival in September) and 2-3 visiting professional artists coming to give talks and workshops for us.

Hope to see you at a meeting this coming spring!
-Mike
 
Kanorin said:
Welcome to the site from a fellow St. Louisian! If you're looking to get your first tree or three, I'd recommend waiting until March, which is a great time to repot all temperate trees in this area.

Definitely consider joining the local club (I happen to be the incoming President). We take a break for December and January, but we have monthly meetings and workshops from February - November. You are welcome to drop in at a meeting or two before deciding to join the club. We have an active St. Louis club discord server and this coming year we'll actually have two club shows (one in May and one at the Japanese Festival in September) and 2-3 visiting professional artists coming to give talks and workshops for us.

Hope to see you at a meeting this coming spring!
-Mike
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike! Is this the club (https://stlbonsai.com)? Would definitely like to come by for a meeting in the spring.

- Brian
 
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