The following is solely my advice, Harry Greer,COLLECTOR, not stylist, artist or bonsai master.
YEAR 1:
Start with something you can enjoy and is easy to take care to begin with.This little plant I bought at my local nursury. It's a dwarf elm, it's a deciduous tree, meaning the leaves will fall off in the winter.It's to late here in my climate to pot it this year. So I will leave it alone and just fertilize and water it this year, and do a little maintenance this growing season. These little trees grow like weeds and will need to be pruned often, using the clip and grow method. All that means is to cut off any new growth (leaves) I don't want on the tree. You need to keep the foliage small on this size tree, so the the foliage doesn't get to large for the trunk diameter.In order to do that you will need a good set of scissors.
YEAR 2:
I will want to pot this tree next spring in a nice ceramic pot, I will need some plastic mest to cover the hole in the bottom of the pot to keep the soil from washing away, for this you will need some alumunum wire to hold the mesh in place, the wire will be used to secure the tree in the pot later and can also be used to wire any small branches on the tree.
When you prepare the tree for potting, you will need to remove some of the soil and roots. Using any kind of scissors for this job. Cut the root ball as flat as possible on the bottom so that when you set the tree in the empty pot the top of the soil surgace is about 3/8" from the top of the pot. Next cut the diameter of the root ball about an inch smaller diameter than the inside of the pot to allow for the new bonsai soil to fit. Place the bonsai soil in the bottom first tp bring the top of the soil on the tree to about an 1/8" below the rim of the pot. Next we will be securing the tree in the pot ( we can discuss this next year).Once the tree is secure fill the remaining space with your bonsai soil. use a chop stick to help compact the soil as much as possible , so that you don't have any air pockets. Once that is done, you need to place some sphagnum moss on the top of the soil to help keep the roots moist, but not wet. These small trees tend to dry out very fast and depending on your climate it may need watering once or twice a day.
Material List:
1. Plant..................14.95
2. scissors...............24.95
3. sphagnum moss.....2.50
4. plastic mesh..........3 for a dollar at any craft store
5. Aluminum Wire........6.00
6. Bonsai soil.................8.00
7. Fertilizer.................5.00
8. Bonsai pot...............10.00
Total.........72.40 not including local sales tax or shipping
YEAR 1:
Start with something you can enjoy and is easy to take care to begin with.This little plant I bought at my local nursury. It's a dwarf elm, it's a deciduous tree, meaning the leaves will fall off in the winter.It's to late here in my climate to pot it this year. So I will leave it alone and just fertilize and water it this year, and do a little maintenance this growing season. These little trees grow like weeds and will need to be pruned often, using the clip and grow method. All that means is to cut off any new growth (leaves) I don't want on the tree. You need to keep the foliage small on this size tree, so the the foliage doesn't get to large for the trunk diameter.In order to do that you will need a good set of scissors.
YEAR 2:
I will want to pot this tree next spring in a nice ceramic pot, I will need some plastic mest to cover the hole in the bottom of the pot to keep the soil from washing away, for this you will need some alumunum wire to hold the mesh in place, the wire will be used to secure the tree in the pot later and can also be used to wire any small branches on the tree.
When you prepare the tree for potting, you will need to remove some of the soil and roots. Using any kind of scissors for this job. Cut the root ball as flat as possible on the bottom so that when you set the tree in the empty pot the top of the soil surgace is about 3/8" from the top of the pot. Next cut the diameter of the root ball about an inch smaller diameter than the inside of the pot to allow for the new bonsai soil to fit. Place the bonsai soil in the bottom first tp bring the top of the soil on the tree to about an 1/8" below the rim of the pot. Next we will be securing the tree in the pot ( we can discuss this next year).Once the tree is secure fill the remaining space with your bonsai soil. use a chop stick to help compact the soil as much as possible , so that you don't have any air pockets. Once that is done, you need to place some sphagnum moss on the top of the soil to help keep the roots moist, but not wet. These small trees tend to dry out very fast and depending on your climate it may need watering once or twice a day.
Material List:
1. Plant..................14.95
2. scissors...............24.95
3. sphagnum moss.....2.50
4. plastic mesh..........3 for a dollar at any craft store
5. Aluminum Wire........6.00
6. Bonsai soil.................8.00
7. Fertilizer.................5.00
8. Bonsai pot...............10.00
Total.........72.40 not including local sales tax or shipping
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