Newbies - want to share your trees?

[August]

@Lumaca Where do you get those clear training pots?

 

[Eckhoffw]

@Lumaca Where do you get those clear training pots?

I was just about to ask the same thing.
I have a couple forest starters in clear plastic storage bins, and it’s pretty cool to see the roots develop. Or not.

 

[Juanmi]

Here's my collection of sticks that will hopefully became bonsais one day.

 

[Haines' Trees]

Here’s a young American larch. Just repotted it. Still just a skinny stick, but it’s a lot easier to shape at this young age. I like these things a lot, very flexible and user friendly.

 

[stu929]

Three bargain bin trees. Both Hinokis seemed to not tolerate this winter very well. Maybe they got a little dry not sure.

Really hoping the 5 trunk survives though.

Also a bargain bin cotoneaster.

 

[Lumaca]

@Lumaca Where do you get those clear training pots?

Bought them online through a local marketplace, a bit far for everyone else I assume.

 

[jaimezpr]

My Alberta spruce in the right lol!! I may have done a lot wrong

 

[ShadyStump]

My Alberta spruce in the right lol!! I may have done a lot wrong

Yup, you sure did.
Welcome to the club! You're in the right place

Any wire that wraps multiple branches is a no-no. Seems like you can save some time and effort because you think you want those little branches to point up, but all your angles will be wrong, and the wire won't be as effective at shaping the branches.
On those thick branches, if wrapping with wire won't hold it, try guy wires.

 

[jaimezpr]

Yup, you sure did.
Welcome to the club! You're in the right place

Any wire that wraps multiple branches is a no-no. Seems like you can save some time and effort because you think you want those little branches to point up, but all your angles will be wrong, and the wire won't be as effective at shaping the branches.
On those thick branches, if wrapping with wire won't hold it, try guy wires.

Yeah, I should have done more research and read more prior to! I was able to save a lot of the branches I trapped. The plan is to let the tree grow now and I will be trying this again.

 

[irvinlamar]

I am trying to thicken the left branch on the Chinese elm. Also potted in a larger pot to let it grow. The tea tree really has no direction so I am just letting it grow. The brush cherry has no direction yet I was going to try to get it to fruit this year and maybe do some work next year.

Edit: the vine I picked in my back alley on a walk with the wife.

 

[irvinlamar]

This is a picture of the elm at the end of May and a picture of the elm today

 

[AshleyMammal]

Three bargain bin trees. Both Hinokis seemed to not tolerate this winter very well. Maybe they got a little dry not sure.

Really hoping the 5 trunk survives though.

Also a bargain bin cotoneaster.

Nice cotoneaster!

 

[pandacular]

A random collection of my trees.

The shinpaku was purchased as a pre-bonsai (penjing, really) from Robert Cho at Asia Pacific Gardening. Haven't done anything to it besides cleaning it up, minor branch selection, and a few branches for light and airflow.

The other juniper is a Junipers chinensis 'Old Gold'. My first real tree... and a bad choice of stock, especially for my color blind eyes. I think it's quite ugly, but it hasn't been growing well, so I'm just focusing on that for now.

The maple is an Acer rubrum, photo taken about 4 weeks after a partial defoliation after I sunburnt a ton of leaves. It's flushed out about twice as many leaves since the!

Finally, I have an Azara microphylla 'variegata', which I'm attempting an air layer on. The top portion of the layer is a really gorgeous branching structure for a fan, and is why I selected this tree. The bottom will need more work, but I see it as a bonus. I purchased this tree as a practice piece mostly to see if I could pull off an air layer... yet to be determined, as I see little signs of vigorous root growth.

I have a handful of other trees, but they're either not well photographed, tiny little seedlings, or I haven't done anything of note with them (like the two j-maples I got from @rodeolthr )

Oh, I almost forgot my favorite tree! My Japanese juniper, which is the only one in a bonsai pot. I potted this in a lesson with Maria Walton. Yet to wire it, but I plan to do so in the fall. This thing LOVES to grow. I think it looks like a cute little elephant.

 

[ShadyStump]

My Alberta spruce in the right lol!! I may have done a lot wrong

Oh, and add a general location to your profile.
Helps out allot if we know what your climate is like.

 

[KindZone]

Jumping in with both feet, having my eyes, ears, and mind, all open to this amazing art of bonsai. After watching videos of others creating bonsai, and maintaining them, I have decided to expand my gardening skills. I have a small collection of red maple, and silver maple seedlings/saplings that I am beginning to experiment with. I have also bravely (maybe stupidly?) dove into an existing plant in the garden of the home that I am renting. The juniper had been neglected for years before I moved in a year ago. Here are some photos of what has happened so far in my new adventure.
View attachment 315842View attachment 315839View attachment 315839View attachment 315840View attachment 315841Edit to add this before and after set of the juniper that I have trimmed back. Still needs shaping, and I think some wire:bending may help as well. There also remains an issue of crossing branches, that I am hesitant to correct. Any and all advice is welcomed. Thanks for taking a look !View attachment 315845View attachment 315846(KZ)

 

[KindZone]

Jumping in with both feet, having my eyes, ears, and mind, all open to this amazing art of bonsai. After watching videos of others creating bonsai, and maintaining them, I have decided to expand my gardening skills. I have a small collection of red maple, and silver maple seedlings/saplings that I am beginning to experiment with. I have also bravely (maybe stupidly?) dove into an existing plant in the garden of the home that I am renting. The juniper had been neglected for years before I moved in a year ago. Here are some photos of what has happened so far in my new adventure.
View attachment 315842View attachment 315839View attachment 315839View attachment 315840View attachment 315841Edit to add this before and after set of the juniper that I have trimmed back. Still needs shaping, and I think some wire:bending may help as well. There also remains an issue of crossing branches, that I am hesitant to correct. Any and all advice is welcomed. Thanks for taking a look !View attachment 315845View attachment 315846(KZ)

Update October 2023,
I have made some progress with the maple to post here. Poor drainage discovered at repotting. Flower pots will not drain good enough for trees.

Thanks for looking in !

 

[Ramron67]

Well this is my first post on this site.
I am an absolute newbie. I picked up a "Bonsai Starter Kit" with a mini-jade (portulacaria afra), and I have been growing it over the past year. It is still quite small and I haven't begun training it yet.
I enjoy caring for it so much, that this week I picked up a ~5 year old Hawaiian Umbrella (schefflera arboricola) that is much bigger than my mini-jade.
I am attaching a few photos, and care or training tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[ShadyStump]

Well this is my first post on this site.
I am an absolute newbie. I picked up a "Bonsai Starter Kit" with a mini-jade (portulacaria afra), and I have been growing it over the past year. It is still quite small and I haven't begun training it yet.
I enjoy caring for it so much, that this week I picked up a ~5 year old Hawaiian Umbrella (schefflera arboricola) that is much bigger than my mini-jade.
I am attaching a few photos, and care or training tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

There are some folks here that have managed some pretty cool stuff with scheflera, though the trees tend to have to be on the larger side to keep those big compound leaves in scale. Actually, that's a thing with compound leaves in general.
Let it grow a bit, and while you're looking for that moment that where you see what the tree wants to do you can research the heck out of it.

Portulacaria (aka mini jade, dwarf jade, elephant plant; but no relation what so ever to actual jade plants) can be lots of fun. They're not even actually a tree, but a succulent, closer to cactus than trees. Most of the same principles apply though.
Start looking for ways to turn any branching that goes 3 or more ways into only 2 ways. This is a general rule in bonsai. This way you won't get big bulbous nodes, known as reverse taper. Somewhat counter intuitively, you generally want to get rid of the thicker branches. This helps develop a smooth taper from the wider base of the trunk out to the tips of the branches, making the tree look more aged and mature.

 

[Ramron67]

There are some folks here that have managed some pretty cool stuff with scheflera, though the trees tend to have to be on the larger side to keep those big compound leaves in scale. Actually, that's a thing with compound leaves in general.
Let it grow a bit, and while you're looking for that moment that where you see what the tree wants to do you can research the heck out of it.

Portulacaria (aka mini jade, dwarf jade, elephant plant; but no relation what so ever to actual jade plants) can be lots of fun. They're not even actually a tree, but a succulent, closer to cactus than trees. Most of the same principles apply though.
Start looking for ways to turn any branching that goes 3 or more ways into only 2 ways. This is a general rule in bonsai. This way you won't get big bulbous nodes, known as reverse taper. Somewhat counter intuitively, you generally want to get rid of the thicker branches. This helps develop a smooth taper from the wider base of the trunk out to the tips of the branches, making the tree look more aged and mature.

Many thanks for these tips.
I am sure that I will be back here with more questions before too long.

 

[ShadyStump]

Many thanks for these tips.
I am sure that I will be back here with more questions before too long.

You better!
Or else!