dlquick
Seedling
I've always been intrigued by the elegance and art of bonsai since I was a teen, and now that I'm in my 30's I realize that I've wasted the last decade not doing any research or even purchasing my first.. until now. I'm the typical excited, over-anxious, impatient, and nervous first time buyer. Currently fighting not to be any of those things.
I've purchased (4) nursery stock trees to begin learning on, and listed below with photos. Please let me know if they are possibly identified incorrectly, or need attention in any areas. I plan to prune the junipers very soon (but need tips..), and begin styling. I will be repotting all of them in a akadama, lava, pumice mixture in early spring. All trees listed are in full sun 8am-4pm, and are watered every other morning or when I feel the pots are somewhat light. Definitely not overwatering, but not sure if enough.. Here in North Carolina, temps are 90* late afternoon currently, and low 70's at night.
1: Juniperus Chinensis 'Itoigawa Shimpaku' - Purchased from Brent @ EvergreenGardenWorks.com. I plan to buy several more because these so far have been my favorite, and are the most attractive trees (opinion) once they're older, and trained properly. This one appears to be roughly 1-1/2 to 2yrs old, grown from a cutting, and has mostly "juvenile?" foliage. It is yellowing/browning on the inside of the branches, where external growth is vigorous and healthy. It arrived like this, and I'm slightly worried.. There is also some chunky white fertilizer (turns to dust when crushed between fingers) that is spread throughout the medium. Not sure if that much is harming the tree? I know I should begin wiring at this age/growth, but should I prune at all, or let it grow? Of course the trunk is a little on the thin side (1/4"), and would prefer 1-1/2" thick before placing in a bonsai pot. It is in a bark type medium that drains well.
2&3: Juniperus Chinensis 'Shimpaku' - Purchased from PlantVine.com. Love the texture of the foliage on these, and appears to be mostly mature. These seem to be around 2-3yrs old? The trunks are about 1/2" in diameter, and a ton of branches extending outwards/upwards. One of them appears to have two trees in the same pot, but may be heavy branch growing under the surface that I could create another tree from (repotting early spring and will find out). These intimidate me the most to be honest, and I have no idea where to begin because of all the heavy growth, and multiple branches. I just don't want to start cutting the long branches, and have ugly cut branches everywhere.. lol. The biggest question is where to prune the shoots back to, or should I prune them at all to allow the trunks to become wider? I'd like to achieve around an 1-1/2" thick before bonsai pot. Both are in a bark type medium that drains well.
3: Pinus Thunbergii 'Japanese Black Pine' - Purchase from BonsaiOutlet.com. This one is interesting. Appears to be grown from a cutting, around 1-1/2yrs old. I would like to plan a large flared trunk with this one. I had to prop it up temporarily with bamboo until I get some wire this week because it arrived bent over slightly. I believe this one will be the easiest while young to train. It seems to be in a fine akadama, pumice mixture already, and drains very well.
For the pros, what would you do? I'll take all the advice I can get.
I've purchased (4) nursery stock trees to begin learning on, and listed below with photos. Please let me know if they are possibly identified incorrectly, or need attention in any areas. I plan to prune the junipers very soon (but need tips..), and begin styling. I will be repotting all of them in a akadama, lava, pumice mixture in early spring. All trees listed are in full sun 8am-4pm, and are watered every other morning or when I feel the pots are somewhat light. Definitely not overwatering, but not sure if enough.. Here in North Carolina, temps are 90* late afternoon currently, and low 70's at night.
1: Juniperus Chinensis 'Itoigawa Shimpaku' - Purchased from Brent @ EvergreenGardenWorks.com. I plan to buy several more because these so far have been my favorite, and are the most attractive trees (opinion) once they're older, and trained properly. This one appears to be roughly 1-1/2 to 2yrs old, grown from a cutting, and has mostly "juvenile?" foliage. It is yellowing/browning on the inside of the branches, where external growth is vigorous and healthy. It arrived like this, and I'm slightly worried.. There is also some chunky white fertilizer (turns to dust when crushed between fingers) that is spread throughout the medium. Not sure if that much is harming the tree? I know I should begin wiring at this age/growth, but should I prune at all, or let it grow? Of course the trunk is a little on the thin side (1/4"), and would prefer 1-1/2" thick before placing in a bonsai pot. It is in a bark type medium that drains well.
2&3: Juniperus Chinensis 'Shimpaku' - Purchased from PlantVine.com. Love the texture of the foliage on these, and appears to be mostly mature. These seem to be around 2-3yrs old? The trunks are about 1/2" in diameter, and a ton of branches extending outwards/upwards. One of them appears to have two trees in the same pot, but may be heavy branch growing under the surface that I could create another tree from (repotting early spring and will find out). These intimidate me the most to be honest, and I have no idea where to begin because of all the heavy growth, and multiple branches. I just don't want to start cutting the long branches, and have ugly cut branches everywhere.. lol. The biggest question is where to prune the shoots back to, or should I prune them at all to allow the trunks to become wider? I'd like to achieve around an 1-1/2" thick before bonsai pot. Both are in a bark type medium that drains well.
3: Pinus Thunbergii 'Japanese Black Pine' - Purchase from BonsaiOutlet.com. This one is interesting. Appears to be grown from a cutting, around 1-1/2yrs old. I would like to plan a large flared trunk with this one. I had to prop it up temporarily with bamboo until I get some wire this week because it arrived bent over slightly. I believe this one will be the easiest while young to train. It seems to be in a fine akadama, pumice mixture already, and drains very well.
For the pros, what would you do? I'll take all the advice I can get.
