As newbs, we tend to all go through the same learning process and eventually raise the same questions on how to develop our trees. We read books and do other research and when ready to jump in we get ourselves a tree and the questions start on how and when to perform an array of bonsai techniques. We want to prune and ramify and defoliate. Our trees are likely not ready for this though - so what should we be doing? Here's an attempt to help folks get started.
First, some bonsai realities: (i) developing bonsai takes a long time - I think we give this lip service as newbs and then express impatience because we don't truly internalize this fact. This leads to mistakes and setbacks; (ii) bonsai trees aren't very exciting - Don't get me wrong, I love developing bonsai, but trees are not puppies that give us constant attention and activities. The vast majority of what we are doing in bonsai is watering. Otherwise, although there are times for bonsai work, we are basically staring at our trees (especially in winter). Again, trees need time and we need to exercise patience to allow the tree to do what it needs to do.
Which brings me to my second point - we need to be able to consistently keep our trees alive over the years. Duh - not much to develop if the tree is dead. IMHO, the most important thing we can do is to learn to keep our trees alive and healthy. This means knowing which trees can grow OUTSIDE in your zone, as well as understanding its watering needs, and knowing how to fertilize. Maybe not as exciting to some as defoliating, but this is absolutely essential.
So you bought a tree, now what? Well, the first thing to do is to orient yourself as to the tree's future. What do you want this tree to be when it grows up? Where is it currently in respect of that goal? And how do I get from where I am to where I want to be? We all want different things from our trees and start will all kinds of different material, so the answers to these questions will depend on your goals and what you have.
Regardless of the tree we purchased (stick in the pot to "finished tree") we need to ensure the nebari is set up properly. The importance of the root flare should never be underestimated in bonsai. Having radial roots growing all around the base will give you taper and a powerful base that will make the tree look old and regal. Assuming the season is right for the job, my first order of business for new trees is to repot them into well draining soil and arranging the roots radially so they can get growing properly. Shallow and wide containers are the go to here for me. At every stage in the process, the roots will need to be sorted, cut back and arranged radially again and again. This is the heart of our bonsai.
Having a general idea of how tall you want the tree to be will give you a good place to get started. This is because the height of the tree should be in proportion to the thickness of the trunk at the base to make the tree believable. General proportions range from 1:6 to 1:10 or thereabouts. Let's assume we want a 12" tree and will use a 1:6 ratio - this means we will need a 2" base on the tree. Accordingly, if we bought a "stick in the pot", the first step is to repot/arrange roots and simply let the tree grow until the base approaches the thickness you ultimately want. This is not the time for any type of "real" bonsai work - we need to first develop our material so that we can work with it in the future.
There are generally two approaches to trunk development - (i) let the tree grow freely until the base is almost at the desired thickness and then cut back to 1/3 of the height of the final tree - this will give you a fatter trunk faster, but will leave you with a bigger scar that takes longer to heal; or (ii) let the tree grow for a season or so and then cut back, repeating this process - this will slow down the thickening of the trunk, but will leave smaller scars, more taper and movement. How to proceed is a personal choice.
Understanding how a tree puts on mass is important. Trees get fatter the more they "eat" and trees "eat" nothing but sugars/carbs produced through photosynthesis in the leaves. The more leaves, the more photosynthesis, the more sugars produced and the fatter the tree will get. So, anytime we want thickening (on trunks or branches) we will want to allow the tree to grow. On the flip side, whenever we prune the tree we are necessarily removing a source of food and slowing the growth process. This is essential for our "finished" trees, but counterproductive for trees in development.
I ultimately view my bonsai as being comprised of 3 parts - (i) roots; (ii) trunk; and (iii) branches. Roots are always in training. The trunk has a period of development. And finally, when our trunks are further developed, the process of developing and ramifying branches can begin. At some point in the future, we focus our attention to maintaining the tree in the "finished" form we developed. Note that I put the word finished in quotes, because the tree isn't really finished until it's dead. We may defoliate this "finished" tree to reduce leaf size and pinch buds to prevent extension of new shoots, but this is for a time when our trees are much further along than a stick in the pot.
For me, what the bonsai may lack in terms of hobby excitement is made up for in volume. That is, the best way for me to control myself from performing unneeded work is simply to have a lot of trees to busy myself with. I also find the hobby far more engaging when I have trees in various stages of development. Not to mention that having trees a little further along in development allows me much more patience for the sticks that need any number of years to grow out.
I think it is also important to understand that our trees will not necessarily look like manicured bonsai trees for some time. In fact, the trees may look quite ugly for many years and very unlike a bonsai. For example, large scars will be healing and many (sacrifice) branches will be way overgrown. There will be wires all over, as well as cut paste. One of the dawn redwoods I am growing for a bonsai is currently over 10' feet tall - that is hardly a bonsai now but is on its way.
Personally, I find very young material or material developed for bonsai easier to plan out because I can more easily tell what point in the process the tree is in as compared to where I want it to be. The young material is nowhere near where it needs to be and will be developed from the beginning. More finished material is simply further along the development process. I find it more difficult to orient myself when it comes to nursery material and trees not developed with bonsai in mind. This is because the development process is less linear than the other types of material. The trunk may be nice, but the nebari may need to be started again from scratch, or even a ground layer performed, for example.
In short, if you purchased a tree and asked "now what", the answer is probably just let it grow and keep it healthy.
First, some bonsai realities: (i) developing bonsai takes a long time - I think we give this lip service as newbs and then express impatience because we don't truly internalize this fact. This leads to mistakes and setbacks; (ii) bonsai trees aren't very exciting - Don't get me wrong, I love developing bonsai, but trees are not puppies that give us constant attention and activities. The vast majority of what we are doing in bonsai is watering. Otherwise, although there are times for bonsai work, we are basically staring at our trees (especially in winter). Again, trees need time and we need to exercise patience to allow the tree to do what it needs to do.
Which brings me to my second point - we need to be able to consistently keep our trees alive over the years. Duh - not much to develop if the tree is dead. IMHO, the most important thing we can do is to learn to keep our trees alive and healthy. This means knowing which trees can grow OUTSIDE in your zone, as well as understanding its watering needs, and knowing how to fertilize. Maybe not as exciting to some as defoliating, but this is absolutely essential.
So you bought a tree, now what? Well, the first thing to do is to orient yourself as to the tree's future. What do you want this tree to be when it grows up? Where is it currently in respect of that goal? And how do I get from where I am to where I want to be? We all want different things from our trees and start will all kinds of different material, so the answers to these questions will depend on your goals and what you have.
Regardless of the tree we purchased (stick in the pot to "finished tree") we need to ensure the nebari is set up properly. The importance of the root flare should never be underestimated in bonsai. Having radial roots growing all around the base will give you taper and a powerful base that will make the tree look old and regal. Assuming the season is right for the job, my first order of business for new trees is to repot them into well draining soil and arranging the roots radially so they can get growing properly. Shallow and wide containers are the go to here for me. At every stage in the process, the roots will need to be sorted, cut back and arranged radially again and again. This is the heart of our bonsai.
Having a general idea of how tall you want the tree to be will give you a good place to get started. This is because the height of the tree should be in proportion to the thickness of the trunk at the base to make the tree believable. General proportions range from 1:6 to 1:10 or thereabouts. Let's assume we want a 12" tree and will use a 1:6 ratio - this means we will need a 2" base on the tree. Accordingly, if we bought a "stick in the pot", the first step is to repot/arrange roots and simply let the tree grow until the base approaches the thickness you ultimately want. This is not the time for any type of "real" bonsai work - we need to first develop our material so that we can work with it in the future.
There are generally two approaches to trunk development - (i) let the tree grow freely until the base is almost at the desired thickness and then cut back to 1/3 of the height of the final tree - this will give you a fatter trunk faster, but will leave you with a bigger scar that takes longer to heal; or (ii) let the tree grow for a season or so and then cut back, repeating this process - this will slow down the thickening of the trunk, but will leave smaller scars, more taper and movement. How to proceed is a personal choice.
Understanding how a tree puts on mass is important. Trees get fatter the more they "eat" and trees "eat" nothing but sugars/carbs produced through photosynthesis in the leaves. The more leaves, the more photosynthesis, the more sugars produced and the fatter the tree will get. So, anytime we want thickening (on trunks or branches) we will want to allow the tree to grow. On the flip side, whenever we prune the tree we are necessarily removing a source of food and slowing the growth process. This is essential for our "finished" trees, but counterproductive for trees in development.
I ultimately view my bonsai as being comprised of 3 parts - (i) roots; (ii) trunk; and (iii) branches. Roots are always in training. The trunk has a period of development. And finally, when our trunks are further developed, the process of developing and ramifying branches can begin. At some point in the future, we focus our attention to maintaining the tree in the "finished" form we developed. Note that I put the word finished in quotes, because the tree isn't really finished until it's dead. We may defoliate this "finished" tree to reduce leaf size and pinch buds to prevent extension of new shoots, but this is for a time when our trees are much further along than a stick in the pot.
For me, what the bonsai may lack in terms of hobby excitement is made up for in volume. That is, the best way for me to control myself from performing unneeded work is simply to have a lot of trees to busy myself with. I also find the hobby far more engaging when I have trees in various stages of development. Not to mention that having trees a little further along in development allows me much more patience for the sticks that need any number of years to grow out.
I think it is also important to understand that our trees will not necessarily look like manicured bonsai trees for some time. In fact, the trees may look quite ugly for many years and very unlike a bonsai. For example, large scars will be healing and many (sacrifice) branches will be way overgrown. There will be wires all over, as well as cut paste. One of the dawn redwoods I am growing for a bonsai is currently over 10' feet tall - that is hardly a bonsai now but is on its way.
Personally, I find very young material or material developed for bonsai easier to plan out because I can more easily tell what point in the process the tree is in as compared to where I want it to be. The young material is nowhere near where it needs to be and will be developed from the beginning. More finished material is simply further along the development process. I find it more difficult to orient myself when it comes to nursery material and trees not developed with bonsai in mind. This is because the development process is less linear than the other types of material. The trunk may be nice, but the nebari may need to be started again from scratch, or even a ground layer performed, for example.
In short, if you purchased a tree and asked "now what", the answer is probably just let it grow and keep it healthy.
