Suggested species for beginner

[MSU JBoots]

I'm jumping on that local native train.

I'm still very new but much of the enjoyment I get comes from searching for unique little trees in my area.

I know they will survive and thrive where I live. I know what healthy and sick specimens looks like. I already know the timing of their seasonal growth patterns. I know what sort of micro climates they thrive in so I can do my best to recreate that. I feel it removes much of the guess work out of the equation when caring for a plant. It just seems easier to start with something you are familiar with even if you have never grown them before. You probably know more about local trees than you realize.

Makes sense. Am I safe to assume that you collect yamadori in your area then? That sounds like an entire new subject to learn but likely one I would want to someday anyways. No time like the present and they will be free!

 

[MSU JBoots]

Last question I thought of. Would it be smart to focus on multiple trees of the same species to narrow it down and make it simpler? Or go with my original plan of a variety of species for the diversity of my bonsai bench?

 

[Dav4]

Secondary question I thought of. I’ve been watching a lot of bonsai Mirai and am wondering how people handle nursery stock since that is what I plan to start with since it’s relatively inexpensive and I’m likely to kill quite a few. Do you generally repot them into bonsai pots first or style/wire them first given they are developed enough to do so? Ryan suggested in one stream repotting them first since they have the foliage mass at that point to help the recover the root mass more quickly.

From a technical standpoint, it's actually better to style a tree THEN re-pot, assuming both are occurring within a 6 month period. The rationale is that you may want to change the planting angle of the tree based on your design and you also want to leave a recently re-potted tree essentially untouched for several months to allow it to recover and become established in the pot. The "one insult per season" mantra is a good one to follow in the early stages of your bonsai journey, but you should know that healthy trees can definitely be styled- pruned and wired- then re-potted in one season in the hands of an experienced hobbyist. At this point, you should be focusing on horticulture/plant/health/getting your newly acquired trees through their first MI winter. Please listen to @Leo in N E Illinois as he is a fantastic source of horticultural and taxonomic information. I'm recently back in the north with a truckload of JBP among others and running around trying to decide which trees make the cut to overwinter inside a cold room... 26 degree F for a high tomorrow... gonna be busy today! Good luck with your trees.

 

[Dav4]

Last question I thought of. Would it be smart to focus on multiple trees of the same species to narrow it down and make it simpler? Or go with my original plan of a variety of species for the diversity of my bonsai bench?

Variety is the spice of life and I could never focus on just one type of tree. With that being said, sticking with trees that grow well in your micro-climate is absolutely a good idea, and there's no problem focusing on a particular species or genus that interests you. I used to be mainly into junipers, but pines and maples now make up the bulk of my collection, fwiw.

 

[berzerkules]

Makes sense. Am I safe to assume that you collect yamadori in your area then? That sounds like an entire new subject to learn but likely one I would want to someday anyways. No time like the present and they will be free!

Yeah, I collect a lot of insignificant little stuff. I can try differnt things, learn what they can take and how they respond with little to no investment. Once I have a better understanding of local species I can work my way up to better trees. I don't want to get greedy and kill nice old trees because I'm inexperienced.

 

[MHBonsai]

Makes sense. Am I safe to assume that you collect yamadori in your area then? That sounds like an entire new subject to learn but likely one I would want to someday anyways. No time like the present and they will be free!

I’ve collected and air layered local trees. But you don’t have to. Take a walk around and see what’s robustly growing in native areas. What ‘weed’ trees take over the vacant lots? Great trees to start on. Any good nursery should be able to point you to some local varieties. Good luck and enjoy the process!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@MSU JBoots
Start with a diverse collection, see what grows well for you, and, most important, see what captures your imagination. You will find you like certain species more than others. Get more specimens of the ones you like. Become expert in one or two species. Your collection can be as diverse or as narrow as you want. There is no "official list" of tree species "allowed" for bonsai. Some trees work better than others. I have yet to see a "good catalpa bonsai" in my 40+ years of experience. On the other hand, Japanese Black pine and Japanese white pines work quite well for bonsai.

So what ever ignites your imagination. I like fruiting bonsai. Malus, especially crab apples are great for bonsai. Cotoneaster is good. Princess persimmon is not winter hardy in my area, but I have a couple, that I protect in winter. American persimmon is hardy, have a few seedlings, all less than 10 year old. Cherries, apricots, pears, apples, plums, blueberries, most culinary fruit species have some potential as bonsai.

The "right size collection" is one where you have enough trees that you always feel a little "behind" on your bonsai chores. This way, when you need to let a tree grow for a year or two, you will have enough other trees needing attention that you can set one aside and let it grow. For some the "right size" collection is a dozen trees, for some 200 or 300 are not quite enough. Much depends on how much time you have, and the stage of development of your tree.

A bonsai tree that is near exhibit quality will require several 4 or more hour sessions of work wiring or pruning or grooming every year. Young seedlings that need to grow out just need watering and fertilizer every now and then. A collection of seedlings takes very little time. A collection of mature exhibit ready trees, each tree will require many hours of attention at least once or twice a year, plus the usual watering and fertilizing.

View your collection as dynamic, you have trees "coming in" and trees "getting moved on" to other owners or worst case, the compost heap & burn pile. Nobody kills trees on purpose, but occasionally things happen. There is a learning curve. There are distractions in life. Your doing good if most of the trees "leaving" are "sell or trade or gifted" away.

And if every seed planted were to live to maturity, the world would be over run with trees. There are times when excess seedlings need culling down to a select few to move on toward bonsai. Can't keep 'em all.

So a specialty collection, or a broad general collection is up to you. No one person can be expert in all species and styles of bonsai. In time what you like will become apparent to you. Focus on what you like.