What bonsai things would you have done differently had you known?

[Cajunrider]

I got started by a successful first air layer - turned into a layering maniac and have no regrets because I've learned so much about how trees work from it.

I should have been working on grafting too, back then. I deeply regret it now, that I didn't. ?

This reminds me that I need to get better with my grafting skills. I only have half a dozen successful grafts to my name and there are many techniques I haven't tried.

 

[Cajunrider]

Darlene, this one hits home for me. One should always double check advise, even my advice. Also I did a workshop in September, and still feel really bad for one of the participants, a newbie to the hobby, they looked like they were going to cry when the ''artist'' went at their tree. It was awful by the time the workshop was over. One must say ''No'' sometimes.



This is good Mark. Yes, fear of loosing an expensive tree is a good motivator to take the time and LEARN. You are absolutely right, sticks in pots will not teach you the full range of techniques. And I am one of the big advocates for starting trees from seed. But you are absolutely right, sticks teach you the basics of horticulture, but not a whole lot of bonsai. You need mature, more developed trees to learn the majority of bonsai techniques, sticks in pots won't do it. Second, to really get the best out of sticks in pots, you need to know what you need in a mature bonsai, and train for it. In reality, it is experienced, ''journeyman or master'' level bonsai people who SHOULD be starting at least some batches of sticks in pots to develop for bonsai. Because they will know how to stay on top of the flaws easiest to correct in very immature material. So I keep starting batches of seed, hopefully I will be able to pass around some nice material for others to continue some day.

For those that don't know me, I started ''goofing around'' with bonsai in 1972 or 1973 and got serious, taking classes in 2002 or 2004. Have always had a few trees since starting in 1973. My big wish is that I would have started taking classes earlier, and had started buying more mature stock. I keep wondering how my trees would look if I had taken classes in the 1980's, rather than waiting until the next century. When I started, I read every book I could find on bonsai, and thought that was ''good enough''. I had no problem learning other subjects from books, (today that would be the internet) I did not grasp the importance of the 4 dimensional aspects of bonsai. Yes, spacial, and TIME. I did not see the time aspects. I always assumed that all the cool techniques you read about were done on any age material. Sticks in pots got the ''mature tree'' techniques. It don't work that way. So to all that have so far only learned about bonsai from the internet, please, do yourself a favor. Take a class, a one day class, or a series of classes through time. If you can't do that, at least make a point of traveling to shows, study trees on display. Go to the demonstrations. Make it a weekend ''vacation'' destination. It will help your bonsai immensely. Second, while I'm all for sticks in pots, as early as you can, invest in more mature material. A mature tree will teach you more about what to do to develop a stick in a pot than a stick in a pot will ever tell you about how to develop a mature tree.

And have fun, it is supposed to be a relaxing hobby. Have a sense of humor. Laugh and enjoy both your successes and failures.. It won't all go the way you want it to.

This is why I truly appreciate those threads where a progression of development of a tree is shown.

 

[rockm]

Darlene, this one hits home for me. One should always double check advise, even my advice. Also I did a workshop in September, and still feel really bad for one of the participants, a newbie to the hobby, they looked like they were going to cry when the ''artist'' went at their tree. It was awful by the time the workshop was over. One must say ''No'' sometimes.



This is good Mark. Yes, fear of loosing an expensive tree is a good motivator to take the time and LEARN. You are absolutely right, sticks in pots will not teach you the full range of techniques. And I am one of the big advocates for starting trees from seed. But you are absolutely right, sticks teach you the basics of horticulture, but not a whole lot of bonsai. You need mature, more developed trees to learn the majority of bonsai techniques, sticks in pots won't do it. Second, to really get the best out of sticks in pots, you need to know what you need in a mature bonsai, and train for it. In reality, it is experienced, ''journeyman or master'' level bonsai people who SHOULD be starting at least some batches of sticks in pots to develop for bonsai. Because they will know how to stay on top of the flaws easiest to correct in very immature material. So I keep starting batches of seed, hopefully I will be able to pass around some nice material for others to continue some day.

For those that don't know me, I started ''goofing around'' with bonsai in 1972 or 1973 and got serious, taking classes in 2002 or 2004. Have always had a few trees since starting in 1973. My big wish is that I would have started taking classes earlier, and had started buying more mature stock. I keep wondering how my trees would look if I had taken classes in the 1980's, rather than waiting until the next century. When I started, I read every book I could find on bonsai, and thought that was ''good enough''. I had no problem learning other subjects from books, (today that would be the internet) I did not grasp the importance of the 4 dimensional aspects of bonsai. Yes, spacial, and TIME. I did not see the time aspects. I always assumed that all the cool techniques you read about were done on any age material. Sticks in pots got the ''mature tree'' techniques. It don't work that way. So to all that have so far only learned about bonsai from the internet, please, do yourself a favor. Take a class, a one day class, or a series of classes through time. If you can't do that, at least make a point of traveling to shows, study trees on display. Go to the demonstrations. Make it a weekend ''vacation'' destination. It will help your bonsai immensely. Second, while I'm all for sticks in pots, as early as you can, invest in more mature material. A mature tree will teach you more about what to do to develop a stick in a pot than a stick in a pot will ever tell you about how to develop a mature tree.

And have fun, it is supposed to be a relaxing hobby. Have a sense of humor. Laugh and enjoy both your successes and failures.. It won't all go the way you want it to.

The advice on "get out and SEE bonsai" is good. I have always been lucky in that I live 10 minutes from arguably the best collection of world class bonsai outside of Japan. It was a primary source of information on what "real" bonsai was horticulturally and artistically. I didn't start out thinking those pathetic roadside junipers were 'bonsai." Didn't mean I didn't have my share of those pathetic trees, just that I knew they weren't going to grow into those real bonsai. They were something to practice on...

Exhibits and shows are great. Go out and attend them. ALSO just get out and see other hobbyists' trees. Join a club, if not for regular meetings, then to pester members to visit their trees, or better yet, ask to help them out. I wish I'd done more of that sooner...It can teach you quite a lot and is a great way to get decent stock to work on.

 

[jeanluc83]

I started in bonsai when I was 13. If I could have done things different I would have been more serious from the start and not just messed around with trees here and there on my own. If fact if I could do things over with what I know now I might have even considered an apprenticeship.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Such as?

The basic stuff like branch cutter、knob cutter、small saw、and small shears. What Eric Schrader has on his blog.

 

[sdavis]

I wish I had put more trees in the ground sooner....

 

[alivation]

For most trees like deciduous wire shoots when growing.
After they set remove wire then trim back.
Grow and wire again.
I was under the notion that you wire deciduous trees once a year

I got started on a wisteria and it was the one that taught me this lesson actually! It took about three months to set. With how fast they grow, I’m half tempted to suggest them to folks to learn this very lesson as quick as I did it’s just a shame they’re so brittle to wire just before they bud out. But I’m still a newbie so I was blown away and am still learning new things.

As for what I learned: don’t be afraid to get a sunshade, to fail, and to add organic materials to your mix because you live in a hot climate where you’d otherwise be watering almost non-stop if you used nothing but inorganic. Just these three things killed a beautiful ginkgo I had bought from a friend and I’m still kicking myself.

 

[penumbra]

I was bit by the bonsai bug sometime around 1972 but it was just an itch. In retrospect I just wish I had not been so on again off again, but as they say, life gets in the way. No regrets because life has been interesting. I only want to have another 10 years to enjoy the bonsai world, to be revisited again for evaluation at that time. Everything else I do is in 5 year blocks, so this is significant.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

started trees from seed wired them bend aggressively and grow them At one time I would have said not collected the only very good Yamadori Eastern Canadian hemlock Tsuga canadensis That I ever seen . It was growing on top of a ten foot round flat piece of granite at top of a hill above a beaver pond the base of the trunk was 16 inches across that’s the trunk the nebari was 22 inches there was not 6 inches of soil under tree roots went ten feet across the rock and over the edge into good soil. Thick thick plated black bark 12 inches up split into 2 trunks largest went 12,feet up top broken and died back to about 5 feet trunk about 8 inches smaller trunk 6 inches bent and twisted off to the side about 3 feet up incredible taper whatever fell on it was long gone spent 3 years reducing the roots in the field and adding soil around trunk collected it in spring after it showed signs of dehydration could not reduce it anymore in field planted in 5 foot square 6 inch deep box four years latter replant 3 foot square box above trunk 37?inches high future was windswept from the bent smaller trunk second year after repot started a air layer of the larger trunk goal formal upright with natural Jin top incredible bark according to ring count largest root during second repot and the size of trunk tree was 187!years old it just declined and died slowly that summer I kept it until the middle of next summer but it was gone I burned it and. Quit bonsai for 10 years to this day I do not know what killed it and don’t know what I could have done differently other then leaving more foliage on it originally And be more drastic with the roots and see if it lived in other words being less patient with it I’m completely positive it had the makings of the best tree I will ever have like I said quit gave all my trees away except pre bonsai and just planted them in the forest and got serious drunk

 

[Potawatomi13]

Would have watered EVERY day even if going out to hang out with friends and would have gotten Bristlecone pine 25 years earlier.

 

[19Mateo83]

I'd love to have room to make a backyard like Mr. Miyagi's in The Karate Kid...but I have neither the time, nor the $$ for that.

Neither did mr Miyagi, he enlisted Daniel LaRusso to do a lot of the work. Free child labor at its best

 

[Gr8tfuldad]

I would have quit therapy years earlier and just tortured trees instead

 

[Nwaite]

Not wasted time repotting tree's every year when they didn't need them...
It slowed down growth and killed trees..

 

[Lorax7]

• I would’ve planted a bunch of trees and started training them 30 years ago.
• I would’ve asked to go collecting wild trees from the wood lot of the family farm before it was sold.
• I would’ve tried collecting the yew bushes around the house that had been there since the ’50s instead of paying to have them cut down and stumps ground.

 

[badatusernames]

Honestly, I wish I hadn’t been convinced bonsai was slow, believe it or not. Or rather, far slower than it actually is.

The plus side is that I have a fairly curated stick collection coupled with actual prebonsai/bonsai, though, so I think it also helped me miss loading up on sticks. Would have gotten involved earlier and for less money had I known.

By “fast” I mean path to actually starting to look like a tree vs just being a stick

 

[badatusernames]

The advice on "get out and SEE bonsai" is good. I have always been lucky in that I live 10 minutes from arguably the best collection of world class bonsai outside of Japan. It was a primary source of information on what "real" bonsai was horticulturally and artistically. I didn't start out thinking those pathetic roadside junipers were 'bonsai." Didn't mean I didn't have my share of those pathetic trees, just that I knew they weren't going to grow into those real bonsai. They were something to practice on...

Exhibits and shows are great. Go out and attend them. ALSO just get out and see other hobbyists' trees. Join a club, if not for regular meetings, then to pester members to visit their trees, or better yet, ask to help them out. I wish I'd done more of that sooner...It can teach you quite a lot and is a great way to get decent stock to work on.

looking at tons of bonsai - and getting hands on - are where I feel I’m finding success. It’s a hands on hobby, get your hands on stuff you can work!

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

My now-wife’s parents had almost an acre of overgrown field. Even if I had started 5yrs ago, I could’ve had some nice material before we moved

The time to get trees is yesterday

 

[penumbra]

The time to get trees is yesterday

Excellent mantra.........

 

[Dogestoevsky]

Honestly, I wish I hadn’t been convinced bonsai was slow, believe it or not. Or rather, far slower than it actually is.

The plus side is that I have a fairly curated stick collection coupled with actual prebonsai/bonsai, though, so I think it also helped me miss loading up on sticks. Would have gotten involved earlier and for less money had I known.

By “fast” I mean path to actually starting to look like a tree vs just being a stick

This is great. We get to a certain age and start realizing that *nothing* is slow anymore! It’s all happening faster than we can appreciate!

 

[StPaddy]

Bigger yard….more trees in the ground.