What have you learned from "doing bonsai"??

[canoeguide]

I understand what you are saying and greatly respect your view, but it sounds somewhat mechanical to me. The referenced phrase above does not resonate for me. I could well be in a minority, but as someone who has been into all sorts of creative arts for several decades (60+ year), I have found much of what I do rather fathomless. Certainly what I present is normally fostered with great intention toward a goal that pleases me and a greater market, but it is also true that some of the work I have done was much more spontaneous and thus the question of why is simple self gratification or abject horror. I welcome both with open arms.

This is a worthwhile point. In my opinion, self-gratification, "play", or following your muse is or at least can be "intention." I didn't intend (hah) it to sound so mechanical, especially in a creative sense!

 

[BobbyLane]

So I suppose the lesson learned there is, "know thy s

You make me feel better about my hesitation -- I keep looking at my 3 small "mail-order" serissa and thinking "what the heck do I DO with you?" But they've bloomed their little butts off right out of the box, so how could I not love them?

(Time to take pictures & make virtuals, that's what.)

You look at what others have done with similar material. preferably people who are more advanced than you. the research part is hard work too, many fall short here.
Thats all i did when i was lost for ideas. i joined a few different forums just so i could look at progression threads, at one point i was even a member of ausbonsai, there was a guy on there who had a bunch of english elms and there were lots of elm progression threads on there. ive seen all of Walter palls trees even before he began posting them on here, especially his hornbeams ive followed them since i got into the hobby.
eventually you begin to look at material and ideas pop into your head just because youve seen so many trees from raw to finished. real trees too.

 

[ShadyStump]

You look at what others have done with similar material. preferably people who are more advanced than you. the research part is hard work too, many fall short here.
Thats all i did when i was lost for ideas.
eventually you begin to look at material and ideas pop into your head just because youve seen so many trees from raw to finished. real trees too.

This is a point that no one has made here yet.
Research, research, research!

As far as I'm concerned it's half the fun; those far flying thought experiments.

Also, it's the only part of bonsai I'm any good at.

 

[ABCarve]

When in doubt let it grow. Eventually it will make itself evident.

 

[BobbyLane]

When in doubt let it grow. Eventually it will make itself evident.

Ive heard people say that before, i think its good to an extent. ive never really had to do that because most of the stumps ive worked with i could find similar pieces and ideas online. artist like Will baddely, Walter pall, Graham potter, Sandev bonsai, Maros bonsai, Andria zokic etc always have something i like the look of and i can relate to or attempt to copy.

you can lose two years on a tree you let grow into a bush because you didnt know what to do with it or you could gain two years. you could lost two years by growing areas of a tree that will never ever be needed in the design, once it springs to mind and find out that the past two years could of been spent taking more drastic measures.

sure 'patience' but i prefer to not make things longer than they have to be. our growing season is short!

ps and you can gain two years by letting everything grow wild and more opportunities might arise then for styling.

 

[JackHammer]

At large...you have more traditionalists. I tend to like to push boundaries. I was really bummed when I got more who appreciated the bald cypress planted to the right of a pot. When traditionally it should go left. But it made it stale...I also was running on 2 hours of sleep. So mentality of if one was drunk. I get more brazen.

I had ones who didn't run in my circle . Reach out to me in messenger over this tree. Which blew my mind...by the names I had heard of...and some I hadn't. To discuss the planting...and the tree itself. 10 inch bald cypress. May still be a bit tame for you though.
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Amazing! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Alcaviator]

H

You make me feel better about my hesitation -- I keep looking at my 3 small "mail-order" serissa and thinking "what the heck do I DO with you?" But they've bloomed their little butts off right out of the box, so how could I not love them?

(Time to take pictures & make virtuals, that's what.)

How are the Serissas treating you? I’m debating buying one right now on auction.

 

[TinyArt]

H

How are the Serissas treating you? I’m debating buying one right now on auction.

Mine have bloomed for a long time, and grown untidy -- I've had to adjust how much sun & watering they get, but they're all still with me. Just minute babies, compared to the one in your photo. And they're really happy outdoors here.

I'm guessing you're looking at a much bigger investment -- and honestly, I hope you have bonsai experience already. Mine were about $7 each, so it was a risk I was willing to take as a newbie (this spring). They do have a rep for being fussy & difficult about being moved, how they're watered, and the many factors of being indoors, especially.

Best wishes!

 

[Shogun610]

What are you doing to cultivate bonsai in its containerized environment and what is your intentionality with portraying your tree mkay? We want to have sound horticultural technique as our foundation mkay? But what we do with the nuances of particular species is very important next step as our journey continues in bonsai mkay?

 

[DonovanC]

What I have learned from “doing bonsai.”

Patience.
My biggest struggle when I first started bonsai was patience. I could not stop f—ing with them. I killed so many junipers because I could not bring myself to just let them grow and recover.

Calm down.
I would get so anxious and angry when a tree would start to decline (do to my lack of patience) to the point where I would lose sleep and I couldn’t think about anything else. So much unnecessary anxiety.

Non attachment.
Trees die. That’s okay. Breathe.

Perseverance.
I’ve definitely picked up a level of stick-to-it-ness that I don’t know that I personally would have found elsewhere. I learned to keep trying, and to I utilize what I’d learned from all of my dead trees. Don’t let a tree die in vain!

Acceptance of my own mortality.
In any art-form that I’ve attempted, I’ve always been so focused on finishing the project that I rush through it then hate the results. Then I would get discouraged and give up. But you don’t really ever “finish” a bonsai. If everything works out, my trees will outlive me. This is equally terrifying (for me) and in a way, a relief. For me, this thought takes away the “I have to accomplish this task” aspect. Sure, there are tasks to be completed along the way, but I’m never going to “finish” this project. And that’s okay.

 

[Gustavo Martins]

I learned that trees, for the most part, can take care of themselves and that they don’t need our assistance as much as we like think.
with 5 years into the hobby, I now have a much more passive attitude with bonsai. I check them daily and water when needed and I’m vigilant but I don’t fiddle with them as much. I am not paranoid with fertilising or insecticide spraying. Things seem to be doing fine. I’ve only killed two trees so far and one was obvious: keeping a spruce healthy in a 11 zone is asking trouble. Do I have show worthy bonsai. Sure not. But I have started all my trees from humble bigginings and truthfully, I couldn’t care less about shows.
I think life, and bonsai, is much easier than we are led to believe. Take it easy and enjoy the ride.

 

[n8]

research part
progression threads
Walter palls trees
look at material and ideas pop into your head

If you don't have a hard drive filled with bonsai photos, are you even doing bonsai.

Me, I've learned about letting things go and letting things grow.

- Find a species you want to try at the nursery, but it doesn't really have potential? Let it go.
- Struggling to find inspiration from something you maybe shouldn't have bought at the nursery? Let it grow.
- Oh shit, I can't grow a larch in the central valley without maximum effort? Let it go.
- These pine seedlings will be amazing one day and your buddy gave you farmland to use. Let it grow.

Also, make friends with the crazy plant people in your town, especially the weirdo selling thistle at the farmer's market. She's definitely a cool lady.

 

[Paradox]

I hate sudden changes in weather that force me to scramble and get trees under cover.

Sudden freezes and hurricanes.

 

[Enfield Snapper]

I've learned that trees and plants in general are much more fascinating than I previously thought. I've always had a good appreciation for nature, but that was always heavily biased towards animals. It's much more even now. And there's beauty in the weeds if you look for it.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I learned how to graft by doing it.
Also learned that the fungicide craze is a man-made issue; turns out there are three different ways of combating fungal issues instead of tackling the result of poor decisions.

 

[Katie0317]

At large...you have more traditionalists. I tend to like to push boundaries. I was really bummed when I got more who appreciated the bald cypress planted to the right of a pot. When traditionally it should go left. But it made it stale...I also was running on 2 hours of sleep. So mentality of if one was drunk. I get more brazen.

I had ones who didn't run in my circle . Reach out to me in messenger over this tree. Which blew my mind...by the names I had heard of...and some I hadn't. To discuss the planting...and the tree itself. 10 inch bald cypress. May still be a bit tame for you though.
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Beautiful! May I ask who made the pot? I like it too and it's just right for the tree.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Beautiful! May I ask who made the pot? I like it too and it's just right for the tree.

Thanks...that is an Erin Pottery pot.

 

[NGski86]

The more I learn, the more I realize the depth of my ignorance.

The only thing I know, is that I know nothing.

 

[Maico]

I always thought bonsai was sitting down and trimming a few leaves and wiring branches and being all peaceful . Little did I know it’s major construction . Chopping trunks, carving wood ,applying torches, ripping branches to make Jin , defoliating, strapping trees onto rocks. I love it.

 

[mapleX]

I learned how to graft by doing it.
Also learned that the fungicide craze is a man-made issue; turns out there are three different ways of combating fungal issues instead of tackling the result of poor decisions.

What would those three ways be?