When to become concerned?

[luvinthemountains]

I think one thing that drives this obsession is the diversity of styles and techniques, not to mention all the species to try.

Yes!!! I find myself thinking all of the time, you know what I really need...fill in the blank. And maybe that comes down to personality. You see some people focusing intently on one or two species, and amassing a wealth of species-specific knowledge and skill. I find myself to be more of a grazer, sampling a little bit of everything!

 

[Paradox]

Yes!!! I find myself thinking all of the time, you know what I really need...fill in the blank. And maybe that comes down to personality. You see some people focusing intently on one or two species, and amassing a wealth of species-specific knowledge and skill. I find myself to be more of a grazer, sampling a little bit of everything!

This is fine until you start to get into trees that have more development than just growing them out.
Too many different species can quickly become overwhelming to keep up with learning and remembering each of their different species specific timing and care.

If you want to just tinker and grow different species without really get many or any of them to higher development (ie refined) stages, thats fine.
The beauty of this hobby is people can take it as far as they want, or not.

 

[atlarsenal]

If you have any spare time, you don’t have enough trees!

 

[luvinthemountains]

If you want to just tinker and grow different species without really get many or any of them to higher development (ie refined) stages, thats fine.

Makes complete sense. Back to the original topic, I can imagine my compulsiveness getting even worse when I have refined bonsai to worry about. Right now, my worries are limited to 1) water, 2) fertilizer, 3) bugs, 4) light, and 5) any troublesome growth patterns that might limit options in the future, i.e., internodes, knobs and inverse taper. When you add in 6) pinching, 7) thinning, 8) structural pruning, 9) defoliation, 10) decline, 11) pot selection, 12) display design, etc., etc., things must get intense. So yeah, I think at that point I would be wise to winnow it down to fewer trees. But will future me be wise?

 

[Paradox]

Makes complete sense. Back to the original topic, I can imagine my compulsiveness getting even worse when I have refined bonsai to worry about. Right now, my worries are limited to 1) water, 2) fertilizer, 3) bugs, 4) light, and 5) any troublesome growth patterns that might limit options in the future, i.e., internodes, knobs and inverse taper. When you add in 6) pinching, 7) thinning, 8) structural pruning, 9) defoliation, 10) decline, 11) pot selection, 12) display design, etc., etc., things must get intense. So yeah, I think at that point I would be wise to winnow it down to fewer trees. But will future me be wise?

The other way to approach it is to start with a few species and get comfortable with them and add new species when you feel you have a good handle on the ones you have.

The wonderful thing about bonsai is there is always more to learn

 

[canoeguide]

Adding benches is like adding closets or buying a bigger house: you will just find ways to fill it.

 

[jeremy_norbury]

And I think my benches are too crowded.....yikes

It gives me a good reason to pick them up, rotate them and move them to another spot. Making "another spot" first is also a task.

 

[Coppersdad]

It gives me a good reason to pick them up, rotate them and move them to another spot. Making "another spot" first is also a task.

Moving them around is also a great way to confuse a spouse who might object to you adding another tree. They tend not to notice as quickly if you keep changing the order of trees on your benches.
Fair warning, if you're adding a new and distinctive species, you might want to first put it behind a larger tree. That way, when your spouse finally notices you can honestly inform them it's been in the garden for quite a while. (You can only use the excuse that you won it in a club raffle once or twice maximum...)