Would love to have a western red cedar bonzai

[nutboi]

I am brand new to Bonzai and have a Brazilian Raintree on the way, as I heard that's a good beginner tree. I'd also love to get a bald cypress and a western red cedar, the latter of which Is hard to find online.

Zone 6a, Colorado, high-alpine desert. Can put plants outside until winter.

Would something like this be easy to turn into more of a "tree" instead of a "bush" with a couple years of pruning and care?

Thanks guys! I'm excited to be here

 

[19Mateo83]

Welcome to the nut house!

 

[Bonsai Forest]

I am brand new to Bonzai and have a Brazilian Raintree on the way, as I heard that's a good beginner tree. I'd also love to get a bald cypress and a western red cedar, the latter of which Is hard to find online.

Zone 6a, Colorado, high-alpine desert. Can put plants outside until winter.

Would something like this be easy to turn into more of a "tree" instead of a "bush" with a couple years of pruning and care?View attachment 548239

Thanks guys! I'm excited to be here

@Cajunrider is our Bald Cypress Guru

 

[eleanelbert]

I am brand new to Bonzai and have a Brazilian Raintree on the way, as I heard that's a good beginner tree. I'd also love to get a bald cypress and a western red cedar, the latter of which Is hard to find online.

Zone 6a, Colorado, high-alpine desert. Can put plants outside until winter.

Would something like this be easy to turn into more of a "tree" instead of a "bush" with a couple years of pruning and care?View attachment 548239

Thanks guys! I'm excited to be here

Hello,
As per my knowledge,
The Brazilian Raintree is a great choice for beginners. A bald cypress is also a good option, but finding a western red cedar can be tough.

In Zone 6a, Colorado, you can keep your bonsai outside until winter. With a few years of pruning and care, you can definitely shape your plant into more of a "tree" rather than a "bush.",
Thank you

 

[Gabler]

I can't say I've seen many (or possibly any) WRC used for bonsai. It might be a great species to work with, but it's not one I see commonly used, so I suspect it is probably instead a poor species for bonsai. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

 

[Cajunrider]

Welcome to our forum. I can help you with BC. Yet instead of rushing into it, I recommend taking some time to go through the content on this site and have some idea of what your vision of a bonsai of any species is before jumping in and get a tree.

 

[rockm]

I am brand new to Bonzai and have a Brazilian Raintree on the way, as I heard that's a good beginner tree. I'd also love to get a bald cypress and a western red cedar, the latter of which Is hard to find online.

Zone 6a, Colorado, high-alpine desert. Can put plants outside until winter.

Would something like this be easy to turn into more of a "tree" instead of a "bush" with a couple years of pruning and care?View attachment 548239

Thanks guys! I'm excited to be here

Don't have one, but according to the care here on Mirai's site Western red cedar isn't as easy as BC or Brazilian Rain Tree (which is a tropical and can't be wintered outdoors). Your BC will also require protection (not indoors) in your area. It can be a bit tricky in lower zones, even with protection like cold pits and mulched roots, particularly if you get late freezes in late winter/early spring as the tree begins pushing buds.

Turning bushes into tree forms is pretty common practice with bonsai stock. Takes more than a couple of years though to get a great result.

 

[nutboi]

Welcome to our forum. I can help you with BC. Yet instead of rushing into it, I recommend taking some time to go through the content on this site has have some idea of what your vision of a bonsai of any species is before jumping in and get a tree.

Thank you great CR! I have been lurking and browsing and researching. I'm ready to go, and perhaps fail, but ready nonetheless I know nothing but I'm eager to be here. Great community!

 

[nutboi]

Don't have one, but according to the care here on Mirai's site Western red cedar isn't as easy as BC or Brazilian Rain Tree (which is a tropical and can't be wintered outdoors). Your BC will also require protection (not indoors) in your area. It can be a bit tricky in lower zones, even with protection like cold pits and mulched roots, particularly if you get late freezes in late winter/early spring as the tree begins pushing buds.

Turning bushes into tree forms is pretty common practice with bonsai stock. Takes more than a couple of years though to get a great result.

Mirai's site is the only place I've seen a developed WRC bonsai, so, I should probably take that as a sign to try some others for a few years first haha. Thank you!

 

[Cajunrider]

Thank you great CR! I have been lurking and browsing and researching. I'm ready to go, and perhaps fail, but ready nonetheless I know nothing but I'm eager to be here. Great community!

I can tell you that when it comes to BCs, great small size BC bonsai is tough! There are precious few shohin BCs that are worth looking at. Most of them are young sticks in pots with tiny root base and no ramifications. BC bonsai on-line are full of those. If you want those, just go to any nursery, buy a BC for $20-$30, chop it and put it in a pot and away you go. Much cheaper and great for learning on how to take care of BC bonsai. You will learn then that BCs want to be big trees and you will be fighting to keep it small for as long as you own it. For these the entry cost is so little, go for it if you want. Later on, if you don't like them, you can put them in a forest without issue.

The next temptation is the giant collected BCs. BCs are actually the cheapest large bonsai you can get started with. For $800 to $1500 you can get a big prebonsai BC to play with. The tree is very resilient. You can cut, chop, carve it to any vision you like. As long as you keep it fertilized and well watered, it will respond nicely. Large bonsai of any other species cost you way more and are way harder to care for. If you have the space in your yard and a strong back to handle big bonsai, I'd say go for it. Just be aware that these big trees will require some carving and depending on your artistic skills, they can look good or not so good. Another thing is that the carving will be a permanent feature of your bonsai. It will take forever it at all to heal over such large scars. For me, I know that there will be a good size section of my future bonsai garden where some large BCs will be prominent fixtures.

The more reasonable approach is a medium to medium-large BC in the range of $300 to $600. At this size you can get a collected one with good base flare and some fluting that are the real charm of BC bonsai. Development of these to a decent looking bonsai can be as short as 3 to 5 years and give you decades of enjoyment. One thing I can tell you is that taking a nursery BC to a decent BC bonsai is absolutely doable. Just add 4 years of caring and development to it and you will get to the same point as starting with a collected medium BC. How much of that time and effort is worth to you is your call. If you enjoy the journey, that will be your choice. For me, I am fortunate enough to be able to try all options.

 

[nutboi]

I can tell you that when it comes to BCs, great small size BC bonsai is tough! There are precious few shohin BCs that are worth looking at. Most of them are young sticks in pots with tiny root base and no ramifications. BC bonsai on-line are full of those. If you want those, just go to any nursery, buy a BC for $20-$30, chop it and put it in a pot and away you go. Much cheaper and great for learning on how to take care of BC bonsai. You will learn then that BCs want to be big trees and you will be fighting to keep it small for as long as you own it. For these the entry cost is so little, go for it if you want. Later on, if you don't like them, you can put them in a forest without issue.

The next temptation is the giant collected BCs. BCs are actually the cheapest large bonsai you can get started with. For $800 to $1500 you can get a big prebonsai BC to play with. The tree is very resilient. You can cut, chop, carve it to any vision you like. As long as you keep it fertilized and well watered, it will respond nicely. Large bonsai of any other species cost you way more and are way harder to care for. If you have the space in your yard and a strong back to handle big bonsai, I'd say go for it. Just be aware that these big trees will require some carving and depending on your artistic skills, they can look good or not so good. Another thing is that the carving will be a permanent feature of your bonsai. It will take forever it at all to heal over such large scars. For me, I know that there will be a good size section of my future bonsai garden where some large BCs will be prominent fixtures.

The more reasonable approach is a medium to medium-large BC in the range of $300 to $600. At this size you can get a collected one with good base flare and some fluting that are the real charm of BC bonsai. Development of these to a decent looking bonsai can be as short as 3 to 5 years and give you decades of enjoyment. One thing I can tell you is that taking a nursery BC to a decent BC bonsai is absolutely doable. Just add 4 years of caring and development to it and you will get to the same point as starting with a collected medium BC. How much of that time and effort is worth to you is your call. If you enjoy the journey, that will be your choice. For me, I am fortunate enough to be able to try all options.

I appreciate you taking the time to write all of this out! I was definitely considering the medium sized collected ones, like you personally sell on occasion. That being said I perhaps falsely assumed they are able to survive the winters here without much modification, so I think I'll do some more reading around the forum before pulling the trigger!

Thanks for being so helpful to noobs like me, it's super generous

 

[Cajunrider]

I appreciate you taking the time to write all of this out! I was definitely considering the medium sized collected ones, like you personally sell on occasion. That being said I perhaps falsely assumed they are able to survive the winters here without much modification, so I think I'll do some more reading around the forum before pulling the trigger!

Thanks for being so helpful to noobs like me, it's super generous

BC can survive Co 6a without any issue. Many of us have BCs in Colorado. They just need to be heeled in for the winter like most other bonsai.

 

[nutboi]

BC can survive Co 6a without any issue. Many of us have BCs in Colorado. They just need to be heeled in for the winter like most other bonsai.

Awesome! That's simple. Thank you man

 

[The Warm Canuck]

I'd also love to get a bald cypress and a western red cedar, the latter of which Is hard to find online.

WRC are not good for Bonsai due to the dramatic difference in their young and mature foliage.

 

[nutboi]

WRC are not good for Bonsai due to the dramatic difference in their young and mature foliage.

Thank you! Definitely noticed it looks like an entirely different tree at first. Makes sense

 

[Colorado]

BC can survive Co 6a without any issue. Many of us have BCs in Colorado. They just need to be heeled in for the winter like most other bonsai.

That is what I thought too, but my BC did not survive a Denver winter heeled in with my other trees. Perhaps it was some error on my part, but I don’t think so. I don’t think BC can survive outside in Colorado over the winter in a container.

There are a few BCs planted in parks around town, but even those get tons of dieback all over. There was one at the park by my last house but they ended up taking it out because it got so much dieback. I wonder if lack of humidity plays a factor too.

Anyway, perhaps BC bonsai can survive outside here, but I don’t think so. I am not aware of any club members that keep them, probably for that reason.

@nutboi I think you will have a lot more success and less heartache with Rocky Mountain native species ….

 

[nutboi]

That is what I thought too, but my BC did not survive a Denver winter heeled in with my other trees. Perhaps it was some error on my part, but I don’t think so. I don’t think BC can survive outside in Colorado over the winter in a container.

There are a few BCs planted in parks around town, but even those get tons of dieback all over. There was one at the park by my last house but they ended up taking it out because it got so much dieback. I wonder if lack of humidity plays a factor too.

Anyway, perhaps BC bonsai can survive outside here, but I don’t think so. I am not aware of any club members that keep them, probably for that reason.

@nutboi I think you will have a lot more success and less heartache with Rocky Mountain native species ….

I appreciate the info! Where I live is definitely more harsh than Denver as well.. I'm 3 hours from you. I was doing further reading and it seemed like the winter was less problematic for people than spring re-freezes, after it started producing foliage? Do you remember If that was the case with yours or if it died mid winter?

We had snow here on monday

 

[Colorado]

I appreciate the info! Where I live is definitely more harsh than Denver as well.. I'm 3 hours from you. I was doing further reading and it seemed like the winter was less problematic for people than spring re-freezes, after it started producing foliage? Do you remember If that was the case with yours or if it died mid winter?

We had snow here on monday

No, I definitely would have protected it from a spring freeze if it had foliage - or even just if that buds had started to swell. I am pretty convinced that it was just too cold.

However, I would love to be proven wrong! I think BC are super cool and would love to have one, if they are indeed winter hardy here. but I no longer keep the “fringe” species that require dormancy, but can’t survive our winter. Just too much hassle and stress.

 

[Cajunrider]

No, I definitely would have protected it from a spring freeze if it had foliage - or even just if that buds had started to swell. I am pretty convinced that it was just too cold.

However, I would love to be proven wrong! I think BC are super cool and would love to have one, if they are indeed winter hardy here. but I no longer keep the “fringe” species that require dormancy, but can’t survive our winter. Just too much hassle and stress.

I am with you. I have a handful of trees that have personal significance that I would try to keep. The rest will have to be able to survive the climate of wherever I live.

 

[nutboi]

No, I definitely would have protected it from a spring freeze if it had foliage - or even just if that buds had started to swell. I am pretty convinced that it was just too cold.

However, I would love to be proven wrong! I think BC are super cool and would love to have one, if they are indeed winter hardy here. but I no longer keep the “fringe” species that require dormancy, but can’t survive our winter. Just too much hassle and stress.

yeah that makes sense. What are the species you've had the most success with here?