rockm
Spuds Moyogi
You have to think of bonsai like dogs. They can't go very long without care (except in winter when temperate species are pretty much hands off for months if you've stored them correctly) In active growing season, however, daily care is required. Vacations can be tricky and more than one bonsaiist has lost trees to time away.Luckily just about everything I want to start with is used as landscaping around town(or naturally growing), so I know it'll at least survive in the ground.
How do you guys care for these plants when you're on vacation or out of town for a few days? The shallow roots and pots combined with well draining soil has me worried these will require constant attention I can't always provide.
Watering is the primary issue, It can be done automatically (which can fail electronically or mechanically) or by someone you know and trust (who can also fail out of ignorance or oversight or improper technique). It's a hassle, but it can be done.
Best advice is to slow down a little. The faster you move at first the more failure you will have (which is not necessarily a bad thing if you learn from the failure). For now, I'd skip the collection of trees. It is a separate thing really that requires a different informed set of skills if you do it successfully.
If I were you, I would get an actual bonsai (doesn't have to be hugely expensive) an actual bonsai will teach you how to care for trees in containers. If you start with "outdoor" species, any elm is going to work better at first than Japanese Maples (which can be a little touchy with watering). "Indoor" species like ficus will let you scratch the bonsai itch all year since they will be inside in winter.