nebari

Hello everyone, this is my first proper attempt at bonsai. I bought this Chinese elm as a bonsai starter and immediately planted in the ground with the intention to thicken the trunk. I am interested to know your thoughts as to the direction I should go with the tree. I am also concerned...

Hello, I would like your advice on how much we could dispense with this root system. This is the root of a one-year and 3-month-old Cassia Fistula (Golden shower). It stopped growing after about a year and the trunk was 1.4 inches thick when I repotted it on the ground. As a novice, I had...

I was thinking of planting some tropical trees (Cassia fistula, Delonix Regia, Goose berry) in the ground from a big pot. To pull it after a certain growth, would it be a good idea to seal the bottom with some material which can prevent the roots from growing down? If so, what is an ideal...

Hi! Very new to bonsai. I've got an established shohin Chinese elm that I've been working on. I ran across this bald cypress pre bonsai from someone locally that I'm thinking of picking up. Question: the roots at the bottom that are exposed, will that cause strong nebari? What can I do to help...

Hi guys, I just planted this juniper in a larger pot (not pictured). How can I preserve the nebari while I grow it out? Do I need to wire the roots in some way? Thanks!

I recently came across a good deal on a Juniper chinensis 'Torulosa' at a small local nursery. It's about 7' tall and 1.2" thick near the base. It's currently in a 5 gallon nursery container with nursery soil mix. Only 40USD. The movement is subtle toward the base so I think this might make a...

Hello! I want to develop my trees quickly, so I have them in large pond baskets. I also want to develop the nebari but the pond baskets are deep and large so I can grow the trunk. What can I do to develop the nebari in the baskets at the same time as the trunks? Thanks in advance for your help!

I saw @leatherback mention in a video (don't recall which one, but I think it was about japanese maple) that he had buried the nebari. I believe the reason was to encourage growth. Is this a common technique? What are it's primary goals, just so I don't mis-state them? Are there specific species...

Another bucida! This one was a bit stagnant and after learning about soil composition, I decided to get it out of the fine akadama/cocopeat and get it in a training pot with pumice to give it more aeration and vigor this summer. Some potential opportunities here, semi cascade is going to be the...

So I have a few trees (Chinese Junipers) now, all bought from a normal garden nursery, put good random bends in the trunks, wired the branches into decent directions and they seem to have survived the harsh Finnish winter on my open, unprotected balcony. (Not sure yet, they're still green though...

Hello everyone, I’m having a rather difficult time choosing a front on this Juniper. It has a beautiful curved trunk and great taper. I also need a little help choosing which branches to trim and which to keep. I was thinking about a possible a semi cascade with it by repositioning the tree...

I went to a nursery this weekend and saw some chinese elm that I really like and took home, they had some big "on top" roots and I asked the owner how he did achieve that, and he said the trick was when the plant is very young and growing up leave with little to no substrate and that would make...

Hi all! Just wanted to send some pics of a buttonwood I found. Styling suggestions/virts always welcome! The tree is budding everywhere, I’m really excited to see where it goes.

Hi all. I’m stumped about how to choose which branches to keep on this chinese elm tree (and really any tree in general). How do you choose which branches to keep vs cut off? How do I choose a 1st vs 2nd vs back branch and so on?? I’ve read that there are some guidelines to follow with...

A while ago, I watched a YouTube video of Jonas Dupuich doing a seedling cutting technique on very young pines. My understanding is that this jumpstarts development of nice radial nebari. However, I’ve only seen mentions of people doing this technique with pines. Considering that development of...

I have a chinensis that I tried to slip pot to expose the nebari last spring. Well, instead of exposing the nebari, it seems the roots go much higher than normal. How can I get rid of these finer roots that go so high up? I plan to repot in a couple of months, and not quite sure how I should...

I purchased this young cutting online as a new project. This will be my second maple and I am definitely still a bonsai rookie. I’ve posted a pic of the tree as well as the planter I intend on using for the next couple of years. Reason for my post is that I want to make sure I do this very...

Check out this beautiful Red Maple I just dug from the swamp. Stunning nebari and a leader branch already set in for me. Can’t wait to see where this goes! Trunk is about 6 inches wide at the base. Tips on styling are always welcome. Especially regarding those big cuts!

So this is probably an older method I just hadn't heard of based on the age of the book, but in Bonsai: It's Art, Science, History, and Philosophy by Deborah Koreshoff she talks about a few methods to creating new surface roots. Essentially, one method it talks about is drilling holes to the...

Hey guys. I recently found what I believe is a red cedar aka eastern juniper in the woods in florida and I dug it out because it had nice features. I should’ve done more research on juniper before I drastically pruned it, because it turns out that juniper does not back bud on branches if...

When placing a tree on a wooden board in order to train the roots "Ebihara style", has anyone had issues with water not draining well because the board has no holes in it? The water has to drain off the sides and I wonder if that has caused any issues for anyone

Hi everyone. I just dug up this wisteria that my neighbor didn’t want. It’s very fat for a vine, but quite ugly. It’s about 8 inches wide at the base. Any styling suggestions? Should I just throw it out?

Hello, I have an azalea stump that I’m going to be transforming into bonsai. Pictured below is my desired front: Given that this is the front of the future bonsai, what styles would you guys recommend for me? I am not creative at all and I will not be able to create a beautiful tree...

Hey friends. I’m curious what you guys’ opinions are as to how good the backside of a bonsai trunk looks. Does it matter or does it not? Can an ugly trunk backside just be hidden by branches and foliage over time? or does it take away from the value of the tree? For example, I have this...

Ripped out this crepe myrtle earlier in the summer that was unwanted but I have no idea what to do with it. I can’t seem to find any kind of structure fitting for a bonsai. If I just chop off all the top and leave a fat stump I’d be waiting 15 years for a decent sized new leader to come in...