Bonsai Newbie trying to get started

[Nefarious]

Greetings, I am totally new to bonsai, I have watched many videos, and want to get started. I have a general idea of what I want to do, what I view as my capabilities, but can't seem to find a starting place. I am not that good as smaller scale projects, I prefer larger projects. Here is an image of one of the projects I have seen that interests me, maybe I can't really start bonsai and get here within my time limit. I don't have 20 years to work on this .


How do you end with a tree that looks like this? If I buy a tree that is bigger, I will be unable to bend the trunk to get this flow. If I start with a smaller tree, I'll not be alive before the second bend occurs. I assume this is in a big pot so the tree can continue to grow at a close to normal rate and when it is close to how one wants it to end, it is then transferred to the bonsai pot. I guess the question is, can a tree planted in the ground be formed as a bonsai and later moved to a bonsia pot? Or, does it need to be kept in the larger pot because the roots needed to support the tree?

Or, am I way off base, I have no knowledge, and is there a better way to accomplish this? Or something like this?

 

[penumbra]

Sounds like you should should start with a bonsai with a decent start. The one pictured is over 20 years old. The number one requirement of bonsai is to have patience.
See if there is a bonsai club in your area. Would also be helpful to put your general location (at least) in your profile like everyone else does. Don't know if you live next door or halfway across the globe.

 

[Nefarious]

@penumbra thank you for your response. Are you suggesting that I buy a bonsai that is already started? I understand that bonsai is a long term project, and I accept that whatever I do will not be done, are they ever done?, but it will be meaningful to me to get started somehow. I will look for a club.

Does it make any sense to start the process with a tree that is smaller where the trunk can still be bent and grow it in the ground or in a large pot for say 10 years. Is that how this style of bonsai is made or is there some other way. I have looked at larger plants, the trunk seems too hard to actually bend like this?

 

[penumbra]

I thought my comment was clear, but if you are not going to commit long term to bonsai, and if you have concerns about bending and such, buy a bonsai that is somewhat like you desire and go from there. No, a bonsai is never finished but there are degrees. Of course a bonsai will cost you several times what a starter will cost.
Know your material before you buy.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

How do you end with a tree that looks like this?

If I start with a smaller tree, I'll not be alive before the second bend occurs.

Then, quite frankly if your lifetime is limited, the answer is "money".
If you lay down, say 2000 dollars, you can get an established tree and enjoy working and viewing it. This is the rule of bonsai: You either invest time or money to get a nice result. I promised myself I'd do the first only, but I caught myself skimming 10-20 years off of development by buying yamadori trees that I can refine in a five year time span.

Does it make any sense to start the process with a tree that is smaller where the trunk can still be bent and grow it in the ground or in a large pot for say 10 years. Is that how this style of bonsai is made or is there some other way. I have looked at larger plants, the trunk seems too hard to actually bend like this?

Yes, have a look at the forum's six year japanese black pine contest. People have been growing those from seeds and there are some very nice outcomes. A pot as large as the one you pictured, in my book would be more a niwaki (a bonsai shaped garden plant), but that's semantics. You can start with something smaller and grow it large, but the issue there is that you either slow down growth by making it look pretty in the mean time, or it'll look unsightly for that mean time but it'll reach your goal faster.

Let's say you plan staying with us for another 10 years, you could do both. A 2K tree will keep you busy and entertained, while the 15 dollar big box store tree will have you looking forward to something. But I'm in no way or shape the person to be handing out life advice, so do with that information what you want. Please do browse around some threads, especially the contest ones, and see what people manage to whip up in a limited amount of time.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Welcome aboard. I would say that all things bonsai are large scale projects. From a 30,000 foot perspective, we need to develop nebari, trunk thickness, taper and movement to form a bonsai and build incrementally from bottom up. Assuming we are doing all the right things, this process takes many years even for smaller sized trees. Larger caliper trees will take even longer. You could go ahead and just buy a more developed tree, but some may find it difficult to maintain a "finished" bonsai without having worked on trees for a bit.

 

[rockm]

Fwiw there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Bonsai are created in more than one way. The tree in your photo was made by bending a sapling and wiring it or staking it (this was likely grow in the ground and dug up only recently) It was likely grown in the ground and had occasional work (pruning and branch selection) the process to do that likely took a couple of decades at least

Another way to get a substantial trunk with movement in it is to collect a larger tree and cut it back substantially the regrow it. It can also take decades to get where you want

The bigger the tree you start with the more time it can take to develop. It takes time to produce thicker growth

Should also mention the larger the tree the more expensive bigger pots more soil equipment to deal with repotting including carts and hydraulic lifts. A tree that has a pot that holds 20 gallons of soil will weigh 200 lbs ( of dead weight) the pot may cost $1200 or more. Most of my trees are larger so I’m not exaggerating

I developed this oak from a collected tree that originally 20 feet tall. It was reduced to a three foot trunk dug up (with substantial root reduction) and regrown by me. The last photo is 30 years down the line

 

[rockm]

Of course the shortest path to getting larger bonsai is as mentioned above $$. This auction has very high end trees. The seller is a noted American bonsai artist and he has very nice trees mostly large to HUGE bonsai. He’s in your neck of the woods so if you but a tree you would save on shipping

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[Michael P]

Start with the best tree you can afford to kill.

 

[Kievnstavick]

Welcome to the club fellow washingtonian.

I'd suggest going to the Pacific Bonsai Mesuem and taking the time to study them. See what speaks to you or interests you. They tend to need volunteers.

Dan Robinson over on the way to Bremerton is another place to view trees. He is often receptive to help around his garden.

 

[Nera]

Start with the best tree you can afford to kill.

Best advice here. This is what I did, I started with trees in a price range I would be okay with if I killed any. Everyone will kill at least one tree while they are still learning, better it's a cheaper one than an expensive tree.