Collecting, Nursery stock and where to begin

[Floridays]

Hello all,

I am really trying to get started on some trees and feel I have done some of my homework. I have three books, I've been watching this forum and have learned a lot from some Randy Brooks Youtube videos.

I attempted a small Juniper parsonii from nursery stock just to try some pruning and wiring and posted it in the Juniper section. There was one reply with feedback but I'm thinking I'm so off base no one decided to touch it! Ha Ha!

Anyway guys I really have no idea where to begin, I read the books and look at images online and they all seem to be these 100 year old trees that are show specimens...Just for the record I have managed to keep a couple junipers and a boxwood alive for a year now in a pot, so that's a start.

Should I:

Use larger nursery stock?
Buy a starter Bonsai?
Collect from the yard/woods?

Just shove me in the right direction!

Many thanks,

Scott

 

[Paradox]

I did not see the juniper thread you started. This forum is so busy, it's often hard to catch everything.

Which books do you have?

If you have a place nearby that gives classes for beginners, I would highly recommend taking one.

You have kept a coupleof trees alive for a year so thats a good start.

Opinions will differ.
Personally, I prefer to tell new people to get a few nursery trees of species you are interested in and learn to keep them alive. Repot them so you can learn and become comfortable with that. Prune, wire. Watch and see how they respond.

Once you are comfortable keeping them alive in general and through repotting etc, then I would recommend getting a nice starter pre bonsai.

The reason is I feel it's preferable to start the learning curve on cheap material so that if it dies (and some will), you aren't put off by the money you just lost. Also, you'll be less afraid to work on cheaper material for the same reason. If you can find a starter bonsai for fairly cheap give it try.

Also before investing in more expensive stuff, you can truly figure out if you have the will and discipline to care for trees and the things you gave to do. Daily checking for water, feeding, insects, fungus, winter protection etc. You'll also find out if you have the patience in not fiddling with a tree too much and killing it that way.

If you stick with it for a couple of years, start getting the routine down, and feel more confident in keeping stuff alive, then by all means go get a nicer, more expensive pre bonsai to work on.

 

[jeanluc83]

Welcome!

Nursery stock is a great way to get some experience without putting out a lot of money. Finding good nursery stock can takes skill, imagination and a good amount of luck. The best way is to just get in there and get dirty.

I would stay away from “starter” bonsai. Unless you buy from a dedicated bonsai nursery you will end up over paying for a malsai.

Digging from the wild is a great way to get stock. Do your research on local trees to see what is suitable for bonsai. Be aware of what trees can be legally collected and GET PERMISSION from the land owner.

If I were you I would look into ficus. They are well suited to your climate, easy to care for and should not be hard to find. Old potted ficus can be found for cheap and sometimes even free.

 

[Tieball]

Me?....I collect from the woods which is my yard I suppose. I collect and work on learning healthy practices for the collected trees. I always try to identify a tree before digging it out though. I like to know what I'm getting and how it grows. I pay attention to the trees natural environment when collected. I don't collect and then wonder what I dug out. I'm not an impulsive digger. Because the material is right near me I sometimes mark trees and wait a season so I can examine it several times during a year and then dig it if wanted. Many times I search what I have in the woods and then research for bonsai information on the species. That information found helps me start out better with collecting rather than random impulsive collecting. That's just the practice I follow.

I have also bought tree seedlings for ground growing trunks. Long term ground growing....5-7 years typically. This I enjoy. I have Hackberry trees growing that started out at 1/4"-1/2" trunks that are now 3" to 5" trunks and some are ready for ground removal in 2018. Sort of like collecting.

Early on, a few years ago, I bought bonsai starter material....and discovered I needed to learn a lot more about keeping trees healthy. A lot of learning. I learned what I wanted. I also returned to collect and work on trees that are more natural to my area and climate.

 

[Floridays]

Thank you so much guys for the replies, they make perfect sense to me. I'll begin looking at nursery stock through new eyes now, and you're right...it won't break the bank if I can't keep it alive or make mistakes.

Which books do you have?

Sunset's Bonsai book
Lewis/Sutherland's Step By Step Growing and Displaying Bonsai
One other book by a guy in the UK, but I don't remember the name.

Be aware of what trees can be legally collected and GET PERMISSION from the land owner.

I hear ya loud and clear! I have some property that I have access to but I'll make sure to only collect what can be legally collected. Also Ficus seems like a perfect one to start with!

This I enjoy. I have Hackberry trees growing that started out at 1/4"-1/2" trunks that are now 3" to 5" trunks and some are ready for ground removal in 2018. Sort of like collecting.

I think this is great, to have some young and in training as well as older collected things. Good idea for sure.

Thank you all again, I feel like I have a direction to move in. I'll seek out any local clubs or people in the meantime!

Scott

 

[choppychoppy]

Where ru in s.fla - there are lots of Bonsai places in fl

 

[Floridays]

Vero Beach!

 

[choppychoppy]

Vero Beach!

Treasure coast bonsai society is all you and Wigerts is close to you also.

 

[Floridays]

Excellent, I'll look into those. Thank you!

 

[gallina1594]

I like to try and find something in the "Make an Offer" section. There's often things in there that have a lot of character! Plants that have died back and been neglected, perfect for bonsai victims >

Things to look for:

1. Tree/shrubs with nice thick trunks. BUT. you dont just want a thick trunk, youll want a nice taper to go along with it.

2. Something with small foilage.

And dont be afraid to experiment! Test your hand at styling, pruning, and working some cheaper material until you're confident enough to collect material, or purchase some bonsai stock.

 

[Floridays]

And dont be afraid to experiment! Test your hand at styling, pruning, and working some cheaper material until you're confident enough to collect material, or purchase some bonsai stock.

Yeah, this is something I'm working on...I'm a perfectionist by nature and want EVERYTHING to survive and be a masterpiece. Letting go of that and just working on keeping trees alive and doing some pruning and wiring on cheap stuff is helping me see the bigger picture.

 

[vario]

I am also new to bonsai and started a few months ago. I bought some nursery Juniper from Home Depot back in the spring. So far they are still alive and living in pond planters. One has been super healthy and the other was looking miserable until I pruned off the dead inner foliage. Now they both look pretty decent. I think the trick with these is to buy a lot of them and just not care if they live or die so you can experiment. Some of these plants seem to have more vigor than others. If it doesn't seem to have any vigor its probably a poor candidate.

 

[Floridays]

Some of these plants seem to have more vigor than others. If it doesn't seem to have any vigor its probably a poor candidate.

Yeah, this is an interesting thing I have seen in some plants in nurseries. A group of the same plants with one or two declining. You definitely have to be selective when choosing material.

 

[Ironbeaver]

Big lesson: It's okay to go home empty handed.

 

[Fonz]

This is an interesting video to watch, it explains what you should look for in nursery stock and so much more. If you have 1.5 hour that is

 

[rockm]

Welcome!

Nursery stock is a great way to get some experience without putting out a lot of money. Finding good nursery stock can takes skill, imagination and a good amount of luck. The best way is to just get in there and get dirty.

I would stay away from “starter” bonsai. Unless you buy from a dedicated bonsai nursery you will end up over paying for a malsai.

Digging from the wild is a great way to get stock. Do your research on local trees to see what is suitable for bonsai. Be aware of what trees can be legally collected and GET PERMISSION from the land owner.

If I were you I would look into ficus. They are well suited to your climate, easy to care for and should not be hard to find. Old potted ficus can be found for cheap and sometimes even free.

I'd have to disagree about collecting as a great way to get stock if you're just starting out. I'd say that path complicates the learning process since you have to learn the ins and outs of helping a tree recover, then understand when it can be started as a bonsai. The difficulty increases with the size and age of the trees you collect.

Containerized nursery stock requires root reduction, but not the 90-95 percent root reduction that is mostly necessary with collected trees.

Containerized nursery stock is a great medium ground for learning how to reduce root mass and top growth without having to deal with the sometimes lengthy recovery process with collected trees.

I would not shy away from starter bonsai if they're not really expensive (and this can vary tremendously). Those trees can teach you quite a lot about actual bonsai practices, since they require repotting with decent bonsai soil and redevelopment of some of their finer points.

 

[GGB]

I agree with rockm, save those yamadori for a few years from now. Nursery stock is a great way to learn hard lessons. You'll learn all kinds of fun lessons like .. what a crappy graft looks like, why you should always dig into the pot before buying. I collect wild seedlings all the time 1 - 3 years old, they aren't technically yamadori, just free weeds to observe and learn things like identification and growth cycles. They won't teach you much about "bonsai" but you'll figure out what trees and features you do and don't like.

Florida seems to be a huge bonsai state, I guess all the retired folks maybe. So you might be able to find some fun smaller prebonsai for the price of a large nursery tree. Whatever you do just do something, I wasted years reading about bonsai before I sunk a penny or minute into it. And when I finally did i eased my way in. I had a stunted beginning, buy a bunch of trees, learn the hard way, I wish I had. Probably saved myself a lot of money but time = money or money = time. things get fun when trunk chopping goes from scary to run of the mill

 

[Floridays]

Big lesson: It's okay to go home empty handed.

Yeah, I've done this a few times...

This is an interesting video to watch

I've watched part of that...very thorough! Thanks.

I would not shy away from starter bonsai if they're not really expensive (and this can vary tremendously). Those trees can teach you quite a lot about actual bonsai practices, since they require repotting with decent bonsai soil and redevelopment of some of their finer points.

Good thoughts. I will keep my eyes open for some as well as some good nursery stock possibilities. I'm beginning to watch for things that do well down here in south Florida.

Whatever you do just do something, I wasted years reading about bonsai before I sunk a penny or minute into it. And when I finally did i eased my way in. I had a stunted beginning, buy a bunch of trees, learn the hard way, I wish I had. Probably saved myself a lot of money but time = money or money = time. things get fun when trunk chopping goes from scary to run of the mill

I hear ya! I actually went to a couple box stores tonight and came home with a nice starter Olive and a "Bonsai" Ficus that I will remove the GLUED IN rocks from and rescue. It's a start right?!

Thanks again, all suggestions are taken in and I'm glad to be learning!