How to be a successful bonsai beginner

[FireAlchemy]

Great advice!! I just relocated to the Lakes Region of NH. Anyone have recommendations for starters? I currently have a 2 yo cherry wintering in an indoor greenhouse, doing well, a very young black olive in a starter pot, and a pretty much dead double white serissa.
I bought a fig tree, not intending it for a bonsai, it will be difficult to grow up here as a houseplant, but I’d like to work on a local tree.
Thanks!

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

@yashu lives a bit East of you. He might be a good resource.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[yashu]

Yep, I’m on the border of NH (on the Maine side) in the foothills of the White Mountains… I’m a few minutes out of North Conway.

I have a couple tropicals (ficus and calamondin orange) and both an Arabica and Norfolk Island pine that all live indoors from Octoberish to Mayish and they do fine. That said your fig should be OK.

It sounds like you have or have access to a greenhouse which expands the range of what you can care for with relative ease. I overwinter freeze sensitive trees in my garage which is insulated and climate controlled. I keep it between 34°F and 40°F through the winter. To be honest, a few of my trees which are freeze hardy also go in there so I can start my growing season a little earlier (with the aid of lights).

As far as local species I really can’t say enough about Larix laricina. Larch are very forgiving in so many ways. They can be collected with good success so long as it’s done early enough. They are easily repotted and handle significant root reduction, again, early timing is the one important factor and they put on roots very quickly. They seem to tolerate a wide range of soil types. They trunk up fairly quickly if given pot space. First and second year branches are quite bendy and wire scars on those young branches grow out quite quickly and fade better than many other species. Aesthetically they are just a cool plant! A deciduous conifer! I mean how cool is that!? The needles turn a beautiful gold in the fall and the bark is very cool and flakey and is very conducive to lichen growth.

Are you sold yet?

Besides larch I think that pitch pine holds a great deal of promise but I think it’s a much more tricky plant to manage as a beginner. White pine has its flaws but are plentiful and easy to find for free. They are also very flexible when young and I’ve started seeing some decent examples out there. Acer rubrum is similar in that it’s plentiful but has flaws in its habits but it also is only just beginning to be explored for bonsai and its potential is really still unknown. Birch and beech are some other common natives some folks are starting to play with so there are a good number of options out there (though I think you can guess my preference )

 

[Yannick81]

I have to say this forum offers a great oportunity for me as a beginner to obtain valuable insights into bonsai. So far I can say that on one hand bonsai is nothing more than taking care of plants, but on the other it is a vastly complex and highly skilled form of art.

I looked for forums in my native language, but couldn't find anything close to the bonsainut forum in terms of ressource distribution.

Thank you all you nutters for being here. I'm enjoying it.

 

[leatherback]

I looked for forums in my native language, but couldn't find anything close to the bonsainut forum in terms of ressource distribution.

there is the bonsaifachforum. I have found it a dificult forum to use, from a technical perspective. Next to this, many appear to be a little snobbish and not supportive of people just getting started (although that might be due to German being my third language).

 

[Hedorah]

I didn't want to start a new thread just to ask a generic question so hopefully some of the people here can answer this question.

As I've posted in a few of my posts, I'm a newb at this with no experience whatsoever and what I'm seeing in my newly aquired Tiger Bark Ficus, are some leave browning and dropping but I'm also seeing alot of new growth.

Aside from the too much/ too little sunlight and water question, is there also a new climate factor that has to be gone through?

Since I bought it from a large Bonsai retailer, were they raised in a super humid atmosphere and now expected to adapt in new climates?

I haven't trimmed a single leaf ,nor re-potted, nor fertilized because I'm thinking that it's just trying to adapt to new surroundings......I have it outside in indirect sunlight as many here have recommended.

Is my thinking flawed? and if so, any recommendations are appreciated.

 

[rockm]

I didn't want to start a new thread just to ask a generic question so hopefully some of the people here can answer this question.

As I've posted in a few of my posts, I'm a newb at this with no experience whatsoever and what I'm seeing in my newly aquired Tiger Bark Ficus, are some leave browning and dropping but I'm also seeing alot of new growth.

Aside from the too much/ too little sunlight and water question, is there also a new climate factor that has to be gone through?

Since I bought it from a large Bonsai retailer, were they raised in a super humid atmosphere and now expected to adapt in new climates?

I haven't trimmed a single leaf ,nor re-potted, nor fertilized because I'm thinking that it's just trying to adapt to new surroundings......I have it outside in indirect sunlight as many here have recommended.

Is my thinking flawed? and if so, any recommendations are appreciated.

You have to begin to understand how plants (and ficus) work. The leaves developed under certain conditions are inadequate in new conditions the tree is exposed to. You ficus is readjusting to more light and higher humidity. Leaves don’t “adjust” to drastic changes. The tree has to replace them to maximize available resources like more intense light and humidity levels. When you move the tree back inside for the winter it will likely drop most of the leaves it develops outside. Ficus are notorious for doing this

 

[Hedorah]

You have to begin to understand how plants (and ficus) work. The leaves developed under certain conditions are inadequate in new conditions the tree is exposed to. You ficus is readjusting to more light and higher humidity. Leaves don’t “adjust” to drastic changes. The tree has to replace them to maximize available resources like more intense light and humidity levels. When you move the tree back inside for the winter it will likely drop most of the leaves it develops outside. Ficus are notorious for doing this

Thanks. Exactly the type of knowledge grasshopper is seeking.