New to Bonsai. Beginner No Exper

[Txners74]

Hello.
Im new to the hobby. I’ve been watching a few yt videos on bonsais nothing specific just general videos. And I love the aesthetics of each work of art. Each one is unique I love how much character can be given to them.

that being said I have a few questions.

1. What is the best tree to start with?
2. What tools do I need?
3. Is there a certain type of soil required?
4. Are there any planting techniques that work better than others?
5 What techniques can I use as a beginner?

I would like to raise my own from a seedling and get a proper trunk girth.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Welcome to the club.

First stop should be a resource that gives you a broad overview of the development process from beginning to end. Bonsai4me and Evergreengardenworks have great resources that will help you get started on your journey and fill in a lot of the blanks.

I would like to raise my own from a seedling and get a proper trunk girth.

As you spend more time here, you will find that there are different approaches to starting material. As a beginner, you should internalize as soon as possible that bonsai development is a very long process and there is no way to short cut this (other than buying a finished tree). Starting from seed/seedling will increase this timeline considerably. You may want to consider beginning with older material and supplement that with the seeds/seedlings that will take longer to develop. Having trees in different stages of development will keep things more exciting. With the seed/seedling, it's basically plant and forget about it for a few years - not really bonsai work.

To answer some of your questions:

1. What is the best tree to start with?

First, consider starting with an actual tree as opposed to a seed/seedling. Second, choose trees that can survive in your climate outside all year long (include your zone in your bio so folks can answer your questions more specifically). As for specific species, the list is long. Japanese maples, trident maple, pines and elms are always a favorite. Once you put in your zone folks can give more suggestions tailored to your location.

2. What tools do I need?

My 2 cents is that whatever tool you buy, get the good one. Don't cheap out as you will just be buying another one before you know it. Here's a short list to get you started:

mini rake
chopsticks
concave cutter
small scissors
Something to cut larger branches with
They'll be more once you get deeper into this.

3. Is there a certain type of soil required?

Hell to the yeah. Reading up on soil is a must. The resources above will provide this to you. Short answer is stay away from potting soil and ensure your soil has good drainage, aeration and water retention (this will likely be meaningless to you until you start reading up on it). The longer answer is actually quite long. In fact, soil is really important to growing bonsai and a particularly heated topic on this site. Once you take a tree out of the ground and place it in a container you fundamentally alter the soil dynamics and require something far different than potting soil.

4. Are there any planting techniques that work better than others?
5 What techniques can I use as a beginner?

These are very general questions akin to "how does one bonsai?". When you get through the reading material you will have a ton more knowledge and much more specific questions. Looking forward to more questions.

 

[Colorado]

Hello.
Im new to the hobby. I’ve been watching a few yt videos on bonsais nothing specific just general videos. And I love the aesthetics of each work of art. Each one is unique I love how much character can be given to them.

that being said I have a few questions.

1. What is the best tree to start with?
2. What tools do I need?
3. Is there a certain type of soil required?
4. Are there any planting techniques that work better than others?
5 What techniques can I use as a beginner?

I would like to raise my own from a seedling and get a proper trunk girth.

The answers to all 5 questions are “it depends.” But I will give MY opinions and try to offer you some straightforward advice!

1. Elm or juniper
2. Scissors, saw, chopstick are the basics. You’ll want lots more tools
3. Yes!
4. Yes.
5. All of them, practice makes perfect. Just make sure to use the appropriate techniques at the appropriate TIME. This is a big key to success.

Good luck!

 

[Txners74]

Welcome to the club.

First stop should be a resource that gives you a broad overview of the development process from beginning to end. Bonsai4me and Evergreengardenworks have great resources that will help you get started on your journey and fill in a lot of the blanks.


As you spend more time here, you will find that there are different approaches to starting material. As a beginner, you should internalize as soon as possible that bonsai development is a very long process and there is no way to short cut this (other than buying a finished tree). Starting from seed/seedling will increase this timeline considerably. You may want to consider beginning with older material and supplement that with the seeds/seedlings that will take longer to develop. Having trees in different stages of development will keep things more exciting. With the seed/seedling, it's basically plant and forget about it for a few years - not really bonsai work.

To answer some of your questions:


First, consider starting with an actual tree as opposed to a seed/seedling. Second, choose trees that can survive in your climate outside all year long (include your zone in your bio so folks can answer your questions more specifically). As for specific species, the list is long. Japanese maples, trident maple, pines and elms are always a favorite. Once you put in your zone folks can give more suggestions tailored to your location.


My 2 cents is that whatever tool you buy, get the good one. Don't cheap out as you will just be buying another one before you know it. Here's a short list to get you started:

mini rake
chopsticks
concave cutter
small scissors
Something to cut larger branches with
They'll be more once you get deeper into this.


Hell to the yeah. Reading up on soil is a must. The resources above will provide this to you. Short answer is stay away from potting soil and ensure your soil has good drainage, aeration and water retention (this will likely be meaningless to you until you start reading up on it). The longer answer is actually quite long. In fact, soil is really important to growing bonsai and a particularly heated topic on this site. Once you take a tree out of the ground and place it in a container you fundamentally alter the soil dynamics and require something far different than potting soil.

These are very general questions akin to "how does one bonsai?". When you get through the reading material you will have a ton more knowledge and much more specific questions. Looking forward to more questions

Thank you for responding.
I’m located in Los Angeles.

Well seedlings are out the window.
Are there any reputable shops to get tress from or I can pick up and from anywhere and grow it?

 

[Shibui]

All beginners seem to think there's one way to bonsai. A recipe like making a cake.
Truth is we are working with living things so results vary depending where you are, how you water, fertilize and care for the trees. Every experienced bonsai grower has their own special soil, watering, fertilizer, pots , etc which work well for them but may not be as good somewhere else
Same for how to start.

• We can start with seed and grow a tree from scratch. It may take some years but that tree is all yours, all its faults and features. I start hundreds of bonsai every year. Many of the best bonsai have been developed slowly over years from seeds or very young seedlings, grafts or cuttings. If nobody sows seeds where do the bonsai of the future come from?
• We can start with nursery stock. The trunks are a little more advanced but most general landscape stock is grown fast to be tall and straight and sometimes it is hard to convert that to bonsai.
• We can start with a tree that someone else has worked on for a while - a bonsai starter or pre bonsai. You'd expect those to have a few more positives for bonsai but there are some vendors who see 'bonsai' as a cash cow and just rebrand general stock as bonsai starters at increased prices so get to know what to look for. Often good value pre-bonsai come from club sales tables or hand me downs from more experienced members.
• We can start with an older tree from a garden. Some really great bonsai have come as garden rescues. Again, you'll need to get to know what features make a tree worth collecting and which ones will be far too much work to be worth the effort.
• We can start with trees collected from the wild, dwarfed by nature and showing all the characteristics valued by bonsai growers. Not every wild tree will be a quick and easy conversion to bonsai. Learning how to collect safely and legally and which trees stand a chance of surviving is crucial.
• We can buy a ready made bonsai. Price is higher depending on the quality but, with enough cash, you can start off with a show quality tree from day 1.

Those are just some of the basic starting points for bonsai but from that list there are many more combinations and possible variations on starting point.

How you start and how long it takes will also depend on what you expect your bonsai to look like.
Some people are happy just to have a thin stick in a pot with a bushy top. It won't win prizes at the big bonsai shows but it is a form of bonsai and is quick.
More experienced bonsai people expect a higher standard of bonsai, a tree that stops passers by and tells a story. These usually take much longer to develop.

The tools I use most are: branch cutter, scissors and root shears. The others you only use very occasionally for specialist work or can use a locally found alternative.

As for techniques there's lots. Some are fads, some people swear by one method while others are very successful with an alternative way. Opinions are endless and often spouted by those with little more experience than you have so beginners can get very confused. Just remember that there are many ways to achieve similar results so it is rarely a case of one right way and all the rest are wrong.

 

[rockm]

Thank you for responding.
I’m located in Los Angeles.

Well seedlings are out the window.
Are there any reputable shops to get tress from or I can pick up and from anywhere and grow it?

"Are there any reputable shops to get tress from or I can pick up and from anywhere and grow it?"

Yes. This question has 1,000 answers, it all Depends on what you're looking for (conifer, temperate deciduous, tropical [indoor], etc) and how much you want to spend. L.A. has more than a few local bonsai nurseries--Yamaguchi, Kimura Bonsai nursery, House of Bonsai--LA residents can better advise. LA bonsai clubs also have flea market type sales as well (which can be inexpensive with quality material) Online is another source. If you're looking for stock or complete bonsai. You can also collect plants from your garden, or from other sources (with permission from landowners).

If I were you, I'd look to a reliable online source to begin. Brussels Bonsai in Mississippi is probably the biggest source of commercial bonsai in the U.S. they sell to all kinds of sources, including Wal Mart and local nurseries. If your local plant center has a "bonsai" section, chances are the trees are sourced from Brussels, with a mark up. Going directly to the source can be a bit less expensive for the same stuff.

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If you want tropical--Wigert's in Fla. is a good source.

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