Noob from Maine

MaineChowder

MaineChowder

Sapling
Messages
34
Reaction score
143
Location
Falmouth, Maine
USDA Zone
6A
Hello everyone,

I signed up a few days ago and am amazed at the support of this tight knit community. I have never done anything with bonsai before, but have been interested in the art for a while. I am an avid gardener so I understand a lot of the "basics" of growing and would love to put my knowledge to work with a few bonsai's.

I have already reached out directly to Soldano666 since he lives about an hour from me. He was great in his willingness to share information, even texting me a few pictures to answer some questions I had. I would love to hear from more bonsai enthusiasts from my area (well, I'd love to hear from all of you) and get to know a few of you locals ( I am in Falmouth, ME). I am particularly interested in collecting native, wild trees from my region. I love nature, hiking, fishing, and walking the dogs in the woods, and getting interested in the art of bonsai has opened my eyes up to a whole new world. I now study every tree I see while walking, driving, and just gazing out my living room windows. Before now, I never fully appreciated the beauty and uniqueness of them.

I am looking forward to getting my first trees this spring and learning all I can from you all in the meantime.

Great to "meet" you all,

Don
 
Welcome to Bonsainut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sticking to natives is a great plan without a doubt!!
 
I guess we all look at trees on a bonsai- way. Taper, movement, branching, nebari... Welcome to the nuthouse.
 
Welcome chowdah!!! Look for bonsai material everywhere, i see it all over the sides of the highway, we have lots hornbeam, crabs, larch, and scots pine (we can tend to find smaller ones in the vicinity of big older ones).
 
MaineChowder said:
bonsai has opened my eyes up to a whole new world. I now study every tree I see while walking, driving, and just gazing out my living room windows. Before now, I never fully appreciated the beauty and uniqueness of them
Click to expand...

The most amazing side of Crazy!

Welcome to It!

Sorce
 
Thank you all for the kind words and warm welcome.

As I stated in my first post, I have had communication with Soldano through this site. I also reached out to Colin Lewis, finding him through an old newspaper article I discovered online. I have not met him yet, but he did invite me down to see his work and meet him. Once the holidays are over, I plan on making a short trip south to meet him and pick his brain.

I also look forward to meeting Soldano in person. We are already planning on going for a little walk and check out some large, wild crabs I have in the woods near my house.

Very excited to learn from you all and get started this spring.

Don
 
Guy Vitale said:
If I'm not mistaken, Colin Lewis is in Maine, he's one of the best to study under and could knock out any beginner mistakes and tendencies right off the bat.
Click to expand...
Hey wait we want him to stick around don't knock him out
 
MaineChowder said:
Thank you all for the kind words and warm welcome.

As I stated in my first post, I have had communication with Soldano through this site. I also reached out to Colin Lewis, finding him through an old newspaper article I discovered online. I have not met him yet, but he did invite me down to see his work and meet him. Once the holidays are over, I plan on making a short trip south to meet him and pick his brain.

I also look forward to meeting Soldano in person. We are already planning on going for a little walk and check out some large, wild crabs I have in the woods near my house.

Very excited to learn from you all and get started this spring.

Don
Click to expand...
FWIW, working with natives is terrific. Nothing quite like it, HOWEVER, starting off with them presents some issues--especially if you collect them yourself. Aftercare of collected trees is an art unto itself and can be VERY unlike "bonsai" care. If you're set on having this your only path, be prepared for a long stretch of spotty success and disappointments--more so than if you start off with a relatively inexpensive containerized rough stock tree, or even a "finished" tree.

Non-native species (or natives) already in containers can teach the basics of actual bonsai care and training, rather than only recovery and unrestrained growth...
 
Rick Walden said:
Hey wait we want him to stick around don't knock him out
Click to expand...
Lol, best way to get someone to do things the right/best way is to get them before they learn bad habits and tendencies. Working with/studying with someone of his level will shave a decade off of learning Bonsai. If I could go back 16 years and had access to a master level Bonsai professional I probably wouldn't have 100 plus starter trees that are still a decade away from being something worthwhile.
 
rockm said:
FWIW, working with natives is terrific. Nothing quite like it, HOWEVER, starting off with them presents some issues--especially if you collect them yourself. Aftercare of collected trees is an art unto itself and can be VERY unlike "bonsai" care. If you're set on having this your only path, be prepared for a long stretch of spotty success and disappointments--more so than if you start off with a relatively inexpensive containerized rough stock tree, or even a "finished" tree.

Non-native species (or natives) already in containers can teach the basics of actual bonsai care and training, rather than only recovery and unrestrained growth...
Click to expand...

That's great advice. Maybe I will attempt a combination of the two. Gather a few trees locally as well as purchase a few established trees. I guess I wasn't really thinking that I wouldn't get started on the "art part" of bonsai for a long while with collected specimens.

Thanks again!
 
MaineChowder said:
Thank you all for the kind words and warm welcome.

As I stated in my first post, I have had communication with Soldano through this site. I also reached out to Colin Lewis, finding him through an old newspaper article I discovered online. I have not met him yet, but he did invite me down to see his work and meet him. Once the holidays are over, I plan on making a short trip south to meet him and pick his brain.

I also look forward to meeting Soldano in person. We are already planning on going for a little walk and check out some large, wild crabs I have in the woods near my house.

Very excited to learn from you all and get started this spring.

Don
Click to expand...
That's awesome, I can't stress enough what an incredible resource you have at your fingertips. I've personally never met or worked with Colin, know those who have, but here's a nickels worth of free advice: you get what you pay for, if you plan to be into Bonsai for the long haul, pay for the training and learning first, with the proper knowledge you will learn how to create exceptional trees from rough stock and free collected material, this will save you years of trial and error and money in the long run. I have to say, I'm very envious.
 
MaineChowder said:
That's great advice. Maybe I will attempt a combination of the two. Gather a few trees locally as well as purchase a few established trees. I guess I wasn't really thinking that I wouldn't get started on the "art part" of bonsai for a long while with collected specimens.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
You have made a common mistake, I think, that beginners make. They think collecting trees is mostly an easy way to get free material. That is a myth.

Being "Free" and "available" aren't really great reasons for collecting, even though both of those things appeal to people just starting out. Those small saplings and seedlings you might dig up to futz around with aren't "free." They will cost you time and effort. I could be at two years before you can actually do anything with them. A couple of decades in back in the ground to make a decent bonsai out of them. Small trees aren't really worth collecting for bonsai work, unless you plan on growing them out for a few years to develop a trunk...

The "Art part" of collected species is typically done by people who have been doing bonsai for a while. Wild trees (at least those worth digging up) are all imperfect and don't conform to bonsai right of the bat, either artistically or horticulturally--by conform, I mean "able to live" not "you must stick to the rules." Trees from the wild aren't really worth the trouble unless they have something that makes them worth the effort-- nice bark, low branching and most importantly -- some heft. In collecting trees for bonsai, you're after character in the first two feet of the trunk. If you have just started in bonsai, you don't know what to look for in a potential candidate. Beginners mistake "odd" and "ugly" for good material, which is neither...
 
I like to have a couple in each stage of development (within financial reason) just to keep from getting bored or restless. I’ve got some native collected stuff that’s coming along, but there’s only so much I can do with it at the moment. I have a few that are years and years away from decent because it’s fun to have a role in the molding and shaping part, but I also like having some that I can pinch and thin instead of praying for a branch to appear from nothing. It keeps me from hacking on a tree that does not need to be hacked upon (sometimes).
 


Prepare yourself for an intimate relationship with whatever vessel you utilize for watering purposes.:eek::eek::eek::eek::D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Biddeford ain't too far, nice!!:cool:
Have fun....like, @Soldano666 inking a face tattoo for you or something!;):rolleyes::D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Welcome, Maine-iac!!!:)
 
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