Pre-bonsai Feedback?

JustinD

Sapling
Messages
35
Reaction score
47
Location
Tidewater, VA
USDA Zone
8b
Hey everyone,

I just joined and excited to be here, so figured I’d share some of my trees. I mostly only have pre-bonsai and am self taught via the webs, let me know what y’all think!

Commercially-styled Fukien Tea, defoliated in March. One of my first, made some bad cuts early and waiting to
8865EE88-4797-4604-8608-FE756F7E4337.jpeg

Hawthorn from sapling- after two reduction
9B461C54-B069-4B2D-93F9-1B9F68C02A97.jpeg

Bald Cypress grown from sapling, just received its first trunk cut
17BDCE10-5480-4E42-BBDF-862F30FAC412.jpeg

Native experiment grown from sapling - Halesia diptera. Grows fast and seems to be reacting well to reduction
CF676607-ECDB-47DC-8F06-BC597B5E6517.jpeg

Coastal Azalea - Rhododendron atlanticum, reduced a few
9B160E26-80EA-4F9D-BA00-EBE841A302C8.jpeg

Clearance snag - JBP practice tree.
Now hear me out (only 1x yr) - induce roots at the halfway point, remove top half & lay over on the right into an arching raft, then practice a lot of grafting
0D926642-FE2C-42E0-910B-A45351FEBC28.jpeg

River Birch grown from sapling - forced into a trunk cut after summer drought took the crown
5F0F1A9F-47D8-4F5A-BBA0-8A3E692EB031.jpeg

Unknown azalea - pulled from an old established yard
3EC51820-CC36-44FF-8C5D-60F9B95B52F0.jpeg

JBP practice saplings, destiny unknown but lots of bending. I’ve done more research and plan to start pruning my pines properly next season
BF661CDF-072A-46DF-A563-1B62A86D41FB.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Lovely!!!!!

ALL wonderful specimens I would LOVE to work with!

That Halesia is AWESOME! And the coastal Azalea... love the Wisteria too.. and.. all of them!

Can’t wait to see some of these guys in their own threads!!

🤓
 
Lovely!!!!!

ALL wonderful specimens I would LOVE to work with!

That Halesia is AWESOME! And the coastal Azalea... love the Wisteria too.. and.. all of them!

Can’t wait to see some of these guys in their own threads!!

🤓
I appreciate the kind words! I am a sucker for natives and deciduous
 
This ficus has one hell of a nebari, I really like its potential.
Yeah, I’m stoked. Endgame is to get that far down, but I think I’m going incrementally this time. Plan is to air layer a few tops for new trees, and I probably need to remove a trunk or something to address the lack of taper?
 
JBP practice saplings, destiny unknown but lots of bending. I’ve done more research and plan to start pruning my pines properly next season
Don't get confuse between maintenance pruning for pines and development of pines. Most bloggers seem to love to show they understand the maintenance techniques because that's something different from most other types of trees. They either don't understand that development techniques can be different or just forget to tell readers about that phase of the growing cycle.
 
Don't get confuse between maintenance pruning for pines and development of pines. Most bloggers seem to love to show they understand the maintenance techniques because that's something different from most other types of trees. They either don't understand that development techniques can be different or just forget to tell readers about that phase of the growing cycle.
Thank you for the advice, I will make sure I research that in depth. Pines are not my strong suit, hence the practice subjects.
 
Great start!

Make sure you repot them at least once to get them into decent soil.

Don't forget to define the front of the tree before you make major pruning cuts. Your goal isn't to 'shorten the tree', but to 'prune where it makes sense for the future vision of your bonsai". This is particularly the case with a project like your bald cypress, where the surface roots and the lower trunk flare are so critical to your eventual composition. Last thing you want is to prune the tree, wait a year, repot, and realize the front (as defined by your pruning scar) doesn't have any roots.

Looking forward to seeing your progress!
 
Great start!

Make sure you repot them at least once to get them into decent soil.

Don't forget to define the front of the tree before you make major pruning cuts. Your goal isn't to 'shorten the tree', but to 'prune where it makes sense for the future vision of your bonsai". This is particularly the case with a project like your bald cypress, where the surface roots and the lower trunk flare are so critical to your eventual composition. Last thing you want is to prune the tree, wait a year, repot, and realize the front (as defined by your pruning scar) doesn't have any roots.

Looking forward to seeing your progress!
Solid advice all around! Thank you for your input, I look forward to posting
 
Back
Top Bottom