Returning to bonsai...

[Clorgan]

Hello all!

So I used to be into bonsai and was quite active on here a good few years ago...have various forgotten 'projects' in two raised beds. Had planned to let them thicken up for a few years. But had some health issues, then got really into climbing, then got married so the garden has been pretty much untouched for a long while! This is the result But I'm ready to get back into it! Want to tidy it up and potentially dig up a few of the projects next spring and get them into pots.

Any tips for tackling all this in the meantime? Wait till autumn? Just go ham with the shears? Not in a huge rush but do want the garden looking a bit tidier for summer at least. Not sure how much you can see in the photos (probably not a lot!) but some of the plants include field maple, trident maple, Chinese elm, drarf birch, spiraea & cherry blossom. There's also a fuchsia and weigela but I'll definitely leave them till after flowering.

Also added a few photos of some rather neglected potted projects, very leggy! Had given them a bit of a prune a few months ago but not actually worked on them for years.

Any thoughts / tips on sorting this mess out and getting back into the hobby generally would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance and looking forward to hopefully becoming part of this community again

 

[Nera]

Congrats on getting married, and a big warm welcome back!

 

[Clorgan]

Congrats on getting married, and a big warm welcome back!

Thanks very much!

 

[Shibui]

So I used to be into bonsai and was quite active on here a good few years ago

Years?? Seems like just a few weeks ago. Welcome back.

The good news is all the species you have in the grow bed can be pruned back hard because they can all bud on bare wood if necessary.
Now should be a good time to do any hard pruning because they are in growth mode so should bud up and grow relatively quickly.

I don't recognise the plant in the round, red pot but the others - Lonicera nitida, Chinese elm (Seiju?), Japanese maple and Chinese elm - can also be chopped as hard as you like and still recover easily.
Any plant can survive pruning provided there are some leaves left to provide buds to grow back from so even if we can't ID the red pot you can still safely cut back as far as the lower leaves.

 

[nuttiest]

'Back lot' is the best lot. Hope you shared some photos of them from when you worked them, it would be good to look up.

 

[RJG2]

Hello all!

So I used to be into bonsai and was quite active on here a good few years ago...have various forgotten 'projects' in two raised beds. Had planned to let them thicken up for a few years. But had some health issues, then got really into climbing, then got married so the garden has been pretty much untouched for a long while! This is the result But I'm ready to get back into it! Want to tidy it up and potentially dig up a few of the projects next spring and get them into pots.

Any tips for tackling all this in the meantime? Wait till autumn? Just go ham with the shears? Not in a huge rush but do want the garden looking a bit tidier for summer at least. Not sure how much you can see in the photos (probably not a lot!) but some of the plants include field maple, trident maple, Chinese elm, drarf birch, spiraea & cherry blossom. There's also a fuchsia and weigela but I'll definitely leave them till after flowering.

Also added a few photos of some rather neglected potted projects, very leggy! Had given them a bit of a prune a few months ago but not actually worked on them for years.

Any thoughts / tips on sorting this mess out and getting back into the hobby generally would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance and looking forward to hopefully becoming part of this community again

Welcome back, your enthusiasm was missed!

Here's a good thread for beginners that @Clorgan started:

Thread 'Newbies - want to share your trees?'

Jun 13, 2020

I thought it could be fun to make a thread where beginners post their trees...I already have five (four nursery stock, one chinese elm) that I'm hoping will survive to learn on. Nothing I would consider to be good material by most people's standards on here, but I will have fun with them all the same and I'm enjoying learning how to look after them

Us newbies will likely not have the knowledge to advise each other - but at least we can share! Maybe some of the more experienced can chip in with thoughts and point out all the daft mistakes we're making...Someone may spot a problem...

• Clorgan
• beginner nursery plant progression share
• Replies: 765
• Forum: New to Bonsai

• 

 

[Dav4]

I don't recognise the plant in the round, red pot

I think that's a potentilla. Nice trunk, too.

 

[tanlu]

I had the same ‘return to bonsai’ happen when my kid got old enough to sleep through the night a few years ago. Unfortunately that over zealousness led to some preventable bonsai casualties…

What I wish I’d done was to ease back into it, prioritizing the health of all my trees over where I wish they’d be in relation to my vision for them.

I learned a lot from those mistakes and now take the long-term approach with timely action. This matters a great deal, particularly for pines in development. With deciduous trees, I’d just keep them in the ground until you’ve gotten the shape of the main trunk where you want it. Branches are easily built out from there.