Saying hello Use some critique as well please

[Steve C]

Hello, new here, just joined the other day after finding the site and already learning a lot from it. This is my first post so I'll just give a little info (I'll keep it short)

I'm 41 yrs old, always loved looking at bonsai but never had the courage to try my own till just this past January so I've just got into it about 9 months ago and still VERY much a novice. Right now I have two Fukien tea trees, a Ficus (tiger bark I believe it is called) as well as a collected spruce I took from my property while on vacation, and just today bought a very small starter bougainvillea as well as a boxwood shrub from a local nursery.

Little other info-

Live in SE Michigan zone 6b I believe it is?
Have a small little stand up 6ft x 2ft green house (little $35 model nothing special)
I have some of the very basic tools for bonsai but still need to purchase some decent cutters and such.

Also have a very good nursery close by that not only has a very experienced bonsai teacher (spoke at length with him today, great guy and very willing to help) but they actually also have a local bonsai club that meets every month there so I believe I am going to join that club and hopefully learn from them as well.

Now to the second part of this post, I'd like some critique please. Up till now I have only repoted my trees and maybe trimmed a branch or two here and there, but I wanted to try my hand at actually doing more to a tree. So not wanting to ruin a perfectly good starter bonsai from the bonsai section at the local nursery, I decided to simply buy a cheap shrub and see what I could do with it using some things I have been trying to learn from the books I have been reading. I figured if I ruin this tree it's only a $6 shrub mistake

Anyway here are the before as well as after pics. Again I'm very much a novice so don;t expect much, but I would really like maybe some input as too a few things such as..

1- Because it has a very upright trunk as well as equal size/located branches on the L & R I tried to do somewhat of a "broom" style. Did I choose somewhat correctly by doing that or would I have been better going a different direction?

2- What did I do wrong? (and be honest, I can take it and that's the only way I will learn)

3- What did I do right? (if any)

Thanks to anyone that replies.

Before
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Front

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Side

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Back

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Side

 

[QuintinBonsai]

Hello Steve,

Welcome! I will say that the wire you've applied to this tree does not appear to be providing any kind of bend, or necessary direction within the trunk or it's branches. Otherwise, it's just unnecessary wire on a tree. Obviously this tree needs major growth so any trimming, or pruning at it's current size will only slow it down. Not too much can be done at this point except just planting in the ground, or a large pot so that it can obtain some girth.

In the meantime, be on the look out any deals you can find at bigbox stores.(Lowe's, Home Depot, even Walmart sometimes has some rare scores.) I'm always on the hunt for trunks with at least 1" to and 1.5" or more in trunk diameter, and finding those specimens that have good nebari. And don't get discouraged when things go wrong, and you kill a tree. It happens in horticulture. I wish you well, and with bonsai.

 

[Steve C]

Thanks for the welcome. The wire on this is more or less just so I could try to get the feel for it more than anything. It is keeping a few of the branches a bit more open but not by very much. Would it be best to just take it off now?

The pot it's in is one I just repotted it into (1/2g size I believe) should I put it in a bit bigger pot than that?

Thanks.

 

[Poink88]

Welcome to B-Nut!

There are better materials out there, some are free if you are willing to look and dig. As mentioned, there are good ones at Lowe's or Home Depot...but you have to learn how to look for them, usually, they are on bigger pots.

I usually, find a training pot that mimics the final bonsai pot...just much bigger. They should be wider and shallower than your usual garden pot so I ended using dish pans from Walmart ($1.95 for the 12 quart).

On pruning, avoid what you have there (peace sign or chicken feet). I remove the one in the middle most of the time, and on rare occasions one of the side branches. Watch out for long straight branches, you do not want those, either wire them to create movement or "clip and grow". Note that I had problems with boxwood sprouting when left w/o any leaves at the end so know how a particular plant responds to various technique first. Know also when to apply them...most prefer transplanting on spring but some respond better during summer heat. Each plant is different, so read up about it before you do anything.

Good luck!

 

[Steve C]

Appreciate the info Poink88, that's a great idea about the dish pans I never thought about that but will pick up a few of them this week from Walmart.

I looked at Lowes yesterday but they did not have much left in large sizes right now, I might run over to Home Depot in the next day or two and see if they have anything larger to pick up and work with. Could you offer an idea of what species would be a good one to work with for a novice that can be obtained from places such as Lowe's/Home Depot?

 

[Poink88]

Not sure what will survive in your area. I am assuming junipers (be careful though, you need to learn how to choose good variety for this).

Maples are possibility...again there are too many varieties to choose from.

Also learn to spot grafted trees. Proper choice can save (or cost) you years in development.

My advise, look around for now...learn and when you are ready you can buy plants. Waiting for spring (while learning) is not a bad idea.

Good luck!

 

[Steve C]

My advise, look around for now...learn and when you are ready you can buy plants. Waiting for spring (while learning) is not a bad idea

Thanks again. And yes that is probably the best advice, I just need to reign in my enthusiasm a bit (hard to do ) and concentrate on learning to care for the ones I have through the winter. I have a few others already which I may post a pic of and get some advice on soon. I'll try to focus on those/learning more before buying another.

 

[Poink88]

I just need to reign in my enthusiasm a bit (hard to do )

LOL...you do not need to tell me that, I am new (less than 2 years into this hobby) but have more than 150 plants now.

You can see most of them here but not in anyway in their best... http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?12144-My-packed-yard-(WARNING-Picture-heavy)

 

[Steve C]

Wow that is really cool, there's some great looking trunks on a lot of those trees. Yes I see you suffer from the same obsessive compulsiveness that I have lol. I've been that way my entire life...I got into cars and ended up building a tube chassis GTO over the past 12 yrs, got into fish keeping (cichlids) last year and now have over 500+ gallons of water worth of tanks in my house with one I'm working on now being 7ft long. When I decide I like doing something I tend to go "overboard" with it, which can be a good thing and a bad thing.

Very nice trees you have, now I see what you guys were saying about starting with trunk thickness and ones that have already developed a bit rather than the tiny little one I posted above.

 

[QuintinBonsai]

I don't mean to derail this thread, but Dario, where in your linked post did you acquire such massive trunks? The ones I find are either way out of my price range, or on owned property where collecting isn't allowed.

Btw Steve, check videos on youtube by a guy named Graham Potter. He does some amazing work. Mainly with wood carving, but he can transform the ugliest bushes into beautiful works of art.

 

[Poink88]

I don't mean to derail this thread, but Dario, where in your linked post did you acquire such massive trunks? The ones I find are either way out of my price range, or on owned property where collecting isn't allowed.

Most are collected for free through Craigslist. The rest (few) were purchased.

 

[Steve C]

Most are collected for free through Craigslist.

WHAT?? lol. I look all the time on CL for bonsai, guess I need to start trying other key words from the looks of it

 

[Poink88]

WHAT?? lol. I look all the time on CL for bonsai, guess I need to start trying other key words from the looks of it

Just check the "free" section every now and then. That is where I got most of mine.

Spring time esp as people start replacing their landscaping is the best time but I collected (saved plants) year round...even summer and had good survival rate still. I remember my azalea...it was 106*F when I dug that one and it survived.

Good luck!

 

[Steve C]

Just blows my mind that you got a lot of those for free is all. Because I am new, but I know a nice trunk/nebari when I see one and man oh man you have some great looking stuff there!

I LOVE azalea's, I had a beautiful big pink full one in my backyard for over 10 years till it died out for some reason over the past 1-2 years. I never knew they were kept as bonsai??

 

[Poink88]

I would guess the cause of death is basic soil. Azalea love acidic soil and they slowly deteriorate in basic environment.

There are various azalea and the most favored is satsuki due to smaller leaves. Mine is a big leafed one (George L Tabor) and not sure if it will make good bonsai as it is. if it doesn't, I will probably try to graft it with satsuki.