Some advice for my starter collection

[Micro Treenus]

hey all, hope everyone’s having a great weekend

Im a total noob but quite obsessed already and have finished collecting my starter collection for this year (I’ve actually banned myself because I can’t afford anymore trees rn )

Current trees:
- acer
- olive tree
- cotoneaster
- cedar
- ilex
- pyracantha
- ilex crenata

My main questions are:
- are these a good selection for a noob? If not what would you add
- I guess I just practice keeping them alive til spring?
- would you put any in bonsai pots or leave them in nursery?
- can I wire the pyracantha/cedar now as they’re both quite straight/boring atm
- if I do a big chop to the olive will it branch out from where I cut it?
- general advice on what you would do if you were me

I plan to forget about the acer for a few years and let it grow out and air layer the olive tree at the top and chop it down to just above the elbow at the bottom to get two trees

I’ve attached some photos of said trees for a better look!

Thanks again and glad I found this forum there’s so much valuable info

 

[BrightsideB]

Add your location please. It’s necessary to help with the overall care.

Have a goal in mind. How big do you want them to be as bonsai. It is about restricting growth so once that starts growth slows.

And take it a tree at a time. You kind of did a tree dump and like now what lol! It’s all good though. I started the same way. Getting comfortable working with the material is a good goal. See if you can find some cheap discount material for a couple bucks and just experiment. Practice wiring and making clean cuts before working on your more pricy material.

 

[BrightsideB]

Not much work to do going into winter so the main goal is to keep them alive through it.

 

[Micro Treenus]

Add your location please. It’s necessary to help with the overall care.

Have a goal in mind. How big do you want them to be as bonsai. It is about restricting growth so once that starts growth slows.

And take it a tree at a time. You kind of did a tree dump and like now what lol! It’s all good though. I started the same way. Getting comfortable working with the material is a good goal. See if you can find some cheap discount material for a couple bucks and just experiment. Practice wiring and making clean cuts before working on your more pricy material.

awesome, thanks for all the info! And apologies I am in the UK (midlands specifically)

Tbh most of these trees were cheap, under £20 each so I will be using them for experimenting etc and was told to get a few at the start to stop the urge of doing too much in one go to a tree haha

After looking at some professional bonsai I feel like most of these trees may be too small and like my acer I may have to grow them for a while?

My issue is all the bigger trunk trees I found are boring/no branches anywhere near the bottom

 

[darzuo]

awesome, thanks for all the info! And apologies I am in the UK (midlands specifically)

Tbh most of these trees were cheap, under £20 each so I will be using them for experimenting etc and was told to get a few at the start to stop the urge of doing too much in one go to a tree haha

After looking at some professional bonsai I feel like most of these trees may be too small and like my acer I may have to grow them for a while?

My issue is all the bigger trunk trees I found are boring/no branches anywhere near the bottom

You should add your location and zone to your profile so you won't have to repeat every time you make a post! I think you have a reasonable selection. As far as bonsai pots, the quickest way to develop nice trees is to only reduce roots once you are satisfied with the size of the main trunk line and maybe the main structural branches. This varies depending on your goals. You can look into "shohin" size trees if you are interested in keeping them quite small. Generally these trees are no larger than 8 inches or so, and can be developed relatively quickly compared to the very large and impressive professional bonsai. Here is a very long shohin thread on this forum with a ton of examples.

 

[Shibui]

Definitely add your location to your personal profile so it pops up with each post. Saves you having to type and us having to remember where everybody lives and what climate conditions they have to allow for.

Your tree selection is a good start. You have a good mix of hardy plants that respond well to bonsai techniques.
Need to remember there are a ton of Acer species. Yours is Acer palmatum - Japanese maple. Most people start with this one, I guess because it has Japan in the name, but JM are a little temperamental and slower to grow and develop compared to Trident maple so I usually recommend trident for beginners - quicker and much more forgiving of beginner mistakes.
Cotoneaster come in a wide range of species too so interested to know which species you've chosen. If you are not sure some pics might help us ID though not so much difference between Cotoneaster species as far as bonsai culture.

I would not put any of the trees pictured in a bonsai pot yet. Small pot really restricts growth and development so what could take 5 years in a big pot may take 10-20 years in smaller bonsai pots. Having said that, most beginners need to have at least 1 tree in a proper bonsai pot so they can claim to be a bonsai grower. Provided you are happy to accept that the tree will still be a stick in a pot bonsai for years you could repot 1 or 2 for the experience and practice while the others grow on. If you are happy to have lots of sticks in pots you are welcome to put them all into bonsai pots come Spring.

Wire any or all of your trees if you feel the urge. It will be good practice, even if you don't end up using those sections of the trunk. Need to be aware that many bonsai are developed by grow and chop rather than wire and bend and retain the entire trunks. It is likely that much of the present trunks will be removed at some stage in the journey to a bonsai so wiring the full length of young trunks is often superfluous.
Cedrus sp usually take years to set after bending so be prepared to wire, bend, remove wire after a year, replace wire and re-bend once or twice to get a permanent bend in Cedar trunk. In the meantime, try developing one of the branches as a possible new trunk which you can chop the main trunk back to when you get frustrated with how long its taking.

Olives grow back from big chops really well. Often too well. You'll likely get new shoots from all around the trunk and some from the roots too. Probably not a great time of year for you to chop though. Mid - Late Spring would be better, when the tree is beginning it's annual growth cycle. Chop now and it will be without leaves all Winter but should still sprout in Spring.

Much of bonsai is seasonal. We can't really push the trees to do things in our timelines as they follow seasonal influences much more than we tend to. Your best bet for now is to rein in the enthusiasm and concentrate on keeping these going until Spring repotting and trimming time.