bonsai trees

[ballpythonluvr]

Does anyone here keep bonsai trees? I have an interest in wanting to try my hand at growing one. They are so cool looking.

[Snake Man 27]

I do not have one BUT I am also interested in keeping one someone should post a pic of theirs if they have one!

[redshepherd]

I keep and create my own bonsai. Feel free to ask any questions!

For basic info, in case it's not known... Bonsai are simply certain species of shrubbery/junipers/trees that are continuously trimmed (in specific ways, depending on the design) annually to keep them small. Most are planted in the ground to grow for years first for the trunk to thicken, amplifying the "miniature tree" look instead of just a small plant, before being potted into a small bonsai pot.

The easiest bonsai to start with is a juniper. I personally find it much more fulfilling to buy a small-medium sized juniper from a nursery and trim and train them into bonsai myself. It's not difficult after research. The typical bonsai selling to the public are just overpriced for the name and not well-trimmed... most are even just cuttings (small branches) from a larger tree and stuck into a small pot.

[Snake Man 27]

I keep and create my own bonsai. Feel free to ask any questions!

For basic info, in case it's not known... Bonsai are simply certain species of shrubbery/junipers/trees that are continuously trimmed (in specific ways, depending on the design) annually to keep them small. Most are planted in the ground to grow for years first for the trunk to thicken, amplifying the "miniature tree" look instead of just a small plant, before being potted into a small bonsai pot.

The easiest bonsai to start with is a juniper. I personally find it much more fulfilling to buy a small-medium sized juniper from a nursery and trim and train them into bonsai myself. It's not difficult after research. The typical bonsai selling to the public are just overpriced for the name and not well-trimmed... most are even just cuttings (small branches) from a larger tree and stuck into a small pot.

Cool! I didn't know much about bonsai trees until now lol, thanks for the info!

[200xth]

I used to have a small collection. It didn't fare well when I moved out to Oklahoma. I will be buying up some new trees and starting again this year.

If you're interested in some fantastic information on how to do them properly, check out Walter Pall's site. He has a site with tons of pics of his trees, and a blog where he discusses all kinds of stuff from pruning to soil to watering to artistic design. He's one of the best bonsai artists in the entire world (my favorite personally), and an enormously useful source of information for doing bonsai trees properly. Information he shares very freely with anyone and everyone.

If you look through his gallery, his trees are the most amazing, beautiful bonsai trees I have ever seen...and he has hundreds of them. He even has a history of many of his trees, some of which go back 30 years. You can see the progress of the trees in the pics, and he'll given explanations of what he's done along the way. He goes over then when and why of everything he did to the tree. Root prunings, top prunings, defoliations, wirings, repottings, period of wild growth to build up trunk size or to fill in the apex...it's all there, and it's all free.

Site with galleries (WARNING: you will spend hours looking at the trees if you find this stuff interesting)
http://www.walter-pall.de/

Blog (with almost daily updates from one of the best bonsai artists in the world)
http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/

Just one example (and probably my favorite deciduous tree he has):

[Spoons]

I disagree that the easiest plant to start with is a Juniper. Of course, that may just be because people tend to think they'll be happy indoors (they won't). They also need a dormant period, and due to them being evergreens by the time you notice something is wrong, they're already dead! I find it easier to start with either with a Chinese Elm or a Ficus. both can be acclimated to indoor living if you've got supplementary light, and they'll tell you if something is wrong. Neither need a dormant period, though a Chinese Elm can be deciduous. I myself started with a Fukien Tea - many people say they're finnicky and lose leaves if you look at them wrong, but mine's been flowering constantly and putting on lots of growth and it's been indoors for the last 5 months!

You will find a lot of opinions. My main tip is to do a LOT of research before jumping in on how to care for the trees. After all, they are just that - Trees.

[redshepherd]

I disagree that the easiest plant to start with is a Juniper. Of course, that may just be because people tend to think they'll be happy indoors (they won't). They also need a dormant period, and due to them being evergreens by the time you notice something is wrong, they're already dead! I find it easier to start with either with a Chinese Elm or a Ficus. both can be acclimated to indoor living if you've got supplementary light, and they'll tell you if something is wrong. Neither need a dormant period, though a Chinese Elm can be deciduous. I myself started with a Fukien Tea - many people say they're finnicky and lose leaves if you look at them wrong, but mine's been flowering constantly and putting on lots of growth and it's been indoors for the last 5 months!

You will find a lot of opinions. My main tip is to do a LOT of research before jumping in on how to care for the trees. After all, they are just that - Trees.

Well, I chose juniper assuming that people are aware that they can only survive outdoors. I guess that really is a common beginner's misconception, that bonsai can be kept indoors...
Plants suitable for indoors can only be kept indoors, applies to large plants and small bonsai. And outdoors plants and bonsai can only survive outdoors. I agree that Ficus or Chinese Elm are a good indoor bonsai, and Junipers are a good outdoors bonsai, in my opinion.

It also depends on where you live. I'm in Southern California, so keeping junipers outside during their winter/dormant period is the same as in the summer, just with fewer waterings and fewer fertilizing. But when it becomes really hot during the summer, I move them to partial shade.

And yes, do a ton of research before starting. There are a lot of beginner's misconceptions about bonsai that ultimately end up in a dead bonsai (like a Juniper kept indoors).