The Secret to Growing Bonsai...

[Bolero]

Keep the Root system alive and well fed....that's all there is to it...

 

[sorce]

Amen!

Sorce

 

[M. Frary]

That's the secret to keep any plant alive.
You might as well be talking about your lawn.

 

[Bolero]

That's the secret to keep any plant alive.
You might as well be talking about your lawn.

Yes Mike, absolutely correct, it is a living growing plant, keep it watered & fertilized & it will grow.
Consider your lawn as just another form of Bonsai...

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Wait...I thought it was this:

Well I think it comes down to this....

A really good Trunk with good Bark & Trunk Movement...

Excellent & well defined Foliage...

Traditional to Exceptional Styling....

Well there you have it....Everything else is just So So Bonsai Gardening...

Or is it this:

Assuming we already have a Good Bonsai Tree...We now want to Morph the Bonsai into a Work of Art....
Therefor IMO we need to address the Ceramic Pot and the Ground Cover...

The Pot has to be the right Color, the right Size & the right Configuration...Size is VIP, not too big, not too small, Complimenting the Tree not Overwhelming or Underwhelming the Tree...

The right Ground Cover can Make or Break an Artful Presentation and should Represent the Natural Ground Cover of the Tree, Rocks can offer an additional feature to the GC if the Context requires...

All of the above is, of course, subject to ones perception, however, still somewhat resembling the original GC of the Tree....

Comments and pictures welcomed...

Or is it this...?

Keep the Root system alive and well fed....that's all there is to it...

Or is it possibly a bit more than can be summarily stated in a fortune-cookie-style post?

 

[Anthony]

Brian, I believe this is another Bolero designed to create conversation topic.
So let's indulge him ------

The secret to growing bonsai is ---------------- bang ------- gunshot ---------------- Anthony falls on the laptop

Seriously though, I would imagine the answer is love and dedication to the doing.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[just.wing.it]

Brian, I believe this is another Bolero designed to create conversation topic.
So let's indulge him ------

The secret to growing bonsai is ---------------- bang ------- gunshot ---------------- Anthony falls on the laptop

Seriously though, I would imagine the answer is love and dedication to the doing.
Good Day
Anthony

Dedication, is one good word .

 

[Bolero]

Really good Bonsai, Show quality Bonsai like BVF has require a lot of work, Specialized work, Vision, Skill, Dedication and maybe a flair for the Artistic....
In my Fortune Cookie post I am not trying to instruct anyone in Growing Bonsai, I am just Saying......to keep them critter's alive keep em Watered and Fertilized...
Otherwise thanks all for the comments.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Really good Bonsai, Show quality Bonsai like BVF has require a lot of work, Specialized work, Vision, Skill, Dedication and maybe a flair for the Artistic....
In my Fortune Cookie post I am not trying to instruct anyone in Growing Bonsai, I am just Saying......to keep them critter's alive keep em Watered and Fertilized...
Otherwise thanks all for the comments.

Why draw a distinction? Isn't everyone here trying to grow "really good bonsai"? They're not all going to be show quality. Most of mine certainly are not "show quality", but I've been studying bonsai more than half my life. I read, study, and work with the people who do it the way I want to do it. So it's more than what fits in a fortune cookie. Like Mike stated, keeping roots alive and well-fed is not specific to bonsai; and while it will make a good bonsai bad, your advice alone won't make a bad bonsai good.

If you're just bored and wanted to stir the pot, let's look at it differently...
https://bonsainut.com/threads/the-secret-to-growing-bonsai-a-thread-inspired-by-bolero.27243/

 

[Paradox]

Patience
Diligence
Dedication
Knowledge
Experience
Are all needed to keep a tree alive

Making it a bonsai takes all of the above plus

Time

 

[Anthony]

For just - growing - as in keeping healthy, dark leaves in full sun and all that.
It's aged compost.
Keeps the harmony of the soil, as life in the soil matters.

We could try to grow inorganically, but frankly just pumping artificial fertiliser into an inorganic mix is very unappealing.
Especially since the trees are as children to us.
I really wouldn't feed my sons pills [ unless we were in space onto a new planet to colonise or terraform ]

Please note ----------- as we view it oil cakes decay and eventually become compost, so an inorganic with oil meal cakes
is the same as aged compost and inorganics.
Good Day
Anthony.

* Brian clicking on your topic, brings up a requirement of having to sign in, whereas just using this page does not ?

 

[Cadillactaste]

Keep the Root system alive and well fed....that's all there is to it...

Technically yes...but finding a species that responds well with bonsai techniques applied to them in the end...is a better reward for time spent. Wouldn't you say?

 

[Cadillactaste]

That's the secret to keep any plant alive.
You might as well be talking about your lawn.

So Earth is its pot?

 

[Vin]

Well, I just read all the posts in this thread and there's 4 minutes of my life wasted. I really don't understand the purpose other than upping your "Messages" count.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Well, I just read all the posts in this thread and there's 4 minutes of my life wasted. I really don't understand the purpose other than upping your "Messages" count.

That's was my thinking...only wished to reply in case a new member seen this..not every tree is meant to be bonsai. But the grass comment as bonsai...I don't see this as very instructional or what the intention of post is about.

 

[Nybonsai12]

I really don't understand the purpose other than upping your "Messages" count.

You just described 80% of posts on this site. A lot of bullshit lately with no actual trees or bonsai work being posted.

 

[Vin]

That's was my thinking...only wished to reply in case a new member seen this..not every tree is meant to be bonsai. But the grass comment as bonsai...I don't see this as very instructional or what the intention of post is about.

My theory is the OP is a Psychologist and we're part of his social experiment now that we responded.

 

[Vin]

My theory is the OP is a Psychologist and we're part of his social experiment now that we responded.

That's why you haven't seen much of me lately...

 

[barrosinc]

My theory is the OP is a Psychologist and we're part of his social experiment now that we responded.

That's why you haven't seen much of me lately...

talking to yourself might be a bad symptom.

 

[Vin]

talking to yourself might be a bad symptom.

Now you've gone and done it.. That's my secret to growing Bonsai. Now everyone knows.