progression

I bought a 3-gallon Dwarf Norway Spruce in mid 2016. I think it's a "bird's nest" cultivar from Iseli Nursery. This purchase was my first Spruce. I'm working on an informal upright with a sturdy, masculine style. November 2016 Its first pruning from nursery stock. The tree canopy was globular...

this is a field growing project, started in spring, the cutting was taken from a small trident, both tree and cutting are in the ground here is the cutting after spending a few months growing in this pot, luckily it struck and grew well 20161024_171134 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr 20161024_171036...

Hello all, about a month ago I bought a shimpaku juniper from a bonsai nursery and repotted it that day as it was in a very small rock planter and was severely root bound. A month later and it's doing very well. Just watered it today and noticed the shoots are extending a little longer...

Happy friday all!! Here are some progression photos from this year alone of the developments of my cork bark Chinese Elm. I also bring a question to the table, I live in Southern California which means my water quality is terrible and I get relatively little rain. I do my best not to touch the...

Here is an ume I bought from Brent in a 1-gal can in January 2010. It was planted deep, and I potted it higher when I transplanted it to that terra cotta pot (bottom of the photo) a couple months later, somewhere around a 1/2" thick trunk. The tree after 4 seasons in the ground. The tag is...

Just happened upon this huge pyracantha yesterday. Not the best time for collecting but it was going to be composted if not for me. I hope it survives the summer! Lots of potential in this one. It was very sandy sooil so I kept a some of the sandy stuff and mixed it with my diatomaceous earth...

This is how my fourth Shimpaku looked when acquired in May 2016. (My fence was in progress!) I paid $85 for it in a silent auction and felt good about what I paid. The trunk has a 2.25" diameter above a strong basal flare. I started pruning and found the tree was well overgrown, in sandy loam...

I obtained this tree in 2014 and I'm progression from upright to slanted. It is the Cascade Range subspecies of the Lodgepole Pine. I have a trunk notch started with the intent of folding it over on that line. That styling would turn it into a mashed and contorted mountain tree. This will not...

I have recently acquired 26 Japanese Black Pine seedlings and 15 colanders. The seedlings are from Weyerhaeuser and Forest Farm. The colanders are 10" plastic "wash baskets" from Amazon. Jonas Dupuich is inspiring and I hope to replicate these results...

This is another Japanese maple I've started from seedlings collected in 2012. The form will be clump, but maybe I'll find a way to sumo the tree if the base starts to fuse together really well. I'm intending to add a fifth trunk for balance. April 2013 June 2014 October 2015 January...

I bought this Japanese Black Pine at the 2016 Bonsai Society of Portland Fall Show. It went to the oral auction and I got it for $165. I'll be cataloging its development in this thread. Here it is today with a 12 oz can for scale Close up of the exciting basal flare and lichen I need to...

This will be another stick-in-a-pot grows up sort of thread. I'm currently aiming for some manner of freestyle design, as if this had collapsed multiple times in a sinewy fashion. I plucked Calocedrus decurrens seedlings from a flower bed underneath a large mother tree in 2014. Here they are in...

This is another pre-bonsai gathered in 2012. I think I collected 30 that year. This tree can put on 3–6 feet of growth a year, like its siblings. April 2012 April 2014, repotted into individual 1-gallon nursery cans October 2015, it was repotted this year into a 3-gallon can January...

I’m working on a longer term informal upright Chinese elm. I purchased the tree in early 2012 and its first three years were subpar due to my noob usage (“learning opportunity”) of subpar soil material (too organic), inadequate pot sizing, and poor timing of pruning. Tiny tree, mid-2012...

Today I bought a 3" trunk diameter Dwarf Blue Scots Pine nursery tree. This will be a long term project and it is my first Scots. I suspect this is grafted but I have yet to see an obvious union mark. I did a tiny bit of digging around the trunk and found field soil with some fine feeder...

I obtained this tree for about $10 as a rooted cutting in a 4" nursery pot. The sapling was planted in pumice and scoria. June 2014: After purchase, I slip potted it into an 8" round nursery pot. March 2015: May 2015, showing a lack-of-water mishap: (and/or bad repotting aftercare) 2015...

Just a little tree I've been screwing around with for a while - nothing amazing, but its been fun so far. Here are a couple of teasers while I find the 2014 photos . . .

Hey nuts, Today I wanted to start a thread on the mores nigra I've had since april 2015. I'm actually quite pleased with the progression of this tree in just 2 growing seasons. Here's as I acquired it the 19th of april last year. Here it is pruned back and repotted into pumice and seramis...

This is a progression post for my Lacebark pine. Here is a brief history up until now: Purchased 2008 Repotted from 3 gallon in nursery soil to bonsai mix 2009 All branches shortened close to trunk Spring 2010 Tree given to friend from Fall 2009 to Winter 2012 (shoved in ground and neglected)...

Calocedrus decurrens is not a common bonsai subject but I'm giving it a go with two volunteer seedlings. It's a native tree, here, so that's part of my enthusiasm for the species. With this particular tree I am attempting to replicate the candelabra form I have seen in photos and out in some of...

On this tree I plan to continue studying the finely ramified, triangular canopy, shohin Shimpaku informal upright shtick. I want a twisted trunk and stunning dead wood to be important features, as if this were more of a yamadori-inspired tree. I am intending at least 3–5 years of further...

This thread will track my progression of Shimpaku juniper nursery stock into an informal upright shohin bonsai. I'm targeting a final height of 6–8 inches and I'm planning to grow almost an entirely new canopy. This is a multi-year project. Obtained June 2015 in a 1-gallon nursery pot for...

So I bought this Holly last week and could not resist cutting it back, I know the timing wasn't the best but I know these are pretty vigorous and I think it could make it through the winter even if it doesn't push out any more growth this year. Winterberries, for whatever reason, are one of...

Bought this yew at the box store, not a good time to do work on them I think,but wanted to practice. Got inspired from Rob C.'s 5 year progression on one of his yews. Took alot of foliage off to see what's doing. Made a jin, and tried to see the tree with in. And that's what I came up...

I've purchased another native North American nursery specimen: a Pinus contorta contorta 'Spaan’s Dwarf' cultivar. I was feeling like taking a bit of a risk with my wallet and tools; it cost $84.99 for a specimen with 2.5" trunk diameter, 24" height, and healthy roots that fill a ~5 gallon...