pruning

Hello all, I'm still very new to bonsai, and shaping a tree is something I just do not understand yet. I found some very helpful sources on this site for basic shaping (ie a triangle of foliage), but I guess I'm not very imaginative. I have this Hawaiian Umbrella Bonsai that's more of a...

According to Peter Adam's book on maples, if correctly done, the feared bleeding in early Spring or late Summer will be minimum on Palmatums and Buergerianums. There is a watering variable when repotting and/or hard pruning the tree that avoids or at least lessens the issue. Excerpt from the...

Hi all Ive had my Japanese Holly for about 4 months now and was given to me with lots of dense growth and leaves. It's been growing lots of new shoots in summer and I've come to pruning. It's now dropped a lot of its leaves in the past week and has revealed a totally Criss cross of branches...

Hi all! I'm very new to the world of Bonsai trees and have today purchased my first one, which is a Japanese Holly. After watching a few videos on how you go about pruning/wiring/caring etc, I'm left with the question of whether or not I'd trim one of the main branches near the base? It seems...

To Whom Wishes to Advise: I am going to do a little bit of trimming on this lil guy and was hoping someone could steer me in the right direction as far as what I should be looking for while I thin this guy out? I just want to take a little bit off as it’s gotten quite bushy this growing...

so I thought it would be a good idea, with absolutely no idea what I am doing to try to de foliate and trim my woody bits! I’m hoping I haven’t just killed it, but do you think I need to do anymore? I’m struggling with the woody bits! My aim is to just have a thick bushy tree but I have very...

Hello Everyone, So I got a few flexiable dwarf Thuja Occidentalis for next to nothing with the intention of training myself on wiring and pruning bonsai confiers without snapping, breaking or destroying any nice expensive trees. The wiring went relatively well (one tree snaped and a couple got...

“Hi - I’m Iggy the Azalea!” Hey everyone, glad to have stumbled onto the board. Looks to be a thriving community! I’ve been a bonsai fan my entire life, have owned a few, and unfortunately seen a few die for various reasons (usually trusting roommates to care for them while out of town)...

I have a a Mountain hemlock that is probably several hundred years old. I can't seem to find much info on how to care for these basass trees other than the elementary- they need lots of water. Specifically I would like to know about pruning. I've heard that you don't prune like a pine or a...

Hello all, I have brought my little chinese elm bonsai starter through it's first winter in my garage here in Portland Oregon. About a week ago buds began to sprout and I am looking for some guidance from more experienced folks about what I need to do this spring (repotting, trimming...

Hi guys, new to bonsai. I have this adorable small Ming aralia that I just transferred to a bonsai pot. Would anyone be willing to help me out and circle which leaflets/branches(?) to prune right now? Because it’s so young I can’t tell what’s a branch, stem, leaf, or subset of a leaf. Help...

I recently dug this azalea from a landscape of a house being demolished. It had to be emergently dug up to save it. It’s now about 2 weeks stable in a pre bonsai pot with good soil and recovering. I removed about 80% or more of the foliage and it is growing again with several branches showing...

New to bonsai. Grew this jacaranda mimosofolia from seed. It's over 2 years now and growing fine but I'm not sure how to give it that bonsai look and how to prune it correctly. Any advice is sincerely appreciated. Thank you, Alan

Just sharing this amazing pine pruning video at Jizo temple.

Greetings y’all. I’ve been muddling through this bonsai hobby for a number of years, and I’ve got a question about this ficus microcarpa. I’ve had it for fifteen years or so, slowly working on a banyan style and as you can see, it’s way too leggy. I want to prune it waaay back, but am frankly...

Hi, so I've owned this tree for about five years now, and I think it's about ten years old (said it was a 5 year old bonsai on the tag when purchased). At first it was just a nice little addition for the kitchen windowsill- but I've grown attached to it and would like to be able to shape it and...

Hello everyone! I'm brand new to the site and to the world of bonsai. Although I have been reading and trying to learn like a maniac! I received a chinese elm a few days ago and I've been focused on geting it acclimated and getting used to the watering routine. The tree came in a really heavy...

Hello all, I just bought some new nursery stock the other night. Came home with a Blue Star Juniper, Sabina Juniper and a Dwarf Hinoki Cypress. I'll be reading up on these species and figuring out their proper care, but one thing i would like to do is thin them out a bit just so i can get a...

Just picked up this fella from Rosade bonsai nursery this weekend (happy birthday to me!). I'm still *very* new to junipers, so I'm trying to absorb all the advice I can. I made a little spinaround video so you can see the whole tree. This is currently the front of the tree: I kind of feel...

I have this healthy Japanese Red Pine cascade, but I don't quite like the way the apex outgrew the botton. Asked some people around, and some say I should chop it to the lowest pair of candles, but.. others say I should not lose all this growth and wire the apex branch (bend the hell out of it)...

Hi, I bought this Crab a few weeks ago at Noelanders, but in all honesty I have not worked with crabapple's before... I'm kinda of clueless here on how to progress with this tree or come up with a working plan for it. I did repot it about a week ago into a slightly larger pot because it was...

So I have a blue spruce I am attempting to turn into a bonsai, and it currently has its first flush of new growth. I have read that I should be pinching off this new growth, and others say to leave it be. I have attached some picture of it, the new growth is about an inch and a half long now...

I found this bougainvillea yesterday at a nursery, tucked away under a bench and hidden from view behind several plants. It’s now in a 10” pot and as can be seen the trunk is 8” at the base. In time, with patience, pruning, etc. I hope to develop a triangular shaped canopy over the main trunk...

I was able to pick this bougainvillea up yesterday. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to find it tucked away at a nursery under a bench, buried behind several trees. It’s now in a 10” pot and as can be seen the trunk is a massive 8” at the base. In time, with patience, pruning, etc. I hope to...

How hard can you prune these guys? I recently was gifted with one. "Jenna" I'm guessing from the flowers. 3 inch caliper trunk, very open shape, with all the buds out on the ends of the current branches. I have seen these styled and really like the look (yeah, I know leaves don't reduce for...