shaping

Help!! I got a young Japanese Maple 2 years ago, so I'm guessing it's about 4 years old now, and it only has 1 long branch that is getting longer and longer, and is starting to grow more sideways than up, and there is a clear bend in that branch as you can see in the pictures. All the new growth...

Ive wired them into a semi cascade earlier in the summer. Just feeling a bit reluctant, should I keep going or aim for a different style?

Still a beginner to maples, not sure if I should just let them grow for another year or to wire them including the branches? Anyone have a suggestion for what style to wire them into? The left one got moderate fire wind. Im in 7a climate zone.

Hi Everyone I was gifted a Juniper Bonsai back in December and I have been recently thinking about trying to shape and prune it. Right now it’s in a nursery pot and is looking quite bushy. It has one main stem that goes up then curves to the side with other branches coming off of it. Ideally...

Hey everyone! Hopefully this is an appropriate thread to post my questions in. So I have two common beginner trees, Ficus Benjamina (Midnight, from what the person I bought it from told me) and a Chinese Elm. I am curious on people's thought of the current soil in each of them and on pruning...

Planning to make this shohin size but open to suggestions, i have never made a bonsai from pre-bonsai like this and i am curious as what you guys would do such as the first steps and ideas for shaping/wiring.

I received this little juniper for Christmas and would like some advice on shaping it. Any thoughts would be appreciated

I've got this juniper that I plan to grow larger this coming spring and would love some ideas for shaping. It seems pretty set up as a windswept, but I would like more movement in there somehow. My SO suggested a cascade, but I don't really want to go that direction. Maybe something will jump...

Pictures - I got this bonsai with no real experience with them. I don't really think this has the best shape I can get, but I don't know what would be a good shape for it. I would like to maybe have some sort of canopy with lots of aerial roots coming down, but I just don't know what to do. The...

I have been working with bonsai for about a year and a half, so I am familiar with many of the basic ideas of how to trim and shape trees. However, this last year got away from me with this juniper, these runners kept growing and at first I was going to move this tree into a training pot, but...

Hi All, Recently got hooked on bonsai and would love to hear your suggestions on shaping and wiring for this little tree. I also need some help identifying the tree, the tag said Brazilian Rain Tree, but from what I've found online it really doesn't look like one. Thanks Craig

Hey guys, This is the first tree I've ever wired. It's a Ficus sp. I've grown from a cutting for about a year. This was mostly just for practice, but I wanted to see what others thought of my job, and any tips/advice they may be able to give me. I wasn't really sure how old the tree should be...

Heyo, I am relatively new to bonsai and purchased an old boxwood transplant from a vendor in Colorado in mid-October (I live in Southern Nevada). I transferred from the nursery pot into the training pot pictured. The first picture shows the form before trimming and wiring. I figure I'd play...

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...

Already posted this project in a newby thread, but I think this is my first material that actually has alright bonsai potential! So I think it deserves its own thread (the other threads may be added to the burn pile 😂 ) Added photos of work so far - pruning (tried not to do too much)...

Hi! I was given a Fabian Stump Aralia Bonsai as a gift. Upon looking it over I notice that at the end of several stump branches is some sort of black wax (?) It feels like wax. I was wondering if this will prevent it from sprouting any growth, because it seems to me that it is unbalanced. I...

Long time viewer, 1st time poster. I plan on doing some work on this Pyracantha I bought a few years ago. Has been growing in half wine barrel for a couple years. Would like to root prune and do some trim work in a few weeks. Looking to place in an Anderson flat for training. It's just far...

I purchased an english boxwood from homedepot today. I figured it would be a good chance to practice some pruning and wiring techniques and I won't be too upset if I end up killing it or it looks terrible, but you have to start somewhere. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Repot...

Just bought a juniper from homedepot today. It cost about $9. Along with 2 other plants but I will post them elsewhere. I figured it would be a good chance to practice some pruning and wiring techniques and I won't be too upset if I end up killing it or it looks terrible, but you have to start...

Hello everyone, I am going to stick mainly to this forum, as I have had Bonsai before but they have all been the garden center variety and all died on me. I will be receiving a Podocarpus Macropyllus and a Juniper Nana in the next few days and they will both be 4" trees. I know that I probably...

Hi there, I've recently started my first bonsai project. I started with a small Sawara False Cypress that I picked up at a small shop outside of my hometown; I would say it's about a year old, but I'm no expert so that may not be true. I have successfully trimmed the roots and repotted the...