Beginner: Starting a carob bonsai

[mad85]

HI, As I m based in Malta where Carob trees naturally thrive I was thinking of starting an outdoor Carob tree bonsai. The plan would be to eventually have a rather large tree (maybe 60cm high?) one. I currently have a 1 year old tree which i would like to use, if it makes sense?

One of my biggest questions is when should i stop treating it as a tree and start looking at it as a Bonsai? Can anyone give me some pointers on the timeline and how i should prune leaves and roots?

thanks!!

 

[Shibui]

What are the differences between a tree and a bonsai? All bonsai are trees so I treat all my bonsai as trees?

I have some carobs in the garden but have not tried to grow as bonsai so I have no idea how they respond to pruning or to root pruning.
When developing a bonsai we generally try to get a thick, old looking trunk. That either means waiting many years for the tree to grow slowly in a pot or allowing the tree to grow quickly to get trunk thickness sooner then chop down and regrow the branches and apex for a quicker result. You will find there's always several different ways to develop any tree to achieve similar results. Much depends on what you expect as the final result, how long you are willing to spend and what space and resources you have available.

 

[mad85]

What are the differences between a tree and a bonsai? All bonsai are trees so I treat all my bonsai as trees?

I have some carobs in the garden but have not tried to grow as bonsai so I have no idea how they respond to pruning or to root pruning.
When developing a bonsai we generally try to get a thick, old looking trunk. That either means waiting many years for the tree to grow slowly in a pot or allowing the tree to grow quickly to get trunk thickness sooner then chop down and regrow the branches and apex for a quicker result. You will find there's always several different ways to develop any tree to achieve similar results. Much depends on what you expect as the final result, how long you are willing to spend and what space and resources you have available.

thanks for your reply. as to resources, I dont have a space to grow a carob tree in the ground, hence why i want to grow a Bonsai version i can get a large pot for it to grow for a few more years until i can transplant it into a bonsai pot. I do not expect a quick result, as long as the tree is a live and happy so am I. I do want a thick trunk eventually but not in a hurry. What I meant about thinking of it as a tree or a bonsai is that (i assume) when I put it in a shallow pot and start pruning roots, the tree growth will suffer so when would be the best time to do that transition?

 

[Shibui]

Correct that smaller and shallow pots will slow growth and development. A tree grown in a small pot may take 10-20 years to reach good bonsai shape and size. The same tree grown and developed in a larger pot my only take 5-10 years to reach the same stage.
You can still prune or chop the trunk while the tree is growing in a larger pot but regrowth will be quicker and more vigorous so the following trim can be sooner with the tree in a larger pot.
My rule of thumb is that bonsai only go in a small, shallow pot when they are well developed with good trunk and branches.
As previously mentioned, there's other ways to do it but the small pot option will take much longer.

 

[mad85]

thanks for your input. based on this I will move it to a large pot where is will stay for the next 5-10years, then we ll see

 

[mad85]

actually have another question though, should i prune it so that it starts taking the shape and dimensions that I want as a final product or its better to leave it to grow naturally?

 

[Shibui]

Another case where - it depends.
Pruning always slows thickening and growth but it will give you better taper in the trunk and usually adds some bends to the developing trunk so both good and bad.
Letting it grow with no pruning usually gets faster thickening but eventually you will need to chop. You'll usually reach trunk thickness quicker but after the big chop it takes longer to grow the new leader to match the thick lower trunk.
With the trees I grow I usually prune regularly to get well tapered trunks with smaller cuts. Even though it can a few more years to get to desired trunk thickness the next phase of developing branches and apex is quicker.
Bear in mind I have no experience with carob as bonsai, though plenty with other species, so you'll need to decide which way you want to go with this one.

 

[mad85]

thanks for the insight, i truly appreciate