Bonsai Guilt: Beginner seeking best strategy to avoid killing a larger nursery tree

[Smoke]

Thank you! I will for sure. I had come across the San Diego Bonsai Club after seeing the display at the Safari Park but it just slipped my mind. Thanks for reminding me. The other two I had no idea about. So, thank you again! Bonsai and Beyond meets pretty close to me.

You will love Phil Tacktill, he is a east coast transplant, and an old timer. He brought a wealth of info.

 

[Emanon]

These are the types of things you should have thought about and investigated before obtaining the tree.

I hope it didn't come across like I rushed into buying this tree or that it was a last minute purchase made without aforethought. I had been actively looking for this specific tree for the last 2.5-3 years. This last year I tried to grow it from seeds and not one sprouted. Also this past year, I found one online at Forest Farm Nursery out of Oregon but the day after buying it I was told they didn't really have it. That was closest I came to finding it until now.

In starting this thread I just meant to ask for advice re whether I should touch the tree now at all, repot this next spring still having not touched it, when to top the tree, etc. In thinking through when I should do what, my main goal is preserve and encourage as much growth lower down on the trunk as possible. (That is to say, at this point I'm not concerned with getting the trunk thicker, or adding movement, or creating taper, etc.) I have a bald cypress that I chopped down to 3 inches and got 20-30 new buds to sprout. On my Monterey cypress when I cut the trunk, every new bud is like gold and I nurture each one. I'm assuming this tree will be more like the Monterey cypress with its less vigorous back-budding. So that's my immediate goal. My second posting in this thread was more in the spirit of general curiosity like... "What *was* that? Why did I avoid mentioning to the nurseyperson that I was going to attempt to turn this tree into a bonsai tree? Has anyone else ever experienced a similar feeling or thought?" I definitely didn't mean to imply that I had regret or that I rushed into buying the tree without thinking about it. I do, obviously, regret introducing the topic and wish I could just leave my initial posting.

 

[Zach Smith]

FWIW. Just water and feed this specimen when it needs it. Take some cuttings next year. Continue watering and feeding. Don't do any bonsai stuff to it, you don't know what you're doing yet so why start with this one whose qualities for bonsai neither you nor probably anyone else at this forum know. If it is alive in a few years, try to find a local club and get some expert instruction and then, only th

 

[Forsoothe!]

I agree with Zach, don't try to enjoy the ownership of this tree without the approval of superior intellects with experience in this species. After all, lacking a degree in botany, you're not really entitled to pursue exotic, or mundane for that matter, woody subjects in your yard or as bonsai. That sort of thing is reserved for il cognoscenti which excludes people like you. Or me for that matter. I, too, seek out unusual, odd, or strange subjects because I'm more curious than smart. I'm the guy who, upon finding someone with something unusual, ask "White Elephants! How many do ya got?... I'm not smart yet, but I'm leaning in that direction and enjoying the trip.

PS This forum not reserved to merely offering advice and suggestions and answering questions. Shaming, imposing guilt and moralizing are highly regarded any time a soft underbelly is exposed.

 

[Zach Smith]

Don't read into my reply anything more than the plain advice. Too often on the forum we see super-enthusiastic beginners who have one tree they just got, and man do they want to "bonsai" that sucker! You get questions like, "When should I start pruning?" and "Which window in my house is best to put it near?" To try and save a lot of heartache and grief, I suggest going slow and getting as many trees as you can afford. Loving your new bonsai to death isn't the best way to start out. So you have a rare specimen, you're new at bonsai, and you want to know what to do. No, you don't need anyone's approval to do anything to your trees, but you did ask for advice. Those of us who have killed more trees than you'll ever own (hat tip to Bill V for that one) really want to see you succeed with a lesser body count. If you could only see some of the trees I offed way back when ....

 

[Emanon]

FWIW. Just water and feed this specimen when it needs it. Take some cuttings next year. Continue watering and feeding. Don't do any bonsai stuff to it, you don't know what you're doing yet so why start with this one whose qualities for bonsai neither you nor probably anyone else at this forum know. If it is alive in a few years, try to find a local club and get some expert instruction and then, only th

Thank you Mr. Smith. I definitely do appreciate the advice. I definitely do want to give the tree the best opportunity to survive. I also want to make sure I encourage as much lower branch growth as I can, or at least stop the tree from shedding any lower branches. So I want to, I think, cut enough some time soon so that I can get good light down there. I'll definitely join a local club (3 of them were mentioned above) but I'm afraid I won't find transportation big enough to bring the tree in if I just leave it untouched for a few years. I had to find someone with a truck just to get it home in the first place.

 

[Zach Smith]

Thank you Mr. Smith. I definitely do appreciate the advice. I definitely do want to give the tree the best opportunity to survive. I also want to make sure I encourage as much lower branch growth as I can, or at least stop the tree from shedding any lower branches. So I want to, I think, cut enough some time soon so that I can get good light down there. I'll definitely join a local club (3 of them were mentioned above) but I'm afraid I won't find transportation big enough to bring the tree in if I just leave it untouched for a few years. I had to find someone with a truck just to get it home in the first place.

Good plan. Sorry my post got cut off, didn't notice it. But you've got the idea. When you join a club, you can probably in time get a club member to make a "house call" to see your tree and give advice. That way you don't have to lug it around.