Brand new and overzealous!!!

[outdoormarky]

Try to befriend club members with the best trees and learn from them.

On it! Thank you

 

[outdoormarky]

It’s definitely worth a road trip

Oh, I've thought about it! Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to get just a few outdoor guys and do just that. Keep them alive, first.

 

[zeejet]

I'm kind of a perfectionist. This is going to be tough. But understanding, like you say, will be the way through it. Thanks!

You're going to find bonsai incredibly frustrating - this is coming from a recovering perfectionist who has learned to let go but still feel anxiety whenever things aren't optimal.

 

[Glaucus]

'George L. Tabor' is probably the least ideal cultivar of evergreen azaleas to use for bonsai. It is a great plant. But it grows very coarse and tall. It also is not R.indicum but a Hirado hybrid aka 'Omurasaki' or the garden variety R.pulchum. With probably mostly R.ripense. and R.scabrum as the true wild-type species origins.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

I'm kind of a perfectionist. This is going to be tough. But understanding, like you say, will be the way through it. Thanks!

In bonsai, there's no such thing as perfectION, only perfectING.

Welcome to Crazy, is the saying around here. Enjoy the hobby and dont lose sight of what originally drew you to the art.

 

[Paradox]

Welcome to BNut.

Things to keep in mind:

Bonsai is a marathon, not a sprint.
There is no fast way to bonsai, except with a big wallet.
Bonsai will teach you patience whether you like it or not with dead trees
Dead trees can not be made into bonsai

Take pictures of your trees every year or every other year at least and compare those over time.
You will get a great deal of satisfaction when you see the changes in those pictures that you didnt notice over time because its a slow process.
Enjoy the journey of discovery and achievement

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Hello. I'm Mark. I live in northern Utah just east of The Great Salt Lake. (Zone 7a) I'm just short of 2 months into my new bonsai hobby. It's been increasingly... all bonsai, all the time! I love that there's always something to learn, something new at every corner, and that no tree is ever "finished". I started my journey because I wanted a Bodhi Tree. So I did a little research (not enough really) and got a little Ficus religiosa sapling. Turns out the spider mites came for free! (But that was a different post ) Then I stumbled on to the fact that poinsettias are trees! So this past Christmas' poinsettia is now in training. Soooo then came a pot full of Portulacaria afra because I thought I could do a cool little forest. We'll see how that begins here soon. Then learning that all this material was "pre-bonsai" stuff, I got a mass market Ficus microcarpa to "practice" on. Then another smaller pre-bonsai Ficus microcarpa. Well, I live in a small apartment with one east facing window. So now I have cabinets and lights. It's escalated quickly. But now, I think I'm good on Tropicals. I've got a bunch of cuttings at this point, and I've learned how to mostly leave them alone and just enjoy having them in my apartment.

So I've been reading and watching about what I can grow here in Utah. I've got an east facing 11'x7' covered patio. There is a tree blocking most direct sun. So it's only going to get direct sun in the morning closer to the summer solstice. I came up with a list of potentials that I was interested in. Then I went to go to a Bonsai Club of Utah meeting, joined, and it turns out that it was a winter show and sale. So it was cool to see what locals were working on. And now that list has expanded. I know that I need to calm down. But here's the list that I've put together. In order of desire...

Non-natives to my area
-Azalea: Rhododendron indica 'George L. Tabor'
-Chinese Elm: Ulmus parvifolia 'Seiju'
-Chinese Juniper: Juniperus chinensis 'Shimpaku'
-Amur Maple: Acer ginnala
-Common Hackberry: Celtis occidentalis
-Cotoneaster: Cotoneaster dammeri 'Emerald Spray'

Utah Natives
-Big Sagebrush: Artemisia tridentata
-Silverberry: Elaeagnus commutata
-Utah Juniper: Juniperus osteosperma
-Ponderosa Pine: Pinus ponderosa
-Pinyon Pine: Pinus monophylla or Pinus edulis
-Colorado Blue Spruce: Picea pungens

New inspiration from The Bonsai Club of Utah show
-Japanese Apricot: Prunus mume
-Chojubai Quince: Chaenomeles japonica 'Chojubai'
-Korean Hornbeam: Carpinus coreana
-Siberian Elm: Ulmus pumila

I'm thinking of waiting on the natives so I can learn more about proper and legal collecting protocols. And limiting myself, at this point, to 2-3 on this list.

So I'm here to ask for suggestions. I know this is potentially dangerous. Thoughts on how many of these I should get? Which ones? When is the best time of year to buy them/collect them? Better candidates? Better cultivars of one of these species? Or anything else to help out an enthusiastic beginner

Thanks!

That is quite a list, haha! When you are first starting out, your initial impulse is to bonsai anything you can possibly get your hands on. While it's fun in the moment, I have seen a lot of people get overwhelmed this way. I would stick to a few species that really interest you, and are easy to care for (Prunus mume, and Chojubai are the two on your list that stick out right away as more challenging). Health comes before beauty in bonsai!

Bonsai is supposed to be enjoyable, don't get overwhelmed and make it a chore. Cheers!!!