Getting Good at Bonsai

[AZbonsai]

K

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Ann?

Yes Ann Morris, I stayed in touch with her until about 2001, then lost track. If you want to discuss further, let's shift to PM for her privacy.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I got that @bonsaichile was making a sarcastic ''Trump'' reference. I took no offense. I saw nothing ''racial'' in the comment.

I do agree, because we have people here from all over the country, and all over the world, that politics should be left out of any discussion on the forum, and one should assume that any political sarcasm will not be taken kindly by a significant % of the forum. All walks of life are here. I learned long ago, that half my sense of humor does not translate to a format appropriate for the forum. So I save it for friends I see in person. Where body language can be correctly interpreted.

So harm no foul. Lets not turn this into a flame war.

 

[SU2]

Do you have to style hundreds of trees to get good at Bonsai?

Not *necessarily* but it's certainly one way to get the sufficient practice & experience required to be "good at bonsai". Even that phrasing, "good at bonsai", is so vague it's hard to answer - what is 'good' to you? Keeping trees alive? Growing-out trees super efficiently? Having a skilled training/shaping approach based on a measured, proper "final plan" for the tree?

As Walter Pall hinted, practice/experience is how you will get "good" at any of these. I disagree with the idea that watering (or even keeping trees horticulturally-healthy) equates to "good at bonsai" because horticulture is half the equation the other half is the artistry which encompasses everything from the materials you choose, the final-form you envision for any particular specimen, and your ability to efficiently & properly execute that vision. Practice is the only way you'll get good at it, I've seen some comments implying there's "whizz kids who basically 'get it' from the start" and, while anything's possible, I find it pretty hard to believe that their skill/products are genuinely reflective of **overall** skill but that they simply did well with some specimen (IE if they'd had a different situation - even something as simple as not realizing the pH of their tap was so far off it needed correction - then their seemingly-skilled results wouldn't be so skilled looking anymore)

As Jerry / small-trunks told me from the start- GET MORE TREES!! I followed that and some years later I am very, very happy I took his advice and finally feel I have the grasp I need / am "getting good" (in-context, for instance I consider myself good at stock/pre-bonsai, I've yet to even endeavour into refinement work)

 

[leatherback]

I've seen some comments implying there's "whizz kids who basically 'get it' from the start" and, while anything's possible, I find it pretty hard to believe that their skill/products are genuinely reflective of **overall** skill but that they simply did well with some specimen (IE if they'd had a different situation - even something as simple as not realizing the pH of their tap was so far off it needed correction - then their seemingly-skilled results wouldn't be so skilled looking anymore)

Hey SU2, have you seen how ChrisV progressed in Bonsai? That was one of the persons I had in mind..

https://www.bonsainut.com/search/188653/?page=10