New to bonsai. Looking for guidance

[Asaxena11]

Hello,

I jave always loved looking at bonsai and now finally have decided to give thos art a try.

What will be a good starter bonsai for a newbie? I would prefer it to be indoor compatible as I live in NJ and within few months it will be snowing here.

Is Satsuki Azalea good as starter?

Should I buy a plant from somewhere and then start from.scratch or buy a started bonsai and care for it?

 

[_#1_]

Welcome aboard!

Upper right corner of the page is a search button. Search whatever questions you might have and you will most likely find it. Read Read Read.

Then give a tree or two a try for a growing season.

Move forward progressively...

 

[Vin]

Hello,

I jave always loved looking at bonsai and now finally have decided to give thos art a try.

What will be a good starter bonsai for a newbie? I would prefer it to be indoor compatible as I live in NJ and within few months it will be snowing here.

Is Satsuki Azalea good as starter?

Should I buy a plant from somewhere and then start from.scratch or buy a started bonsai and care for it?

Welcome to the forum. I for one appreciate the fact you're asking before you buy. The Azalea will not survive indoors and is probably not the best starter tree. If you're wanting to keep it indoors you should consider a ficus.

 

[AZbonsai]

Welcome to the adventure. Plenty of folks from your area on this site. Listen to them and good luck.

 

[sparklemotion]

As well as a ficus, you may want to consider a portulacaria afra (elephant bush/drawf jade) or a gmelina (parrot's beak). Both are known to do well indoors over the winter (but, like all bonsai, would like to be outdoors in the summer).

As well as looking at local resources, you may want to take a look at pre-bonsai available from Wigerts.

 

[Carol 83]

Natal Plum will do fine inside over the winter, and are pretty forgiving. Dwarf Barbados cherry will be fine too, with good light. Welcome.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

Welcome! I've been at it for a year or so - my trees that do best indoors so far has been a willow leaf ficus and a couple of jade trees. I picked up a cheap grow light and timer online and these trees did great in the winter (not a ton of vigorous growth, but also no wilting/dying) and have been pretty happy being put outside this summer.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I also like bougainvillea...they can get a bit leggy over winter indoors without a grow light indoors. They need outside when weather permits though.

 

[ManSkirtBrew]

Where in NJ are you? Hackettstown resident, here.

 

[Lorax7]

Hello,

I jave always loved looking at bonsai and now finally have decided to give thos art a try.

What will be a good starter bonsai for a newbie? I would prefer it to be indoor compatible as I live in NJ and within few months it will be snowing here.

Is Satsuki Azalea good as starter?

Should I buy a plant from somewhere and then start from.scratch or buy a started bonsai and care for it?

If you want to keep the tree indoors, tropical or subtropical trees are the way to go. If you don’t have an east or south-facing window that lets plenty of light in and you don’t want to mess with setting up a lighting system just yet, ficus retusa is a good choice. Dwarf schefflera is also an option that can deal with low light indoors, but the leaf size doesn’t reduce as well as the ficus does so they’re not as nice for bonsai in my opinion. If you do have a room that gets a lot of sun or you are willing to invest in some lights then you can grow a wide variety of tropicals. If you’d like a flowering tree, bougainvilleas are a great choice.

 

[coltranem]

It is great you ask questions before buy. You might want to look into a class at a bonsai nursery. Often you will leave with a tree or two that grow well in your area and the proper care instructions. Also don't rule out temperate trees that can stay outside. Keeping trees indoors is harder then outdoors. Without a grow light getting good light is difficult. That bright sunny window only looks bright because our pupils dilate to make it that way. Low light makes watering more of a challenge.

A chinese elm can be a very forgiving tree. It will need some winter protection but some folks have success growing inside for the winter. Mine over winter in my bulkhead where they see temps in down to 25 F.

Starting from scratch is relative. The more money you are willing to spend the closer you get to a "finished". However it is also about the journey as much as the result.

If you want something really on its way but still a prebonsai think $100+. If you want something you need to work more it will be less. I bought 5 portulacara afra from Lowes for $5 in the succulent section but they are years from becoming anything. My local bonsai nursery has these with half inch trunks and 10 inch tall for $30. Still not bonsai but closer. Just avoid trees labeled just as bonsai. Or any box store bonsai.