new- where to start...

[HazMatt]

well, "start" might not be the right word. I have already started by:

a: successfully killing a mallsai a couple of years ago (juniper kept indoors)
b: reading LOTS on the internet
c: purchasing some basic tools (concave cutters, sheers)
d: picking up a couple of "potensi" plants from the local big box and nursery:
small Japanese Boxwood, small honeysuckle, and a twisted tamarind root with a couple of
shoots growing out of it (the nursery sold me the tamarind for $1, so why not).
e: found a local Bonsai club, but it appears they don't meet in July/Aug
f: located a Bonsai nursery fairly close by (Kimura Bonsai Nursery in Northridge, not that close...) planning on making it to a class there later this month.

so, what else can I do now? I live in San Bernardino, CA, so its pretty hot (100f+) here for the next month or so. I don't have the $ to purchase expensive pre-bonsai material, but i do have a nice yard to grow my own... I'd like to use found material as much as possible, but now is not really the time to dig up trees, right?

 

[jk_lewis]

Keep on reading.
Study your plants.
Thin out the boxwood (but not too much).

 

[JudyB]

but now is not really the time to dig up trees, right?

right.

good start so far, once you go to the class, and club meetings, you'll have more pieces of the puzzle.

keep reading!

 

[Bill S]

Judy has it right, our mantra of sorts is patience grasshopper, this sport for the most part can't be rushed.

The class and club should be the best place for you to start, after that, it's up to you.

 

[Poink88]

I'd like to use found material as much as possible, but now is not really the time to dig up trees, right?

Yes, but it really depends on the plant species and if opportunity knocks, take it. Just 2 days ago I collected 7 boxwood hedge to be removed. I am confident that at least 5 will make it. The other 2 is due to my getting tired and in haste got very few roots while collecting (my fault). BTW, my weather/temperature is similar if not worse than yours being in TX.

 

[AboveBeyond]

I've just started too about 3 months ago and I've been doing a lot of reading (books), sites, and of course this forum. I've been taking it slowly and learning how to keep the trees alive for the first 3 months. It's only been a week or so that I've started to wire and feel comfortable cutting back large portions of a tree.

So like people have already mentioned, I've been patience. It requires time to assimiliate so much information.

 

[berobinson82]

I believe jkd's signature is something like "Killing trees is the price you pay for learning bonsai". He's right. You're going to kill stuff. And that's okay. Chin up. Keep on.

-Serial Tree Killing Noob

 

[goosetown]

Don't at all be afraid to pick up some relatively inexpensive stock - either the cheap stuff at Lowe's/Home Depot or the slightly-to-much-less-cheap stock at a nursery - and let it grow. When you feel as though you've learned enough to take a stab, do so. You might be right and it'll live, you might be wrong and you'll kill it. But you'll learn.

I have "finished" trees, trees in training, training stock, raw stock...you learn something from all of it. Some (here and elsewhere) will tell you it's best to JUST sit back and learn for a couple years, and there's obvious wisdom in that. But there's a lot you can DO for very little money that will keep you learning hands-on while you continue to soak in an education. Trust a fellow noob

Good luck!

 

[yamins]

HazMatt: you might want to put your location in your bonsai nut profile. Whenever you post again in a different thread, people will likely ask where you are from , as that will modify their answers sometimes (as it would for your question about tree digging), but they may not know to refer to this thread to see that you've already posted that info

 

[HazMatt]

Thank you for all the replies so far.

Im not afraid to kill a(n inexpensive) tree and plan on doing a lot of learning on cheap nursery stock before investing any serious $ in material. i am, however, excited to go to an actual bonsai nursery later this month and maybe pick up a couple of $15 pre-bonsai to start to develop. I am looking forward to going to my first club meeting and first class...

I have a lot of donor plants in my neighborhood, so next year ill probably be collecting massive numbers of cuttings and air layers. that's the plan for now at least. figure ill just start collecting potensai this summer/fall from nurseries (I have quite a few reasonably priced nurseries close by)

 

[TheDarkHorseOne]

Thank you for all the replies so far.

Im not afraid to kill a(n inexpensive) tree and plan on doing a lot of learning on cheap nursery stock before investing any serious $ in material. i am, however, excited to go to an actual bonsai nursery later this month and maybe pick up a couple of $15 pre-bonsai to start to develop. I am looking forward to going to my first club meeting and first class...

I have a lot of donor plants in my neighborhood, so next year ill probably be collecting massive numbers of cuttings and air layers. that's the plan for now at least. figure ill just start collecting potensai this summer/fall from nurseries (I have quite a few reasonably priced nurseries close by)

Welcome from a fellow newbie, Haz. I went the big box route to get a couple starter trees. An $8 boxwood, and a pretty nice little Japanese Maple with some excellent radial nebari, but not much else, for around $40. I love the Maple's potential so I'm going to be fairly conservative to start with it, though I DID totally defoliate it because of the sun scorched leaves. It was a risk but I was already seeing it trying to start new growth, so I helped it along. It's been near 2 weeks now, and it's got leaves in many places and is budding in most others. No more stress for that one until next spring.

The boxwood has been pruned back harshly, and I'm thinking of wiring it up and sticking it in a pot, perhaps this weekend. While I don't THINK it will harm it, it is a risk in the heat of the Summer. Still, it's an $8 bush, so I'm not risking too much and the practice will do me well. I can always just go get another, heheh.

Wish you luck at the nursery! I was lucky enough to be near a few when I lived close to Seattle, and had to visit often to see the little trees and pre-bonsai. At that point, my main focus was buying tools and books. A root hook would be a good add. Also some average sized wire. John Naka's books are expensive, but I'm not sure you can beat them for content. There's another by Herb L. Gustafson called The Bonsai Workshop that I'd recommend, and a smaller one by him called How to Keep Your Bonsai Alive and Well. I'd suggest a book on the care and feeding of types of trees. I've got a couple that are non-specific, they cover all of them, but if you're just going for one type of tree, there are books that get specific. I think Harry Tomlinson has a nice one that covers all, but the name escapes me.

 

[edprocoat]

Hazmat, love the name by the way, have some fun while you learn. Butcher a juniper, wire it up if it lives its a bonus, if it does not you learn what you can not do cheaply. Big Box store closeouts are a great place to find cheap starter stuff, you can cut half the roots off a juniper and equally as much foliage and it will usually live. At that point you can put it in a large pot, or keep the nursery container and let it grow for a year, keep it fed and healthy and you will have an almost pre-bonsai fairly cheap. Most of all you got your hands dirty, gained some confidence and hopefully learned a little about what a plant needs to thrive and what you can do to improve its Bonsai potential, and you had some fun. Its a hobby afterall!

ed

 

[jkd2572]

I believe jkd's signature is something like "Killing trees is the price you pay for learning bonsai". He's right. You're going to kill stuff. And that's okay. Chin up. Keep on.

-Serial Tree Killing Noob

My signature is a quote by the great American bonsai artist John Naka. It's true you will kill trees. It's better on the heart when they are the cheap ones. In this stage you need to learn as much as you can. Slowly buy every book on the subject you can, I have over 20. Follow this site. A lot of good info here. Don't be afraid to try techniques you learn. The first thing I was most afraid of when I started was wiring a tree. I actually killed the first one I did. In retrospect the reason it died was because of my repotting job and not the wiring. I now find wiring a tree one of my most favorite parts of this hobby.....

 

[bumblebee]

Where do you live?

 

[HazMatt]

Where do you live?

San Bernardino, CA
(I have updated my profile now, I though I had already added that info)