Newbie Questions :P

[MattE]

Hey everyone!, Im so happy i found this site i have been doing so much research on The art of bonsai.
A question i have is being that i live in canada and the summers are up to +33C some times hotter and winters are -30 C some times colder lol. Whats a good plant to start with i really like the shimpaku juniper and red maples ect.. i dont know how hard it will be to find a shimpaku here in alberta. im just worried about having them indoors for to long and im also worried about leaving them outside in the winter i know trees out side have roots deeper then the frost line so they dont die.

i have spent hours on this site looking at all of your gorgeous photos and i cant wait to start my own journey and learn with all of you along the way!

Matt E

 

[Ironbeaver]

Welcome!

You might want to message @PierreR to see if he's around, he may be able to give you some advice. Most stuff sold for landscaping in your area should be fine in your area, you'll just have to cross-reference with a list of trees suitable for bonsai. Do you currently have any trees, or are you doing the legwork first?

 

[MattE]

Welcome!

You might want to message @PierreR to see if he's around, he may be able to give you some advice. Most stuff sold for landscaping in your area should be fine in your area, you'll just have to cross-reference with a list of trees suitable for bonsai. Do you currently have any trees, or are you doing the legwork first?

I have been doing heavy legwork first lol, i see you are in Canada. Do you leave and of yours outside in a shallow pot ? i figure maples and pines ect i know i can do im just having a hard time finding how to properly shape and style pines ect. When on this site i see stuff i like but then i see alot of seasoned bonsais artists say that it isnt right or flowing good so its hard for me to judge whats right and wrong for each style and tree.. very daunting and more intuitive then i first thought, i know see why it is a life devotion and so rewarding.

 

[Ironbeaver]

The "art " side of it is a bit trickier to learn. Just read and study as much as you can, and ask questions and for advice/opinions. I'm in Toronto, and live in an apartment so I have tropicals that stay inside all year. Most people bury their trees in the winter, either covering them with mulch, or building a coldframe to put them in.

 

[MattE]

The "art " side of it is a bit trickier to learn. Just read and study as much as you can, and ask questions and for advice/opinions. I'm in Toronto, and live in an apartment so I have tropicals that stay inside all year. Most people bury their trees in the winter, either covering them with mulch, or building a coldframe to put them in.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions and help out.

 

[M. Frary]

Not sure what minus 30 C. is in F. but my junipers took almost minus 40 F. last winter. I have procumbens,shimpaku and parsons.

 

[MattE]

Not sure what minus 30 C. is in F. but my junipers took almost minus 40 F. last winter. I have procumbens,shimpaku and parsons.

its equal to -22 F lol fricken cold is what lol , im pretty sure if i can protect from frost by adding mulch and wrapping some clear plastic around the tree it should be good.... i guess im only gonna find out one way ..i have seen junipers ect with snow on them. i will talk to my local nursery see what they suggest.

Thank you for your input. would you pick one juniper over the other for starting out ?

 

[M. Frary]

Thank you for your input. would you pick one juniper over the other for starting out ?

If you can get shimpaku,do it. There is no other juniper that comes close.
Also mugo pine,American and Siberian elm,Scots pine hawthorn and tamarack will also be good choices in different species for your climate.

 

[MattE]

If you can get shimpaku,do it. There is no other juniper that comes close.
Also mugo pine,American and Siberian elm,Scots pine hawthorn and tamarack will also be good choices in different species for your climate.

Thank you ! your advice is greatly appreciated

 

[lieuz]

Welcome to the forum! Like what @Ironbeaver has mentioned is pretty spot on. Grow what is appropriate for your climate and you should be good. I've been told the art of bonsai is to create a miniaturized representation of nature with your tree. So this goes hand in hand, very appropriate.

 

[MattE]

Welcome to the forum! Like what @Ironbeaver has mentioned is pretty spot on. Grow what is appropriate for your climate and you should be good. I've been told the art of bonsai is to create a miniaturized representation of nature with your tree. So this goes hand in hand, very appropriate.

Thank you Lieuz for the warm welcome hopefully in the next little bit i look forward to sharing photos with you on my first pick

 

[LanceMac10]

'Sup?
Any horticulture experience?
Do you have a yard?
Do you want an indoor tree?

A nice feature here is the search bar. You can type in a few key words and threads containing same will come up.
Read as much as you can, then read some more.
Because when you ask a question, you might get overwhelmed with differing opinions.
If you can use the place as a "virtual library", you will find nearly all the info you need.

If you would like to "get muddy", you can find plenty of threads for some lively back and forth......

And sorce should be checking in soon......

 

[Giga]

Welcome to the forum- reading and reading and some more reading is a good place to start-blogs like bonsai tonight and a few that members here have is a good place to start as well. Amur maple are pretty tough and should be able to handle the cold-not sure about red maple for cold hardiness, plus they really aren't a good species to start with. Just look around at the tree's the grow in your area-and see if they make good bonsai. Nothing like local species that are adapted to your climate.

 

[GrimLore]

wrapping some clear plastic around the tree it should be good

Do not wrap them in anything - bad idea. If the tree or plant can live outside mulch the pot in on the shade side or shaded part of the property. When the substrate is frozen no need to water. Also it is important to know where the plant was grown. If you acquire a new plant that was grown in the South it will need a full Spring and Summer outdoors followed by the first Winter protected in a shed or garage. After the following Spring and Summer it should be acclimated to your colder climate and be ok outside. For Example I acquired two P.J.M. Rhododendron rated zone 4 - 8. I am in 6b - The first one I received last year in the Spring and it quickly died the first Winter. It came from a grower in Florida and had I acclimated it the first year it would have survived future Winters ok. The second one I received from a grower in Connecticut a few weeks ago. It is still in the Nursery pot unprotected and is doing just fine because it was grown in a colder climate similar to mine... That is often overlooked and I have forgot resulting in a dead plant or two along the way.

Welcome to B-Nut and the Journey!

Grimmy

 

[MattE]

'Sup?
Any horticulture experience?
Do you have a yard?
Do you want an indoor tree?

A nice feature here is the search bar. You can type in a few key words and threads containing same will come up.
Read as much as you can, then read some more.
Because when you ask a question, you might get overwhelmed with differing opinions.
If you can use the place as a "virtual library", you will find nearly all the info you need.

If you would like to "get muddy", you can find plenty of threads for some lively back and forth......

And sorce should be checking in soon......

Thank you for your input and the tip on the search and how it works with keywords ect, i know it sucks when forums get clogged with the same questions all the time! lol

 

[MattE]

Do not wrap them in anything - bad idea. If the tree or plant can live outside mulch the pot in on the shade side or shaded part of the property. When the substrate is frozen no need to water. Also it is important to know where the plant was grown. If you acquire a new plant that was grown in the South it will need a full Spring and Summer outdoors followed by the first Winter protected in a shed or garage. After the following Spring and Summer it should be acclimated to your colder climate and be ok outside. For Example I acquired two P.J.M. Rhododendron rated zone 4 - 8. I am in 6b - The first one I received last year in the Spring and it quickly died the first Winter. It came from a grower in Florida and had I acclimated it the first year it would have survived future Winters ok. The second one I received from a grower in Connecticut a few weeks ago. It is still in the Nursery pot unprotected and is doing just fine because it was grown in a colder climate similar to mine... That is often overlooked and I have forgot resulting in a dead plant or two along the way.

Welcome to B-Nut and the Journey!

Grimmy

Thank you , im looking up my plant hardiness zone and it says im a 3b. i will do alot more reading. as for horticulture experience yes i love gardening cant do it much any more as i do live in an apartment ...hope that changes soon lol and will probably research some good indoor trees.

Thanks everyone love this site !!

 

[Giga]

Thank you , im looking up my plant hardiness zone and it says im a 3b. i will do alot more reading. as for horticulture experience yes i love gardening cant do it much any more as i do live in an apartment ...hope that changes soon lol and will probably research some good indoor trees.

Thanks everyone love this site !!

do you have an outdoor area?

 

[MattE]

do you have an outdoor area?

Yep I have a nice little deck, no the the best facing however it's a northeast facing window ..more north then east

 

[sorce]

Lance my man!
You got that right!

Best thing is, I don't have to spend anytime bullshitting about new guy etiquette....

Cuz MattE just conducted the class!
That's how you instantly get all the best people to come help you out!

Sincerity!

MattE, it's not often a newbie comes in booming with such potential.....
But don't keep us toooo proper!

Welcome to Crazy!

IronBeav....also known as, the Steel Clam, aka, Reverse Tapir, Aka the world's toughest cameltoe, just hit us with this a while back......
http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/toronto-bonsai-society-fall-show-2015.20796/

Which I didn't remember was his till I searched it again! Great share!
IronBeav is wicked sick in doing the right things inside.....necessity heh!

And we got a lot of good outdoor Canadiens growing too. @wireme
And hell, Frary for all intents and purposes here, can register Canadian!

Lotta artists up north. Lot more than I thought there would be....till I got here!

I try to be helpful, but you have to buy a special decoder! The special decoder is available at the dispensary closest to you!

Lol. People just got in this one...
http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/apartment-bonsai.20159/

You want hard core nonsense.
And hardcore supersense....
Only cuz you seem sensible enough to differentiate the 2....

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/kepplers-contribution-for-2016-on-sniping-and-bickering.21581/
http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/progressive-2016-bonsai-tip-cooperative.21579/

Oh, if you're on you're phone, turn it sideways so you can see Kepplers blog link, click on it, and get lost in his and the blogs he has linked. Then you can come back, and tell us how you learned a bunch of techniques from your blog sensei, ALL the TIME, and piss off Keppler, till he gets sick and pops another snot bubble on his screen!

Sorce

 

[Cypress187]

Welcome to the forum.