Newbies - want to share your trees?

[Antrox]

You are welcome to grow a tree in a pot in any shape or size you wish but there's a bit more than just a leaning trunk to make slanting style.
Your trees looks quite healthy so congrats on good growing skills.
On the design front my eye gets distracted at the first really strong vertical branch/ trunk? I start asking why is the tree slanting when such a strong branch can grow upright? What in the life of this tree has caused that phenomenon an will it continue?
Design means sticking to some sort of theme. Something aesthetically and horticulturally believable.

If the emphasis is more on the slanted trunk and the left leaning branches I think it would be far more pleasing to look at and would tell the story of where it comes from and why far better if that vertical branch is removed or really shortened..

You're right,
it is not a slanting style yet. I understood that a principle of the slanting style is to grow branches on the opposite direction of the leaning in order to create balance. I wonder if that vertical branch can become more curved with the time (and the weight of the branches) or just a solution is to increase the ramification and foliage to hide that. It is not an ideal solution but also this was a cheap portulacaria afra with several defects

 

[Clorgan]

Yes,thanks for that.
I will keep the discussion short and post more of my experiments soon
Thanks

Oh no ask away on here!! Just meant that you might find it useful to have a separate thread for a tree if you're planning a lot of work to it, then you've got all the info and photos you need in one place

Didn't mean it in a 'don't ask too many questions on here' way at all! I love seeing loads of posts and questions in this thread

 

[Antrox]

Really, just last post to show on what I am trying to work on:





I am learning how to grow and work on saplings. I have an oak and 4 field maples (2 of them wired to learn how to do it)
Also, more than 20 cuttings from the previous bonsai. Above, the stranger which is developing like a cascade (and always the problem with the branches going vertically)
That's it for now. : )

 

[sorce]

the left part, I would like to have more branches up to the edge of the pot.

This on the back side. That length adds good depth from the front. So I would grow it back out to there. But it should be cut back to fill in that blank spot, and start a bit more ramification a little closer to the trunk.

Looking at them other four larger branches on the front left side, 2 should definitely go. I like to practice PPB, or, "keeping potential problems at bay". This will have you understand, that there is a point where letting those thick branches grow to large may eventually ruin the rest, the "problem". So there will be a "too late" to cut those large branches off. I don't have experience with these to know that point. But it is worth finding out, this is the greatest balance.

Sorce

 

[Rhomer1]

Another new guy here with a few trees that I am trying to keep alive. The problem tree right now is a walnut tree that I dug up when it was just a seedling. Forgot about it for a couple years and the darn thing started growing. So four years later It is getting some white fungus looking stuff on the under side of the leaves. I would like to figure out what it is before I loose all of the leaves. I will try to post pics of some of my other trees. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Shibui]

it is not a slanting style yet. I understood that a principle of the slanting style is to grow branches on the opposite direction of the leaning in order to create balance. I wonder if that vertical branch can become more curved with the time (and the weight of the branches) or just a solution is to increase the ramification and foliage to hide that. It is not an ideal solution but also this was a cheap portulacaria afra with several defects

Every tree has some defects. Hoping they change is not a very efficient strategy. Hiding them may work in some cases but the best advice I heard from a Japanese master was: You have problem? Cut him off! No more Problem! (spoken with a strong Japanese accent)
Branch cutters or secateurs are one of your biggest assets in bonsai. It can be scary to remove parts of a tree but it is essential to good bonsai design.

 

[DixyNL]

As a noob who has just begon making and shaping bonsai here are the 2 i have been working on today. They are my first 2 ever, and i actually am proud of the juniperus nana,
But i kinda shagged the ilex crenata..

 

[LemonBonsai]

Im very very new these are lemon sprouts. 3 weeks old about 1 inch tall

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Really, just last post to show on what I am trying to work on:
View attachment 311933
View attachment 311935

View attachment 311936

I am learning how to grow and work on saplings. I have an oak and 4 field maples (2 of them wired to learn how to do it)
Also, more than 20 cuttings from the previous bonsai. Above, the stranger which is developing like a cascade (and always the problem with the branches going vertically)
That's it for now. : )

I'd advise you to wire that oak this autumn. It's going to fatten up real good next year. I lost roughly 3mm wire in the trunk of mine last year. Completely overgrown in a matter of months.
They're slow at the start, but once they go, they go hard. I'm pretty much holding myself back on wiring it again, because of how fast these quercus robur can fatten up.

 

[Antrox]

Every tree has some defects. Hoping they change is not a very efficient strategy. Hiding them may work in some cases but the best advice I heard from a Japanese master was: You have problem? Cut him off! No more Problem! (spoken with a strong Japanese accent)
Branch cutters or secateurs are one of your biggest assets in bonsai. It can be scary to remove parts of a tree but it is essential to good bonsai design.

Yes, I have seen several Youtube videos where they were very drastic on cutting which is fine for me. In my case removing the vertical branch will create a trunk where the first branch does not start at 1/3 of its height and it will look bad. Sure, an alternative is to come back to the broom or formal style on the next repotting.
The second thing with the portulacaria, I don't like the bark and I am aiming to have a finer ramification to have very dense foliage to hide the branches. But I am not scared to hard prune it since it is very vigourous.

I'd advise you to wire that oak this autumn. It's going to fatten up real good next year. I lost roughly 3mm wire in the trunk of mine last year. Completely overgrown in a matter of months.
They're slow at the start, but once they go, they go hard. I'm pretty much holding myself back on wiring it again, because of how fast these quercus robur can fatten up.

Regarding my oak sapling, the only thing I am sure is to aim to have a chiu/chumono size, 70-90cm. Formal upright style or with a gentle slope. Apart from the wiring, I am worried that I did not have any leaves on the bottom part of the trunk this year. Not sure if they will come later in the summer or if I need a trunk chopping already.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

@Antrox my oaks bud back on old wood with ease.
I'm still trying to figure them out, but cutting back this years branches in fall seems to produce a lot of new buds all over the tree. I'm thinking those will leaf out next year.
From what I've observed is that they flush twice a year, but only apically at the ends of branches. So that fall pruning/hacking might be the key to keeping it tiny. There are other people with way more oak experience than I have, so it might be good to start a thread about it and see what they can come up with.

 

[bluecat]

3-4 weeks ago I put some Japanese white pine seedlings in the fridge and after 2.5 weeks they started sprouting so they've been in the propagator since then. I can see them popping out of the soil all over the seed tray now

 

[Lumaca]

So excited to see this one sprout! Another one in the pot is just starting to peek through the soil. Rafiki's tree of life, adansonia digitata!

 

[Bavarian Raven]

Not the best pic. but an subalpine fir

 

[MorddexxBonsai]

Here are some of mine I got into bonsai about 9-10 months ago. I havent decided to style any yet mostly repotting and growing for now did wire my azalea for two months then removed it before wire marks set in.

 

[Antrox]

@Antrox my oaks bud back on old wood with ease.
I'm still trying to figure them out, but cutting back this years branches in fall seems to produce a lot of new buds all over the tree. I'm thinking those will leaf out next year.
From what I've observed is that they flush twice a year, but only apically at the ends of branches. So that fall pruning/hacking might be the key to keeping it tiny. There are other people with way more oak experience than I have, so it might be good to start a thread about it and see what they can come up with.

That's interesting.
I should have already the second flush, I hope to have a third one before September.
I am trying to read some books on bonsai but not always they are telling all the details. For example, I understood that in this stage, I need to focus only on the trunk development and leave the branch pruning in the future (2-3 years more).
I maybe open a new thread about, I am reluctant some times because in another forum, I received just replies such as "wait 30 years"...

 

[Antrox]

Here are some of mine I got into bonsai about 9-10 months ago. I havent decided to style any yet mostly repotting and growing for now did wire my azalea for two months then removed it before wire marks set in.View attachment 312387View attachment 312388View attachment 312389View attachment 312390View attachment 312391View attachment 312392View attachment 312393View attachment 312394View attachment 312395View attachment 312396

Hi,
did you grow them from seeds, cuttings, nursery saplings...?

 

[MorddexxBonsai]

Hi,
did you grow them from seeds, cuttings, nursery saplings...?

These are all from a local nursery, lowes, or mail order then I repotted them and some I have done structural pruning on. They have not been styled yet though. I have a bunch of stuff I'm growing from seed but I didnt post the pictures.

 

[Eckhoffw]

View attachment 312388View attachment 312389View attachment 312390View attachment 312392View attachment 312394

What kind of junipers? Chinensis?

 

[MorddexxBonsai]

What kind of junipers? Chinensis?

They are all chinensis. The first two are shimpaku the 3rd is itoigawa and the 4th is kishu.