Newbies - want to share your trees?

[Elihatt]

Some material I am excited to work on in the coming years, a holly and two nandina

 

[Dkdhej]

Hi, there!
New noob to the group.
All I have are seedlings, veeeeery long term projects, and no idea how to execute them.
Cheers to all

Here is my first try at making a forest, they are JM seedlings. I know it does not look very good ante the sizes are too similar, but I am just happy they survived the repot.


Here is a 2 year old Pinus uncinata seedling that I somehow wired


And this is a field maple that I am trying to train following a method I read in Peter Adam´s "bonsai with japanese maples" book.

 

[Underdog]

I'm about five years in and still consider myself a newb. Each time I get into a new species my newbi light shines brighter. New is a relative term compared too... I suppose beginner or intermediate is really where I'm at. I love this hobby and thread.

I'm posting to offer some advice, not on individual trees but about the journey. Mainly the mistakes I've made and years/trees I've wasted.

Don't rush them into a pot too soon. I still do...
Don't try to learn 30 different types of trees at the same time. Still doing it.
Don't base your collection on seedlings exclusively, especially if you are near 60 and impatient as hell.
Don't spend a ton of money right away unless you have 5 tons of it laying around to spare.
Don't expect instant gratification unless you buy finished tree which you will likely kill. Back to the Ton$
Don't get too many trees in relation to the time you have to care for them. Overwhelming
Don't try to grow zone 7-8 trees when you live in zone 6. Grow zone 3-5 making winter less stressful and spring less sad.
There are many more don't you will discover and more I could post.

Do have enough trees to keep your itchy fingers busy so you don't "love" the few to death.
Do your homework here before you post questions as so much good info is already here.
Do join a club nearby if you have one. Mine is an hour away and on Sunday afternoons I don't like to spend indoors in summer. I've been to a couple meetings but should go more when we get back to having meetings.
Do dig trees and plants with good trunks but only after doing your homework. I have killed 2 spectacular trees collected and still feel the remorse.
Do listen to the many advanced people here who take their time to offer you advice and follow it. Leo, OSO, VanceW, Adair, Judy and several others are solid. Put smoke on ignore.
Do look constantly for landscape projects and demolitions for older specimens to save you years of development.

Instant Bonsai isn't really possible but there can be accelerated bonsai.
I'll post two trees I dug from a yard just last spring for encouragement. These could be called rushed bonsai for the impatient. Enjoy the journey!

 

[Penjing-Darren]

How do you define a Bonsai newbie? First Bonsai i ever made from scratch Clip and Grow... 10-12 years later, i am still making this Trident, i consider myself a "Newbie".

Busy developing the crown now and more ramification. I think i takes years and lots of practice to move out the newbie zone. Not really a hobby that you learn over night.

Every species of tree is different with new challenges. Years to become bonsai proficient. Hence the beauty and mystic about these little trees that touch your soul and become like a child - years and years and years and oh yes years of dedication and research.

"Opinions are like buttholes, everyone's got one and occasionally it stinks.

Yip thats me

 

[Iowa newbie]

Do your homework here before you post questions as so much good info is already here.

I feel like I learned this last year and spend a majority of my time here searching old threads and suggested threads

Do listen to the many advanced people here who take their time to offer you advice and follow it. Leo, OSO, VanceW, Adair, Judy and several others are solid.

THIS!!!! Thank you to everyone who takes time to give advice. At first, I read what people wrote but didn't absorb it, I have learned patience, the tree will dictate how you move forward.

 

[Vali]

How do you define a Bonsai newbie? First Bonsai i ever made from scratch Clip and Grow... 10-12 years later, i am still making this Trident, i consider myself a "Newbie".

Busy developing the crown now and more ramification. I think i takes years and lots of practice to move out the newbie zone. Not really a hobby that you learn over night.

Every species of tree is different with new challenges. Years to become bonsai proficient. Hence the beauty and mystic about these little trees that touch your soul and become like a child - years and years and years and oh yes years of dedication and research.

"Opinions are like buttholes, everyone's got one and occasionally it stinks.

Yip thats me

Your trident can't be be said to have been created by a newbie. I've been reading forums around here long before I've signed up and the fact that you created taper all over the canopy is a really rare thing to see on this site...as far as I noticed. Except for that, I agree with your statements, and I would add that even though opinions sometimes stink like buttholes, they are still part of the most important things in the society.

 

[Elihatt]

A couple more projects, a juniper, boxwood, and two privet

 

[Penjing-Darren]

Your trident can't be be said to have been created by a newbie. I've been reading forums around here long before I've signed up and the fact that you created taper all over the canopy is a really rare thing to see on this site...as far as I noticed. Except for that, I agree with your statements, and I would add that even though opinions sometimes stink like buttholes, they are still part of the most important things in the society.

I made the Trident lol so i would know. I do trunk chops on trees i like with natural Nebari.....

On my current phone, oldest pic i have is 2015 - I can big up Older Pics i document all my trees seems like a mission thou to prove a point.....

 

[Penjing-Darren]

.

 

[JoB]

What a lovely positive thread this is..
Here goes with some of mine.... Some purchased recently more pre bonsai so i can get some more experience and some nursery bought stuff... I have been playing at growing small trees for about 18 months, so feeling a bit more confident about keeping them alive and hopefully healthy.... Mostly due to things i have learnt from this forum
First one is a little Olive i picked up today at a garden centre.... I likes the trunk... Repotted it today as it was in thick clay... I will give it some time to recover before deciding where to go with it.... Any advice very welcome!
I was pleased with how the roots looked... Lots of fine roots and a nice flare with no big thick roots... I did not cut any... Just got rid of as much clay as i could

 

[JoB]

A couple of azalea i got this spring but was not really confident enough to join the Competition but thought i could join in from home
The first two i ordered on line fron a garden centre... Arrived with the flowers All squashed and not looking healthy so did not cut them back too much.. But i like the movement they have... Both looking much more healthy now, i did try to reduce all new shoots to pairs where the shoots where coming from one place. Again... Comments /Critique very welcome

 

[JoB]

Some more azalea where i got a bit brave (or reckless).

 

[JoB]

2 juniper blauuw i picked up in the spring.... I had one last year which i think i ruined... Third pic... So i really hesitating with both of them... So chose a couple of Branches from both and decided to try some airlayers.... Will give me time to make sure they are thriving and to look for what i want to do

 

[JoB]

And then 2 i bought Winter 18/19... Crabapple which judy kindly gave lots of helpful advice on... I missed to cut it back last Winter so this is needing work, but the flowers were gorgeous so i just enjoyed it... First pic is when i first got it.
And the last one is a firethorn i bought at the same time... No flowers or berries last year... But covered this year

 

[Vali]

@JoB nice collection for a beginner. I like your azaleas best. I had one too in the past. I killed it because I trusted the bad information I've read on some sites.

 

[Penjing-Darren]

Progression series of my Liquid Amber. Tree purchased in 2016 and chopped. Go to your plant nursery buy a big tree with a trunk and roots you like. Don't be afraid to dig in the pots to look lol. People at the nursery will look at you like you are crazy buying a 2 - 4m high tree and then asking them to chop the trunk "for bonsai" also so it can fit in your car...
Call me a newbie or not i consider myself one....

 

[Vali]

I like your azaleas best

Not anymore. That firethorn is by far no. 1

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

I've only been doing bonsai for a little over three years, so I definitely consider myself a newbie still. I've wanted a ginkgo since seeing the stunning fall foliage of members trees. It was never in my budget to purchase a larger nursery tree to chop, but this spring when I went to the flower and garden show there was a guy giving away tree seedlings, and when I asked what kind he had one of the types was ginkgo. I got one and my daughter got one and gave it to me. They were bare root and the root looked like a carrot with smaller feeder roots coming out the sides. So I figured with feeder roots up higher I'd go for it and cut over half of the thick center root off, dipped it in rooting hormone for good luck and planted them in a Vicki Chamberlain pot, making it truly "sticks in a pot". Fast forward a few months and I've gotten some pretty good growth. The plan was to just let them grow this year.

 

[JoB]

Promise this is the last post
I have some mugos which i got from a nursery reduced shelf.... All were looking sick... I messed with them last spring.... Felt like i made every mistake possible then worried they would die.... So only trying to get them healthy and reading up on them.... Thanks Vance!
Then some babies... Pines, pomegranate, both Granat and dwarf

 

[JoB]

Not anymore. That firethorn is by far no. 1

Thank you... But i bought him looking like that so i have just been care taking .... I cant take the Credit for him