What are your 2025 bonsai goals?

[badatusernames]

A bit bulky but a great way to store and carry wire for bonsai.
View attachment 586881

Not too difficult to make your own but, if that's not your thing, plenty of places selling something similar. Try searching bonsai wire caddy.

That might work but it doesn’t hold all sizes, right? Wasn’t sure if that’d annoy me

The 8 would be pretty handy now that I’m thinking about it, rare for me to use 5+ aluminum or the thicker gauged copper

 

[Cajunrider]

I just try to survive the move of all my trees.

 

[BrianBay9]

I just try to survive the move of all my trees.

Moving trees is stressful. Good luck.

 

[shohin_branches]

I have too many to transport haha

Nah, they come over and water your trees, and you give them a 6 pack of beer or a pot you don't like. I trained my neighbor pretty well too. He always asks for a critique afterwards. Just don't ask someone (especially houseplant people) who thinks they know better and will skip a few days of watering.

 

[Baron von Smoogle]

To do what I can to help the 9 trees I dug this year to survive, as well as all my other trees.

 

[badatusernames]

Nah, they come over and water your trees, and you give them a 6 pack of beer or a pot you don't like. I trained my neighbor pretty well too. He always asks for a critique afterwards. Just don't ask someone (especially houseplant people) who thinks they know better and will skip a few days of watering.

Good point and good idea

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

I just try to survive the move of all my trees.

Good luck with the move. I'm moving my trees next week to a new house about an hour away.from where I am now.

 

[Shogun610]

To be the very best like no one ever was , to collect them is my real quest , to train them is my cause.

 

[leatherback]

Nah, they come over and water your trees, and you give them a 6 pack of beer or a pot you don't like. I trained my neighbor pretty well too. He always asks for a critique afterwards. Just don't ask someone (especially houseplant people) who thinks they know better and will skip a few days of watering.

This is what I do. I have a bonsai friend in my area which I drop a message if my trees need some attention while both y wife and I are away, and reverse. And summer we just have some beers and work on trees together.

 

[Shibui]

That might work but it doesn’t hold all sizes, right? Wasn’t sure if that’d annoy me

You need more than 8 different sized wires? I make do with 4 different gauges.
If you do need more than that, get creative. Divide 1 or 2 rollers and wind 2 sizes side by side or replace up a couple of the standard rollers with narrower ones for the smaller sized wires. How much 1 or 1.5 mm wire do you need in one session?

I guess you guys will be buying up big before the price of Al wire jumps 25%?

 

[mattspinniken]

I have a few goals:

1. Collect 2 trees that I like more than my top 15 trees currently
2. Apply 15 air layers
3. Get rid of my least favorite 5 trees in my garden.
4. More trips to the "wild" than 2024

 

[Fidur]

After almost 5 years in this hobby, I have to say all my personal initial goals have been achived.
I've been able to grow the trees I've decided, to style and propagate them, to create forests, penjing, saikei,... The only one I've not achived yet is a house in a bonsai tree, but it's 90% done yet. The goal to see them become more and more beautiful will be achived in the years to come. I know new horticultural goals will come, but right now I have none. Sorry if this sounds pretentious, but it's the truth.

But I have a goal I initially didn't thought: to finish this "watering slavery" I am into.
So my actual goal is to establish an "effective" automated watering system, and when I say "effective" I mean one in wich I can rely for at least a month, with no harm to the trees in my garden. This goal seems to me hard to achive, as I've learned each and every tree in my garden has somehow "special watering needs", that I know how to satisfy. So I'll have to customize the watering for those special needs at least for a month....

 

[GreenGrowTheRushes]

What are your goals for the growing season?

What are you looking to improve upon?

What steps are you taking to get there?

Do you have milestones you want to hit?

To improve my knowledge base which is a combination of reading, watching videos, exploring and trying new things. Which as one person stated, not trying to reinvent the wheel.

As this is my first full year, keep my plants alive, practice extreme patience, remain in the moment and just appreciate my plants.

As I wait on spring to arrive, I'm prepping my supplies, building grow boxes, mostly from scratch.

No milestones per se. I'm just a caretaker and steward for the planet.

 

[Gabler]

After almost 5 years in this hobby, I have to say all my personal initial goals have been achived.
I've been able to grow the trees I've decided, to style and propagate them, to create forests, penjing, saikei,... The only one I've not achived yet is a house in a bonsai tree, but it's 90% done yet. The goal to see them become more and more beautiful will be achived in the years to come. I know new horticultural goals will come, but right now I have none. Sorry if this sounds pretentious, but it's the truth.

But I have a goal I initially didn't thought: to finish this "watering slavery" I am into.
So my actual goal is to establish an "effective" automated watering system, and when I say "effective" I mean one in wich I can rely for at least a month, with no harm to the trees in my garden. This goal seems to me hard to achive, as I've learned each and every tree in my garden has somehow "special watering needs", that I know how to satisfy. So I'll have to customize the watering for those special needs at least for a month....

A month seems like overkill. When are you ever going to be away from home for more than a week or two? A plain garden sprinkler is fine for a week or two.

 

[Fidur]

A month seems like overkill. When are you ever going to be away from home for more than a week or two? A plain garden sprinkler is fine for a week or two.

I'm getting old, and I know sooner or later I'll have health problems that will need up to a month away from home.
I have no bonsai pal, or anybody who can care of my trees, so a health problem should mean the death of my loved trees.
But you're right, a week should be somehow a good time lapse to cover. This way I could finally attend to the Trophy, and other events for which I have been longing and which I have not been able to attend.....

 

[shohin_branches]

I'm getting old, and I know sooner or later I'll have health problems that will need up to a month away from home.
I have no bonsai pal, or anybody who can care of my trees, so a health problem should mean the death of my loved trees.
But you're right, a week should be somehow a good time lapse to cover. This way I could finally attend to the Trophy, and other events for which I have been longing and which I have not been able to attend.....

Maybe start with a week and make some tweaks and adjustments to get it to two weeks, then a month

 

[badatusernames]

You need more than 8 different sized wires? I make do with 4 different gauges.
If you do need more than that, get creative. Divide 1 or 2 rollers and wind 2 sizes side by side or replace up a couple of the standard rollers with narrower ones for the smaller sized wires. How much 1 or 1.5 mm wire do you need in one session?

I guess you guys will be buying up big before the price of Al wire jumps 25%?

Yeesh I didn’t even think about wire tariffs

I did buy a bottle of scotch just in case prices go up 200% on euro booze though…

 

[badatusernames]

A month seems like overkill. When are you ever going to be away from home for more than a week or two? A plain garden sprinkler is fine for a week or two.

I actually have a watering system / timer, I just figured two weeks of probable over-watering might be no bueno. Plus, if for whatever reason it fails…

I’ve trusted it for probably 5 days before, haven’t done longer

 

[Colorado]

To be the very best like no one ever was , to collect them is my real quest , to train them is my cause.

 

[BrianBay9]

After almost 5 years in this hobby, I have to say all my personal initial goals have been achived.
I've been able to grow the trees I've decided, to style and propagate them, to create forests, penjing, saikei,... The only one I've not achived yet is a house in a bonsai tree, but it's 90% done yet. The goal to see them become more and more beautiful will be achived in the years to come. I know new horticultural goals will come, but right now I have none. Sorry if this sounds pretentious, but it's the truth.

But I have a goal I initially didn't thought: to finish this "watering slavery" I am into.
So my actual goal is to establish an "effective" automated watering system, and when I say "effective" I mean one in wich I can rely for at least a month, with no harm to the trees in my garden. This goal seems to me hard to achive, as I've learned each and every tree in my garden has somehow "special watering needs", that I know how to satisfy. So I'll have to customize the watering for those special needs at least for a month....

I hope you don't have squirrels.