Bonsai thread

I have questions. Is it hard to keep a Bonsai ?
Can I take any tree to make a bonsai out of it ?
If yes can I make an Oak bonsai ?
There's a 300+ year old Oak in the garden of my father but since I'm actually living in an appartement I wonder if I can grow a little children of that wise tree.

Oh and I also wondered do you think it's possible to do a bonsai out of a Araucaria araucana ? There's one in my father's garden too and I fucking love this tree.

If there's place on the internet with good advices for bonsai I would happilly take it

>>2463005
So after a couple of google searches I found out that both are possible.
I would still happily take a good website where there is good information on how to take care of a bonsai

>>2463353
Bonsainut is okay.

There are some groups in Facebook that are pretty good.
Bonsai talk, bonsai America, the rookie bonsai guy and ficus study group are where I seem to get most of my advice etc

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Another bump with my latest nursery find.

Barbados cherry. Looks like a grabbed it before the guy saw it's potential and moved it over near the bonsai stuff so he could Jack the price up.

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>>2463005
I've always heard oaks don't really enjoy being in pots and there are other trees that can do much better and get you the old oak look (like a yaupon Holly)

As far as that other one. I've never heard of that before and after googling it doesn't really look like a good candidate. I can't see how you'd ever get that foliage under control or trained to reduce in size.


Pic is my Barbados cherry after repotting last night

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I'm not sure what kind of silk tree that is but it is amazing southwestern Ohio is like a swamp in the foot hill's of the Mason-Dix line so trust me i know it like to be soaked that and the moss really suck up moisture really fast

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and yo op its best to start from seed depending on what kind you chose indoor or outdoor or both but its the art of persuading a giant to remain small but there is different tools and tactics depending on the over all style you are going for for humble beginnings i would suggest an evergreen or confer and develop your wearing and pruning techniques for a hefty trunk. Juniper , Cedar & Pine are easy first timers in my opinion

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some root work reference

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wire ideas

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I don't like seeing the, with the wire tho

>>2465618
>Best to start from seed

Uhhhh no. I mean yeah, it's cool to raise something for 20+ years until it's ready to be shown but fuck that. You can collect stuff from the wild, you can propagate from Green growth, you can air layer already amazing pieces of trees.

Starting from seed should be your last choice.

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Always lurk these threads but never contribute so fuck it gonna dump a bunch of seedlings i planted last winter. I will be moving all of these into buckets and let them grow for a few years before i do anything to them. Got a few seedlings in the ground also.


This one is an Oak (Quercus robur)

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Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum). I've read that these rarely make it past the seedling stage if grown from seed. Other Horse chestnuts in the area struggling from leaf miner. We'll see with this one.

On the right is a hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)


Both of these are older than a year old, maybe 2-3?

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Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)

these things grow so fast you can almost hear the cells dividing, will be ready much sooner than all the others.

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Another Sycamore

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Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). Ash dieback in the area though, we'll see.

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Last one, another Hawthorn.


How often should i be feeding these guys? Been feeding them once a month as i don't want to destroy their virgin root, but the fertilizer i'm using says to use it once a week.

>>2466632
I would follow what the fert says minimum.

I use slow release fertilizer on my trees but with the inorganic soil and how much it drains you can usually fertilize pretty heavily.

Anyone have any idea where I can look for good specimens if I don't have a nursery nearby? I'm a beginner.

>>2467355
You don't have any sort of nursery nearby?

You don't necessarily need a bonsai nursery to find good stock. I picked up that Barbados cherry at a pretty standard nursery


The other option aside from collecting in the wild would be to buy prebonsai from some online dealers maybe? Wigert's bonsai in Florida is really good. There are some Facebook groups as well where you can purchase from individuals etc.

99¢ bonsai is a good one, bonsai auctions as well.

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>>2466632
>>2466631
>>2466630
>>2466629
>>2466627
>>2466622

For what reason. Why do people say "I want to practice or get into Bonsai" proceeds to plant seeds in the ground and wait 10-15 years before you can even start.

A small tree is not bonsai. A tree in a small pot is not bonsai. Bonsai is the art of taking a tree and forming it into a Bonsai style, planting a tree to turn into bonsai is a totally different thing. It's called "Misho". Picking the right stock and turning it into your vision is proper Bonsai.

This is Bonsai >>2465618

You take suitable stock and you turn it into a style that is in bonsai form.

>>2467355
Every Bonsai artist should be able to take trees from his local environment and turn them into a bonsai, it's part of the art. Every Bonsai enthusiast should have a local variety, so just start there. Where abouts do you live, could maybe give you some good ideas.

>>2468108
I'm in East-Central OK

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>>2468138
Try this.

http://www.forestry.ok.gov/ok-tree-guide

Looks like you've got some pines you can work with and the Chinese Pistache makes a good bonsai, pic related.

>>2468141
Thank you very much, kind anon.

Now, anyone have a guide to, say, choosing a container for your bonsai?

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>>2468200
You can experiment with a pot that looks good with your tree but I think there are certain guidelines for choosing a pot specific to a tree and style.

>>2468200
me again (>>2468206)

https://www.bonsaiempire.com/basics/bonsai-care/advanced/choosing-pots

have fun, and if your local area has a bonsai club join that shit.

>>2468206
>>2468210
Thank you both very much. I'm excited to get started.

What are you supposed to do after you top the tree and a new terminal leader comes up next to the top?

Is there a way to blend it in so it doesn't look like a stump?

>>2468469
Photos? Maybe a clean chop near roots, but can't really tell without a photo.

I think my wife killed mine. It lost all it's needles. I'm sad for it. Poor little bonsai.

>>2469259
If you left it inside or bought at a gas station or something like that and it died within a few months, it was probably dead or dying when you bought it. Junipers like to stay green when they're dying then go brown all at once.

Friendly bump. Does anyone here mix up their own fertilizers? What's your mix of choice? And for what kind of tree?

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>>2468108
What part of
>Let them grow for a few years before doing anything to them
Do you not understand?

These are just seedlings I found on my land and would have been pulled out if I didn't replant them, I work with trees everyday and have many bonsai already, you don't need to fly into an autistic rage everytime someone has fun you cunt

>>2470910
Nope
Thought about doing it but then the storm hit and it's been low on my priorities.

There was a guy on Facebook sharing his recipe recently, I'll see if I can find it

>>2471149
From Jake bonsai in bonsai talk on Facebook:

Made some fertilizer cakes yesterday. I usually would have cut them by now but I got a little too much water in them. Should be able to cut them tomorrow. One batch makes about 200 cakes 1" squared. I can make about 3 batches for $40. So roughly 600 cakes for $40. 44 rapeseed cakes are about $20-$25, you do the math. lol. 3 cups cottonseed meal, 1 cup dolomite lime(if you use garden lime use two cups), 1 cup bone meal, 1 cup blood meal, one cup banana meal(I make myself), one cup ground dry fish pellets, 6 oz fish emulsion, 2 oz Super thrive(optional), 1/4 cup dry mycorrhizae, 1/4 cup Recharge, and mix up a quart or so of Peters 20-20-20 or Miracle Grow 20-20-20 full strength and add until it's the consistency of thick oatmeal. Add 2oz Elmer's School Glue. (Don't worry, the glue is non toxic and water soluble and does not hurt the trees, soil drainage, or roots. Been using these cakes for 5-6 years.)Spread in a couple cheap tin pans about an inch thick. Set in sun about 4 hours then cut into 1" squares or whatever size you want. Separate the squares, Allow to fully dry before storing or they can mold. They are so dark from the Recharge, it has molasses in it.

Can someone post the bonsai book shared last time please?

>>2471995
Seconded. Please do.

>>2469500
It was left inside and not watered. Is a juniper

>>2471995
>>2472325
https://mega.nz/#!oGwnlT7R!jaueKZ3KB0DN62xGjw2s6FmYn-tyMXm_YPCPG0BCAjY

>>2470925
>Do you not understand
Do you not understand that planting seeds and growing them doesn't constitute bonsai, it means you're growing a tree.

Probably why these threads are usually sub-par.

>>2472434
Thank you anon.

>>2472440
Even if he is just planting them to use as trees (wich I dont think he is), I'd say it's OK to post about it in a bonsai-thread on fucking 4chan. Like he said, no need to go all autist bcs of it.

>>2472434
Thanks, my dude. Got any other bonsai books?