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Advice WantedFirst Bonsai Tree
Received bonsai seedlings as a gift. Looking forward to growing them. Any advice?
No advice really but there are a ton of bonsai youtube channels. I recommend Peter chan’s channel and the bonsai zone.
Where to begin ... I am not a bonsai expert, but have read a bit.
You do know that "bonsai" is not a property of the seedlings, right? There are only trees, and you can turn them into bonsai by pruning their roots and branches to keep them small.
You want to grow them in large pots to fatten them up, so to speak. I have a tiny tree growing in a bowl, had it for a couple years, and it could easily be mistaken for a piece of wire, about five centimetres long. They take forever to grow to proper bonsai size if you let them do so in adverse conditions.
What species of tree it is is important! All bonsais are pruned, but when the best time to do this is varies.
Is it an outdoor or indoor bonsai? I assume indoor, as right not, outdoors there's not happening much?
It’s five different types. Acacia, Red Maple, Black Pine, Sakura, and Wisteria. Thanks for the advice. I’m going to try to grow them all inside.
Seedlings or seeds?
You should read up on their needs. Some outdoor plants really don't like having to live indoors. 🤔
It does get easier if you have light, like someone else pointed out, but for some it is too dry indoors, and some need the winter cold to induce flowering.
(Anecdotal, but I put some crocuses in a shed cause it's minus ten degrees here and they're in a pot, and they got aphids all over.)
I'd keep them inside for now, and you'll have to think about how to keep the pots safe, as the roots of plants cannot endure as much cold as the upper parts, but some trees need some cold.
No advice. But I've always thought of women as being like bonsai trees. No matter how men/society/religion tries to prune them and keep them small, they just keep trying to grow . . .
No advice, but that's very exciting! I hope you have the greatest success. Is there a bonsai book out there, perhaps?
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I have some small buxus outside that I'm considering making bonsai soon. You really can use almost anything. I've been growing them from cuttings for a few years to give them some size.
You don't have to buy pre-shaped bonsai, OP! You can buy a small plant and try it out. I recommend looking at Heron bonsai on youTube for some tips on this. He demonstrates on several easy-to-find garden centre plants.
If you buy an outside plant it can keep living outside, which will make the maintenance much easier.
That being said, for several years I put my ficus outside for summer and took it back in over winter. It loved it.
If you want to practice, you can take a relatively small wild tree/bush from outside and try to prune it into bonsai shape. I did that which was fun, but my first go was at a ficus benjamina I had indoors that was getting too large. I kept pruning it, and eventually turned it bonsai. Turned out lovely. My main problem is that it is growing too fast, it needs shaping fairly often. It has access to a lot of nutrients. I suppose most bonsai trees are somewhat starved to keep from growing too fast once they have their shape.
If you want to grow trees indoors, you are likely to need lights. A strong regular led light will probably be sufficient.
For many plants, indoors is too dry (at least here where I am), but give it a go! I've had some interesting outdoor plants grow great indoors. Just be prepared that some of them might die due to desert conditions, and keep trying.