Joanie

When you first get into bonsai, if you have some time and some funds, you quickly find yourself buying most trees and stock that catch your eye. A wide array of species will begin to appear in your yard, and you will delight in reading about each one. You will see no reason to limit yourself, because every one of them is delightful and interesting.

However, there is one very good reason to limit yourself, at least somewhat.... you can't study all of the needs of each tree.

Each species has different requirements, and you need to study not only books and websites and ask questions of knowledgable people, but you need to study the tree YOURSELF. What does it respond to? What needs does it have? When is the best time to fertilize, pinch, prune? If you cut a branch back too far, does it die off? How far is too far? What do you do with the roots, when and how? When you do that with your tree, was it successful or not? Could you have done something better in regard to that particular species, or in your local climate?

Sure, you can know a little about a lot of species, but you cannot quickly learn a lot about a lot of species. And your ignorance will hold your trees back. I have trees that were owned by someone else, who dabbled with them. They could be well developed by now, but he was unable to go past the basic horticultural needs of the trees, so five year old cuttings still look like... cuttings. Big scars didn't heal. He couldn't do the work well, because he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of species that he attempted.

Consider working on just a few species, but more trees of each species. Focus on them, learn from them. Choose species with similar watering needs and fertilizer needs. Watch and learn from the smaller interactions that you have with each tree. The trees will teach you quickly if you are in tune with them.

Joanie

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