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Hello Andru211,

Welcome to BT and the wonderful world of bonsai. I have been into bonsai for just under 15 years, and still concider myself a student.

your Junipers look very healthy, even tho the pics are small, they do appear alive and well. One thing to concider, if you havent been doing this already is to ensure all your bonsai are outdoors. I know that this difficult to do at times, space etc. But most all bonsai need to be outdoors. Tropical varieties in fact should be slowly acclimated to the outdoors as well during the periods the temps are above say 50 degrees. I may be preaching to the choir so bare with me.

Getting into a club was difficult for me. The closest club was 2.5 hours away, and they meet on a Tues evening. Impossible for me to do. If you are close to one, great! If not, there are many alternatives. Meeting on here and making friends with some of the folks, helped me bide the time til I went ahead and started my own club. I met folks locally and started my own club. It has been growing over the last year. From just a handful of enthusiasts to 20 plus actives and many stragglers. So anyways....things can be done to help one get on the right track for bonsai.

As far as books go, there are many great ones out there. And there are some crud too. Just remember to research the authors, some are European and the trees are in Europe. Sunset books has just come out with an excellent book. There are some highly technical books, and some easy reads...Find one that is suited for your skill level, and for your local (at least as close as you can).

This is my opinion only:
As for sizes of collections. It really makes no difference. Its the quality of the trees in the collections. When I first began, I collected specimens without regard to its ability to be bonsai. I bought nursery stock with no idea if they would make great bonsai. So in the end, I had benches of bonsai to plain old nursery stock.....stuff that ended up in the garden afterall.
Ya can't count the stuff that still in nursery pots as bonsai, it is just potential stock or (potensai), some prestyled stuff etc. The stuff that is styled, wired, and maintained and in bonsai pots ...these are truely bonsai.

I guess my point is to make sure that the stock you are seeking is truely suitable material for bonsai. Dont waste any time messing with trees that wont cut it. There are many great threads here if you search that will help you picking out nursery stock and collecting material. Ron Martin and Bonsaial1 both have written precise threads dealing with these subjects.

I also like to post my pictures here. You can get different points of view, advice, suggestions, criticism and the like. You will also get some pretty good virtual designs for your trees. Placed in pots and done with that finished touch, from raw material. I like to think of the advise as "a fresh pair of eye"....they may see something that you dont after staring at it for days.

This is a long one....I am bored I guess.

Charles,

50 bonsai? Please post more pics to your gallery, it would be great to see some of your own work. How are your benches set up?, I ask this only because I just finished building my benches today, and am always looking for new ideas for collections of this size.

Take er ez

Paul

16-Jul-2003	#8
pdbbonsai Paul Berish Join Date: Jun-2002 Location: north shore of Lake Superior Country: Minnesota USDA Zone: 3/4 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 1,197	Hello Andru211, Welcome to BT and the wonderful world of bonsai. I have been into bonsai for just under 15 years, and still concider myself a student. your Junipers look very healthy, even tho the pics are small, they do appear alive and well. One thing to concider, if you havent been doing this already is to ensure all your bonsai are outdoors. I know that this difficult to do at times, space etc. But most all bonsai need to be outdoors. Tropical varieties in fact should be slowly acclimated to the outdoors as well during the periods the temps are above say 50 degrees. I may be preaching to the choir so bare with me. Getting into a club was difficult for me. The closest club was 2.5 hours away, and they meet on a Tues evening. Impossible for me to do. If you are close to one, great! If not, there are many alternatives. Meeting on here and making friends with some of the folks, helped me bide the time til I went ahead and started my own club. I met folks locally and started my own club. It has been growing over the last year. From just a handful of enthusiasts to 20 plus actives and many stragglers. So anyways....things can be done to help one get on the right track for bonsai. As far as books go, there are many great ones out there. And there are some crud too. Just remember to research the authors, some are European and the trees are in Europe. Sunset books has just come out with an excellent book. There are some highly technical books, and some easy reads...Find one that is suited for your skill level, and for your local (at least as close as you can). This is my opinion only: As for sizes of collections. It really makes no difference. Its the quality of the trees in the collections. When I first began, I collected specimens without regard to its ability to be bonsai. I bought nursery stock with no idea if they would make great bonsai. So in the end, I had benches of bonsai to plain old nursery stock.....stuff that ended up in the garden afterall. Ya can't count the stuff that still in nursery pots as bonsai, it is just potential stock or (potensai), some prestyled stuff etc. The stuff that is styled, wired, and maintained and in bonsai pots ...these are truely bonsai. I guess my point is to make sure that the stock you are seeking is truely suitable material for bonsai. Dont waste any time messing with trees that wont cut it. There are many great threads here if you search that will help you picking out nursery stock and collecting material. Ron Martin and Bonsaial1 both have written precise threads dealing with these subjects. I also like to post my pictures here. You can get different points of view, advice, suggestions, criticism and the like. You will also get some pretty good virtual designs for your trees. Placed in pots and done with that finished touch, from raw material. I like to think of the advise as "a fresh pair of eye"....they may see something that you dont after staring at it for days. This is a long one....I am bored I guess. Charles, 50 bonsai? Please post more pics to your gallery, it would be great to see some of your own work. How are your benches set up?, I ask this only because I just finished building my benches today, and am always looking for new ideas for collections of this size. Take er ez Paul __________________ It is essential to experience all the times and moods of one good place. (Thomas Merton) BonsaiTalk is one good place. (me)