Bare Basics fo what you need to start bonsai

There are so many tools and equipment out for Bonsai that I have no idea where to start at! I know that I will probably need a plant and a pot to start the art of Bonsai but I don't know if I need those incredibly expensive tool sets and annealed copper wire. What are the basic sets of equipment that would help me grow bonsai with that won't leave me broke for the rest of the summer? Thanks

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Carl_Bergstrom

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In love with trees

Carl_Bergstrom

Well, there's my suggestion. It probably deserves some explanation.

I could do a lot with the tools pictured. Most basic pruning tasks on small material can be performed adequately with the garden shears shown. The chopsticks are used instead of a root hook to comb out roots prior to repotting, and to work the soil into place after repotting. You can even use them to test the dampness of the soil. The twine is used as a poor substitute for wire, to anchor trees firmly into pots.

That said, a few comments on where to go next.

1. I'd probably want to get a little bit of wire of a relatively low gauge (1.5mm?) to use to tie down the rootball. The twine isn't so great for this. A small allotment of wire would run roughly $6-$10 for enough to tie down the rootball of a number of trees and have some left over for wiring branches

2. I'd want a root hook if I was going to be working with anything rootbound or large. Again, these are cheap - see www.treebay.com

3. I cannot overstate the value of a decent pair of concave cutters. You really can do a lot of things with these, and one's ability to prune well increases immensely. Again, see www.treebay.com - you can probably get a concave cutter for under $50.

Best regards,
Old Mister

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ripsgreentree

The bear basics for bonsai is knowlege so I would start with some good reading. Look for material writen for beginers that will give you good basics and general knowlege then buy your first malsai and see if you can keep it alive. Look for bonsai club in your aeria and attend meetings. In the spring you can start putting together actual potted material, see if you can find someone who is more advanced to help you. Buy tools only as you need them and shop for what you like.
ripsgreentree

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ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.

jaf1060

Well, I first started (not too long ago) with a small juniper as a gift. My first investment was some cheap shears from Home Depot. $7.00 After I killed that poor little tree, (root rot in the winter) I bought another juniper from Lowes in the spring. It was a rather cheap tree in a gallon container. I think I paid less than $5.00 for it. With the shears I did some rough pruning to get a look at the trunk and branches. The trunk turned out to be nice, so I bought my first "real" bonsai pot for like $8.00. If I remember correctly, I bought some wire at the same time, but paid way too much for what I got. You can do lots with sime shear and wire I found. My last aquisition was some concave branch cutters and some leaf trimmers. The cutters have proven to be a GOOD investment! ($35.00)

Again, tree, shears, wire - I got it all for less than 25 bucks and did quite well with what I had.
Here are some bad photos of an old bonsai - that I also managed to kill after a year. This was my second tree, and all I used was shears and wire.
I will post the pics in more replies.

jaf1060

Greenmound Juniper from Lowes
Fresh out of the container on my dorm room floor.

jaf1060

Stage 2 rough prune, no wire, back in old pot.
You can see the price on the tag - $3.99

jaf1060

Here is the last pic I had of this tree.
Again all I used was shears and wire. This last pic, the tree is in a more formal pot, and the effects of the wire are barely noticible.