New to Bonsai

jloeschner

Hanabi,

I have to agree with Evan that you should buy a tree that has already been grown somewhat, or even in a nursery can, for your first experience. As for whether or not your cutting will root in a glass of water, I doubt it. So far the only species that I have had any success with this technique is Willow. I haven't tried dogwood cuttings, but they seem similar to other hardwood flowering trees, so I would recommend placing them in a well-draining substance, such as lava sand, and keep them moist and humid. You will also need to make sure that they have plenty of fresh air, or they will be subject to fungal infestations, which will kill them. Let me explain my setup...

I have an old, 10 gallon aquarium with an all-glass cover. I have a 150 watt coiled flourescent light over it that stays lit 16 hours a day, via a cheap timer. I use a small fan, placed over a hole in the top, which provides ventilation via another small hole in the other end of the top. I currently use a mixture of peat moss and aquarium gravel as my growing medium. I mist the cuttings daily, and make sure that the "soil" is moist, but not wet. The humidity in my setup stays at or near 100%. So far, I have successfully rooted ficus, hawthorn, hollies of various varieties, junipers, willows, elms of various varieties, yew, privet, and some others that I can't remember. There is a website, www.freeplants.com, which has several good articles about propagation from cuttings.

If you go the cutting route, just remember that it may be many years before you have a "good" bonsai. Of course, growing from cuttings has its own rewards, but a nice bonsai in short order is not one of them.

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