New bonsai

alangs1

Hello everyone,
These are my 4 new bonsai. I would like to keep them in about the size pots they are in now, a max of 6x3 pots due to the fact that i likve in an appartment and have a small area to keep them in. Any suggestions would be very helpful. thanks in advance

2.5yo Zelkova

3yo Dawn Redwood

3yo Dawn Redwood

2yo Japanese black pine

3yo Weeping Cherry(kinda worried about that small bottom right branch, let me know what you think.)

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cship4885

I would plant each in the ground for a few years to thicken the trunks.

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Chris

PatArizona

G'day Alangs1...

One of the best things you can do is to join a local club and hook up with someone local with bonsai experience in your geographical area.

That being said...it looks like all four are outdoor plants. Keeping them indoors is very likely sure death.

And never forget, Alangs, bonsai is a trip that demands time and patience...welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.

Pat

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THE ONLY WAY: Always remember, and don't ever forget, that whatever you read here is not cast in concrete... the intent of any advice is to help. In no way should you feel that I’m saying that my way is the only way…heaven forbid! I've seen far too much of the "my way or the highway" attitude in bonsai as well as in other areas of life.

Cathie

They won't live indoors (nothing but tropicals will really) for any length of time.

eeiko321

yeah im afraid to say, that these are WAY too thin for bonsai pots....

let me clarify some things for a beginner like yourself...

the thing that confused me when i first started was, i used to think that something like your tree, would grow up THICK ...like the nice "OLD" looking examples here in years down the track.
which is wrong!...for the type of pot that its in......it will probably NEVER


in a bonsai pot........ it pretty much ceases to thicken or grow much.
so the ones you see that actually look like a magnificent tree, were started off something decent from the ground....a thick trunk then chopped down and let the branches grow in a big pot for many years...then the final touchdown...is then put into a bonsai pot.

those things you have are pretty much branch cuttings...twigs.....
you generally should put them in the ground like the other guy said.... or if you dont like the idea of the "put it in the ground" idea (which you will hear REPEATEDLY OVER AND OVER on this site...) i would put it in a bigger growing put....each time you repot.

(and not to mention that some people here just say "Put it in the ground... put it in the ground ....put it in the ground, put it in the ground, put it in the ground, ground ground ground ground ground.......................not even thinking of where you live...the person that they are saying it could even live in an appartment unit or flat or even a penthouse...that has a concrete courtyard or even NO courtyard for all they know.....)

so as you mentioned you live in an apartment with lack of room/area....
id say the most sensible and economical thing is to put it in a growing/flower pot for now... or you will have no chance

alangs1

Thanks for all the advice guys. And i'm going to take the advice and plant them into larger planting pots. However, a couple more questions are raised. What type of soil should i plant them in? And generally how old should each of those trees be before they are planted into bonsai pots? And last but not least, how am i to make sure that they don't grow too big that they can't fit into a decent bonsai pot? (i mean mostly height wise) Thanks again

jeremy_norbury

I admit it - I am one of the "Plant it in the ground people..." - so I shall answer your question without using the G-word.

Soil: Nice question. You should plant them in free-draining bonsai soil - if you search this site you fill find literally hundreds of message written about the subject. My soil mix is 1/3 granite chips, 1/3 seramis(turface) and 1/3 Akadama. Sometimes I throw in another 1/3 (is that allowed) of pine bark. You might be better just searching for the nearest bonsai nursery and buy ready-mixed soil from them. When I plant them in the "G-word" I don't worry about the composition - it just always seems to be ok.

Time: Nice question. It "depends". It depends on how big you want the trees to be. I grow a lot of smaller trees (due to space problems) and they take 3-5 years. Most people grow much bigger trees and they will be growing 10-20 years. I kid you not.

Too big: Nice question. You take absolutely no nonsense from them and you just chop them back when they get too tall. There's quite a lot written on the grow and chop method; I use it all the time. Here's what I do. You don't just let them grow 30cm (1foot) and then chop off the top 1/4 - no no, you let them get 60cm or 1m (2 feet - 3'3") or even 2m and them chop them back to just a few centimeters (couple of inches) above the roots. Brent Walston at evergreen gardenworks is the master and has written several articles on his website which you need to digest:
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/bonsaip.htm
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/bonsaibe.htm

Waiting the next 2 years before you have something to chop will give you chance to read your way through this website ; it contains just about everything you need to know and quite a lot you don't.

Jerry
in Amsterdam

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alangs1

Thanks so much jerry for all those answers, very helpful. And i do wish i could plant them in the ground. Perhaps when i finish school and finally buy a house i'll be able to do that. For now though i'm goin to have to plant them in planter pots to make sure they grow propperly. Thanks again.

jeremy_norbury

You're welcome.

But , to be honest, you've picked the hardest way to learn. It's far easier to find a more mature "shrub" or "bush" at the garden centre and hack it back to a bonsai than it is to grow a bonsai from what is essentially a seedling. You'll not learn a lot about bonsai like this...and the wait will seem endless.

I suggest you go read Brent's advice on this - it's very sound: http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/bonsaibe.htm

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All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy. Spike Milligan
I told you I was ill. Spike Milligan's Gravestone