Newcomer

Andru211

hey guys,
I'm new to all of this and I've been trying to find help for many things. i have been looking in books like crazy for good examples, but this looks like a much better place to find one, rather than a published "picture perfect" book.
It's tough to find a good book on all tree species that is detailed with info. Most seem vague but I could be wrong because I am inexperienced. OR is it as easy as the books say
Well with all of that said here is a picture of one of my Bonsai.

Thank You

Attached Images

new junip2(1).jpg (53.7 KB, 394 views)

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dbz12fan

Join a local bonsai club, sit next to an expert and let him explain. That is the #1 way of doing it. This place is also great but it is always better to have someone next to you guiding you through the technuiques of bonsai and telling you whether the branch you are about to cut is a good idea or a bad one.

I am not discouraging you from coming here I am just saying that to really start excelling the first thing to do is to join a local bonsai club.

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"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

Andru211

Hey Dbz,
Thanks for the informatiion I'm deffinently going to use it I've got so many bonsai, I think I have like 7 or so. I'm possesed by their power
Have you been into Bonsai long?

Here I atached another pic..

Attached Images

bonsai031(1).jpg (60.4 KB, 308 views)

dbz12fan

5 years with 50 or so bonsai (give or take a few).

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"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

dbz12fan

Your first picture was too small for me to see.

__________________
"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

Andru211

Hey DbZ,
I'm still trying to figure out the whole image attachment thing. I want to get the best pix that i can out there but they often appear small So I'm trying.
On another note WOW 50 Bonsai! That sounds like heaven. I'll bet you have a real nice nursery too.

Well here it is..

Attached Images

juniper 1.2.jpg (59.9 KB, 294 views)

dbz12fan

Looks like you are off to a good start with that cascade. 50 bonsai is not too many, my teacher has about 20,000 bonsai and pre-bonsai. But he owns a bonsai nursery.

__________________
"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

pdbbonsai

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

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pdbbonsai

Andru,


I was looking thru some of my old pictures and found this one and remembered what you said earlier here.....that you were possessed by their power......


It is definitely addicting. This is a room in my old house that I dedicated to only Tropical bonsai, seedlings cuttings etc. I barely had any room in there to walk, let alone care for them as they should. I did have flourescents galore going on in there. I finally gave loads of the cuttings and seedlings away and kept a few project ones, and all the "bonsai". About 20 or so Tropicals. I got to thinking also that since you are in Hawaii, you should have a wealth of Tropical specimens to work with, and excellent conditions to work them in. I have Calomondin, Schefflera, Brazilian Raintree, Chinese Elm, Jade, Ficus Salicifolia, Ficus Benjamina, Ficus b "Rianne", Ficus Kingman (Snakebark), Aralia, Sagaretia, and Tamarind. As you can see I am VERY bored in the winters here. My winters months are longer than my outdoor growing season, by two months.

Here is the old Trop room.....

Paul

Attached Images

addiction2_web.jpg (63.9 KB, 209 views)

__________________
It is essential to experience all the times and moods of one good place. (Thomas Merton)

BonsaiTalk is one good place. (me)