Selecting material for bonsai

bonsaial1

The back of the tree. both of these trees are due to be de-wired. They will rest with no wire the remainder of the year and then be rewired in winter.

The reason I posted these trees is because of this. These trees while by no means seem finished to me, would be great trees to someone else and suitable for potting now. Thats OK, but you can't encourage growth on the tree while it's in a bonsai pot. The tree has to have room to stretch it's roots. Lots of roots means lots of growth. It's a simple equation. I have lots of things yet to do to these to babies.

Bonsaial

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Tony

I can't add much to the good advice already given.

When buying nursery stock, look often and buy little.

You don't need a root hook but you do need to lift them a little ways out of the pots and feel around the roots. If it doesn't have a nice root flare, move on to the next one.

ripsgreentree

Leesa: This is the only thing that I have to offer: I really don't understand the concept of buy today, style today. Everything that I have ever worked on has taken one to five years to get to the point of putting it into a bonsai pot. The only exception to this is a shimpaku airlayering that came off of the parent tree this spring and had so much root that I just potted it into its bonsai pot.

Everything that I have purchased or have grown is with me for at least one year just to figure out what it is going to do in all of the seasons. Also knowing how a tree buds out and how the branches grow tells the artist volumes about how to pinch and prune a tree. So after following all of the valuable advice that has so far been offered, keep your tree for at least one year to learn what it is all about. Eventually it will show you what style it wants to be.

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ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.