Mentor in North Carolina?

John Dixon

Kai,

Your young age is a most promising attribute. Like the old saying goes, "If you want to keep from getting a spoiled apple, don't get it from the barrel, pick it off the tree".

You are in an enviable position to learn BEFORE you establish your own bad habits. My first piece of advice is this....be patient.

Do not buy everything that looks like good material. Purchase a good quality shear, concave cutter, and wire cutter. All the other tools are worthwhile, but those three will be the most necessary. Save your money and purchase good bonsai reference books. Do not base "good" on photo images. Make sure that the book(s) have specific information dedicated to individual species along with generalized information. As an example, my first book was Harry Tomlinson's Complete Book of Bonsai, and I still use it today. John Naka's Bonsai Techniques I and II are also high on the list, but I feel they benefit the bonsaiist AFTER immersion in the art.

This is a tender and somewhat controversial subject, but I suggest you do NOT buy lots of cheap growing stock or mallsai to start out. Choose one or two pieces and stress the importance of good horticultural upkeep. Once you have proficiency in that, you will have much more satisfaction in the pursuit.

Once you have a solid grasp on the horticultural aspect of bonsai, then the real and life-long challenge of styling begins. Here is where I advise caution. Do not inundate yourself with lots of $5 junipers, etc. My strongest suggestion is that you save up your money and take a crash course with a qualified instructor. These courses are very hands on and what some would call INTENSIVE. I personally had a couple of years of "bonsai tinkering" before I did this with Randy Clark. I had an all day class with Randy and a procumbens nana. By the end of the class, I had trimmed, shaped, wired, and repotted the material. Two years later, the same bonsai won a People's Choice Award at a local event. That class was something like $110-125, and included the instruction, the plant material, soil, and a mica pot. It was worth ten times that in real learned value. That bonsai still thrives today. That class marks date where I changed from having an "interest" in bonsai, to actually having some real knowledge, albeit as a beginner.

I recommend the same for you. Save your money, maybe even ask your parents to make such a class a birthday/Christmas (?) present. It is the best way to "cut your bonsai teeth".

Sincerest hopes for your future,

John

__________________
John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.