TPT Bonsai Thread! Show off your collection!

[plantbrain]

I think you might be better off finding a good stock selection at a nursery for Red Japanese maples. Few bonsai places seem to carry, them, plenty of tridents though........

You'd have to look for a good one and then do the cutting of the branches.

I saw one I sort of liked, but waited too long to buy, it was gone when I went back. 200$ tree I needed to cut, but it would have made a nice bonsai tree indeed after recovery and the wounds to close.

I know where there are perhaps 20-30 nice pines up in the sierras.
And a few along the coast of CA.

Just have not gone to get them.

[Geniusdudekiran]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

I think you might be better off finding a good stock selection at a nursery for Red Japanese maples. Few bonsai places seem to carry, them, plenty of tridents though........

You'd have to look for a good one and then do the cutting of the branches.

I saw one I sort of liked, but waited too long to buy, it was gone when I went back. 200$ tree I needed to cut, but it would have made a nice bonsai tree indeed after recovery and the wounds to close.

I know where there are perhaps 20-30 nice pines up in the sierras.
And a few along the coast of CA.

Just have not gone to get them.

Definitely, starting a bonsai from regular nursery stock is most definitely on my list! Red maples they seem to grow our low and wide, not tall with good branching like we like -- I'd really like to do this with a nursery juniper though! Do you think regular nurseries carry the dwarf juniper/ Juniper procumbens 'nana?' Or a Shimpaku?

Wow, I want to see the wild pines! I need to get back to CA soon.

[Unikorn]

I started a japanese black pine from seed about 6-8 months ago and it is still pretty small. Any suggestions on helping to encourage it to grow a thicker trunk?

[Geniusdudekiran]

Originally Posted by Unikorn

I started a japanese black pine from seed about 6-8 months ago and it is still pretty small. Any suggestions on helping to encourage it to grow a thicker trunk?

Firstly -- pics!

Secondly -- patience.

Or get another tree, maybe 3, to keep you occupied while you wait or this tree to grow out. Seems like that's the secret with this hobby. "Painlesss Patience," I call it.

[Unikorn]

[Geniusdudekiran]

Ooh, yeah, my suggestion is to wait ten years and then regroup

Edit -- Just realized you said in your original post it's only 6-8 months old, grown from seed. You're going to need at least 6-8 years to have a barely-decent JBP. Probably twice that long for something worthwhile.

[Unikorn]

That's not too bad at least its within my lifetime I'll just keep on babying it

[Geniusdudekiran]

One thing though, for sure -- plant it I the ground instead of that tiny pot. That will help, a lot.

[plantbrain]

The Bonsai nursery has plenty of black pines, they seem to specialize in those more and they are relatively easy to care for.

Many of the larger ones are in yards around here as the local region where I live has the highest Japanese concentration in Sacramento. Japanese markets, bakeries etc, and many yards have them.

the problem is that if you go to most nurseries, they do not have good well trained trees, and it would take 10-20 years to get them to look decent. It's worth while to pay more to get a nice looking tree NOW for the landscape so you can spend the next 10-20 years enjoying the landscape rather than fussing with that tree. Many people in the USA are cheap when it comes to such things. Rock is the same way.

They really do not place a high value on these items for landscaping and care.

[Geniusdudekiran]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

The Bonsai nursery has plenty of black pines, they seem to specialize in those more and they are relatively easy to care for.

Many of the larger ones are in yards around here as the local region where I live has the highest Japanese concentration in Sacramento. Japanese markets, bakeries etc, and many yards have them.

the problem is that if you go to most nurseries, they do not have good well trained trees, and it would take 10-20 years to get them to look decent. It's worth while to pay more to get a nice looking tree NOW for the landscape so you can spend the next 10-20 years enjoying the landscape rather than fussing with that tree. Many people in the USA are cheap when it comes to such things. Rock is the same way.

They really do not place a high value on these items for landscaping and care.

I'd love to live in a place with a high Asian population. Cali is certainly the place to be.

I don't think I've seen any JBPs around here, probably because people don't care to buy a pine when we have these stupid huge, tall, skinny, ratty loblolly long needle pines.

I know what you mean, it's really a shame. Very few people put much thought into it, especially if they're building the home themselves people seem to put very little thought/effort/time into it.

[Unikorn]

The reason I started from seed is because I wanted to see something I nurtured from seed slowly develop into a tree and something to care for long term. Maybe even hand down within the family.

I definitely want to practice on some nursery stock and such. What do you think about chopping the trunk off of say..some kind of fruit tree and trying to bonsai it?


As far as putting the tiny plant into the ground, I live in an apartment so it would be impossible...maybe a large pot would be more of an option.

[Geniusdudekiran]

Originally Posted by Unikorn

The reason I started from seed is because I wanted to see something I nurtured from seed slowly develop into a tree and something to care for long term. Maybe even hand down within the family.

I definitely want to practice on some nursery stock and such. What do you think about chopping the trunk off of say..some kind of fruit tree and trying to bonsai it?


As far as putting the tiny plant into the ground, I live in an apartment so it would be impossible...maybe a large pot would be more of an option.

I see what you mean there, I'm still a kid so it's going to be fun watching these trees as I get older. I'm 16. Someday when I have kids I'll hand my collection down to them (haha, my "collection" will be at least six or seven times larger).

Yeah, nursery stock looks really neat. You could try it, I've seen some neat orange tree bonsai, as well as pomegranates.

I see. A large pot wouldn't be that much different from the ground for an extremely small seeding, I'd say go for it.

[Geniusdudekiran]

Important question: what do you guys do when it rains? If its' just rain, I tend to leave them out. If it's wind and rain, I go out and get them, even if it's already pouring at that point. But what should I do if it's really pouring? What do you guys do?

[Unikorn]

My bonsai are inside a screened in balcony on the middle shelf of a shelving unit. If its really windy I move the bonsai closer to the door so it doesn't get blown over

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[plantbrain]

Rain means I do not have to water, I leave them out unless there's 50mph wind or more etc.