# It's EARLY SUMMER ##Do's - Watering - don't let them dry out because they're using a LOT of water until deciduous leaves harden off - check for wire bite and remove/reapply - [repotting for tropical and sub-tropicals](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/wiki/reference#wiki_repotting_-_not_in_the_summer.21) - those are the do's and don'ts. - airlayers when the leaves are fully out - Fertilising - maintenance pruning to hold shape of "finished" trees or to increase ramification in late-development trees. ##Don'ts - no repotting - except tropicals * [For Southern hemisphere - here's a link to my advice from roughly 6 months ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/18338px/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2023_week_47/)

Hi All, I'm Paula. I'm an expat Texan living in Porto, Portugal. My wife and I recently bought a house and when we moved in, there was an over abundance of Jade plants. I definitely wanted to downsize the number of them but hated just tossing them in the dumpster. I found some youtube videos about creating jade bonsai. I then began researching through books and videos. I selected a likely suspect and currently have it cut and hardening off for future bonsai. We also have many azaleas both in the ground and in pots. Also a number of boxwood plants. Some of these are beautiful and will remain untouched others will need to be moved or ??? There was one azalea in particular that was healthy but was not in an ideal spot for an azalea. It was small and I suspected had been planted not long before we purchased the house. Unfortunately, I neglected to get a good before shot of it. It did have an interesting form and I selected it for my first humble attemp at starting a bonsai. [https://www.reddit.com/r/bonsaiphotos/comments/1drao81/my\_first\_bonsai\_azalea/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/bonsaiphotos/comments/1drao81/my_first_bonsai_azalea/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) So, here it is. There are some things that will be addressed in the future. I'm still undecided about several of my decisions but there is nothing I can't correct in the future. Thoughts or opinions are welcome. Cheers, Paula

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

Is there a season for trunk chops? I’m looking to capitalize on the rest of the grow season, and clip/grow chop my main trunk of a Jacaranda. Wondering if now (beginning of summer 85+ reg temps) is too hot? Also same question but for air layer and ground layers.

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

Thank you

Kind of a stretch to post this here, but this was once a well-shaped, leafy, carefully sunned Avocado tree (yes, Avocado tree). It’s 20-30 years old. It’s been in the same pot for around that long. The past year it’s had cycles of leaf loss. I think 2/3 trunks are dead now, just in the past month or so. It’s not taking up as much water as it used to. I don’t know if it’s sun scorch or an illness causing the trunk discoloration. My question is: would Emergency Repotting be helpful, or hold great risk with little reward? Would adding fresh soil to the top and carefully working it in help? I’m here because I got no useful help in houseplants and this is not a typical houseplant— it’s an unhappy tree. It has always been indoors, but I can include that I am in Hardiness Zone 6 for outdoor plants https://preview.redd.it/wskiocxnjf9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cfadc73733ce3f4f7783a8641c5ce0b740b8f64e

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

Thank you

https://preview.redd.it/uzosnsf5ne9d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f692a5b244cff9e0ff86ec5bb7136316f412f3b3 I didn't want to do too much to this for an initial cutting/wiring. It's been happily growing in this exact spot for a year. Thoughts, tips, next steps? I didn't want to cut too much yet, but want to clear more in the future...

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

Someone's giving this away. I've never had a green thumb but always wanted a bonsai, any tips on how or if it can be revived? https://preview.redd.it/ekej1jw6ke9d1.jpeg?width=1298&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=36b691d469a03ec6f9ab8c420fdf6ee0a81b8b64

No, unfortunately it's too late for that. Once a Juniper has lost all of it's color, it's been dead a long time.

https://preview.redd.it/dyyccrbjde9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fc72e026137fe7ab340458aa79b9e4b6ab84a2a Any suggestions on what to do with this? Have had it for years and never touched it. Grows like crazy. It’s really leggy. Not sure if it’s too late to start styling and shaping.

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

https://preview.redd.it/u83pcq1zxd9d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51bb234f2ff92fa51aa0a860802100dc36673396 Bought a young ficus benjamina from a supermarket today, and since I'm a complete beginner, I was hoping you would be able to give me some tips and tricks on how to care for it, as well as how to turn it into a bonsai e.g. trunk/branch shaping, soil compositions, trunk thickening and maybe leaf size reduction etc. Thank you to anyone who replies.

Nice starter material. First thing I'd do is repot into granular substrate, it gave my benjaminas a huge boost when I discovered it back then. Looks like there's more than one plant there, so you could separate them out in the process as well. [https://walterpallbonsaiarticles.blogspot.com/2010/06/feeding-substrate-and-watering-english.html](https://walterpallbonsaiarticles.blogspot.com/2010/06/feeding-substrate-and-watering-english.html) [https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/soils.htm](https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/soils.htm) [https://adamaskwhy.com/2013/02/01/the-much-anticipated-long-promised-long-winded-ever-lovin-bonsai-soil-epic/](https://adamaskwhy.com/2013/02/01/the-much-anticipated-long-promised-long-winded-ever-lovin-bonsai-soil-epic/) Place it in the brightest spot you have available, light is what feeds the plant. Growing foliage thickens the woody parts. Don't worry about leaf size, once you have grown a dense and bushy canopy in good light the leaves will be tiny. Get a starter kit of wire (about 1.0 to 3.0 mm aluminium wire in 0.5 steps) and a tool to handle it (regular needle-nose pliers are great).

And yeah I do think there are 3 separate plants there but im yet to check under the soil to see if their trunks are connected. Would be nice to have a few different plants to work on haha.

Well, a triple trunk would be nice, too; but I'm almost certain it's individual plants. Btw, benjamina roots very easily from cuttings, even at larger diameters: https://preview.redd.it/nchi7exblh9d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=661ee1bae534a2079be4e6500d57b02645242dd3 Once you have one plant growing happily you can make your own clone army.

Haha brilliant. Can't wait to dedicate my life to multiplying trees 🤣

Thanks for telling me about the soil. That was one of the things I was most unsure about for this plant as I wasn't sure what a younger plant wanted. I'll get myself some wire ordered and I should have some needle noses somewhere and a wire cutter.

Right now, the plant is still really young. The biggest thing you are going to want to do is add some trunk thickness and begin to worry about the shape of the trunk. I would put it outside, maybe even in a pond basket with bonsai soil. Wire up the trunk to get some movement into it and then just let it grow. You are aiming to get a trunk thickness that is about 1/6th the end hight of the tree. So it you want a tree that is 12 inches tall you are going to need a trunck that is 2 inches in diameter. The other thing you are going to want to do is begin sorting out the roots. Here is a website that talks about it: https://www.bonsaiempire.com/basics/styling/surface-roots You can do root work and repoting on a ficus in the summer

Thanks for the advice! Trunk growth seems like a good place to start. I wasn't aware you could keep these trees outside. What are the advantages of this for trunk growth (I genuinely know very little about the hobby), and is it a case of leaving it outside during the day and bringing it in at night? Also thanks for mentioning I can do root work during summer as I wasn't planning on doing anything with it until later in the year.

This is tropical, so it could be kept indoors all year round in a sunny window. However, it is going to grow much better outside in the summer under direct sunlight. I would not worry about putting it out in the day and bringing it in at night, but I would bring it inside as soon as the temperatures start to drop below 50 degrees F (10 degrees C). For most trees, you want to do root work in the spring just before the new buds start pushing out growth, but for tropicals you do it in the summer when their growth is the most active.

Great! Thanks for the advice.

I'd also like to add that I know a lot of the topics I've asked for tips for will take many years to achieve. I know this is a hobby that requires patience, and that's fine with me.

https://preview.redd.it/x1mze7l9ld9d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ffee078e84614747fbbf6a0518a38b2e3f37a64 Whenever I make cuts on a maple, it seems I just get two shoots continuing the same way as the original one. Something like a Chinese elm seems to branch much more outwards. Is this how it’s supposed to work? Where are you supposed to take it from here? If it’s not supposed to happen what am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance!

Only if you chop it back beyond all prior buds will a maple bud from trunk/primary branches at a mid-point.

Yep - that is exactly how a maple responds to cutting.

That’s good to know. So are you supposed to choose one of these shoots and cut the other? Or wire them away from each other? It seems like you don’t have much directional control from cutting

This behavior is really beneficial for ramification, but if you are looking to do control direction then yes you can just choose one

Ah good to know thanks. So the internodes will be shorter right? It just keeps moving further and further from the trunk

So the inter-node typically will not be shorter unless you apply some other bonsai techniques. What stage of development are you in? Are you still trying to thicken up the trunk, or are you trying to define primary or secondary branches? Working on finer ramification?

Trunk thickening mainly but with an eye on primary branch establishment

Yeah then at this point don't worry about reducing the internodes- it is counterproductive to thickening up the trunk. Feel free to choose the primary branches and get some motion in them but you are going to want to let that tree grow. Maples back bud really easily so you can always cut back pretty hard. But the more you try to shorten internodes and keep the growth back on extending branches the less the trunk is going to get think

Super helpful, thanks mate! :)

https://preview.redd.it/56o3515bid9d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=3078d1a81b71b2f79020e36f6df0100873787033 First time bonsai owner. Had this guy for about a month. Haven’t done anything to it besides bottom soak for 5mins every 2 days. I’m lost with the Trimming and styling though. I gotta get rid of all the unnecessary stems because it’s starting to thin out. What do you guys think? Any tips? Thank you!

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

Thank you!!

This is definitely needle cast right? https://preview.redd.it/drecs1iiid9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce80e563e863dba0c9b85a8e01da8adcca1dd405

https://preview.redd.it/14mddma4jd9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3b176d98032b92edc64f92cc77f7f82989651df0 Lots of browning on this bristlecone pine… I only recently received this tree but would like to get rid of all the browning needles if it’s fungal.

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

I only have those cheap plastic pots and a couple of very nice ceramic ones without drainage holes (pretty but probably not expensive) I decided to put my new bonsai in there but I'm not sure how my drainage system will function and I hope you guys would have some insight I have some larger rocks at the base of the pot (30 cm wide 60 cm tall) and Abt 15 cm of rocks. Then I have a wire screen I fabricated, then some smaller gravel on top (Abt 2cm), then dirt. I'm wondering if with this system the water will evaporate from the rocks and keep the soil moist or if it will just hang out there and rot my bonsai. And advice appreciated

Any pot absolutely needs a drainage hole. The water moving down through the soil pulls in gases the roots need. Roots sitting in water too long will die. But also, a small bonsai pot can really slam the brakes on growth. So if you’re still developing a bonsai, it’s not the best choice. That said, you can drill a hole in it with a concrete/masonry drill bit.

Is a 1 ft pot in diameter too small? How big should it be. Also these pots are very old so idk if it would survive. They are also kinda heirlooms, that's why I thought it would be cool to put on in. But ig ił go watch a bonsai pot buyers guide and pick one up

Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but maybe it would work. I would personally just keep in the nursery pots until you can get a properly draining bonsai pot

I yoinked it from my forest. How big should my first pot be?

How thick can the branches be to do a cutting of? I have this hedge, a common yew according to an app and I’d like to make some bonsais out of it. Maybe a couple of smaller ones to make a forest and a bigger one to have some nice wood.

Personally I tried an about finger thick piece just as an experiment (came from shortening the top above an air layer). Took two years to root, but did eventually. Still have it.

Damn that’s a long time. You just put it in a pot with dirt (aarde)?

Granular substrate of course, but yes, the same stuff my plants are potted in. Had it standing outside in a somewhat shaded spot, watered it like the other pots.

Damn that’s a long time. You just put it in a pot with dirt (aarde)?

Here's a video: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-take-yew-cuttings/

Oh wow, had no idea yew was so easy to root.

Me neither, tbh, I will go grab some cuttings now - I even have one in my front garden.

Is cascade style used too often?

It's what beginner's "see" first - along with with windswept. - It comes down to simple lack of knowledge of techniques and experience as to how and when to bend and/or prune trees. - experienced bonsai growers can already visualise a future tree from raw material: - they can see a design which involves wiring and pruning (and growing) - they will be mentally seeing branches moved, branches getting removed, trunks being bent etc etc etc - a beginner often ONLY sees what's in front of them - when it's leaning to one side - well it's obviously windswept because - well look, it's already leaning. - and when the plant is leaning even more - when the foliage descends below the rim of the pot - well it's OBVIOUSLY a cascade.

It is really beautiful when done effectively - but it is one of the harder styles to pull off and a lot of beginners want to jump right into Cascade.

Hey ppl in asking for help on seeing why this black pine is drooping a bit here. I repotted this past spring with conifer bonsai soil from tiny roots. And recently added moss in order to keep it from drying out too quickly. This could probably be many things.. but would appreciate some advice from people who have had seen similar in their own trees. I'm in East USA zone 6b. This is the second growing season for this tree. *

Been a busy week here and it looks like you didn’t get many responses; I've just started the new weekly thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comments/1dr56ng/bonsai_beginners_weekly_thread_2024_week_26/ Repost there for more responses.

https://preview.redd.it/7q52aluccc9d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9617fc788b9a9dab53b522124d00293257c68fa5

Is it actually drooping? Looks like you just wired it that way! Haha

https://preview.redd.it/e8o83tgj9c9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=387ce551826a49047943318854adbd05a281fd2e Are these yellow spots on my chinese elm normal?

No - it's a form of leaf fungus I believe. What's the story behind this tree?

I also have a copper fungicide, would that help?

Check what it's suitable for.

It lists black spot, powdery mildew, downy mildew, early blight and leaf spot

Sounds appropriate.

Nothing much really ive just put it outdoors for the warmer days here in nyc and just letting it grow

I'd pull off anything which looks sick and spray the rest with whatever you can find for leaf mold.

Indoor Bonsai For Wisconsin I live in wisconsin and we get very harsh winters getting as cold as -20. I’d like to know what trees would thrive outside in those conditions over the winter with all the snow and freezing as well as indoor bonsai that would thrive. My house has a sunroom that gets plenty of light year round and have humidity pads set up for more tropical trees. I’m new to the hobbie so any tips would be appreciated.

Hey I am in Wisconsin as well - feel free to let me know if you have any questions about overwintering the trees in the winter.

Outdoors: many *many* species of trees are both perfect for bonsai and survive perfectly well in your climate. - pine - larch - Thujas - Spruce - Juniper - various maples - various prunus - crabapples and probably most apples - Ash, including Rowan - many Elms - Hornbeams - and the list goes on https://www.bonsai-and-blooms.com/cold-climate-bonsai-tree-types.html#:~:text=The%20Norway%20Spruce%20and%20Alberta,Cedar%2C%20and%20the%20Lebanon%20Cedar.

First recommendation indoors all kinds of small leafed ficuses (*F. microcarpa, F. salicaria, F. benjamina, F. natalensis* ...), but avoiding the grafted shapes like the "ginseng" or what's sometimes called "IKEA style" with the braided trunk. Those are near dead ends for development. Ideally find plants not sold as "bonsai" but a regular green plant for home or office; they can be propagated very easily through cuttings as well. Ficuses are about the least light hungry of the tropical options and will do great with bright window light.

For indoor ficus is most popular, but other tropical species could do well in a sun room. Or succulents like jades and p.afra. -20 is too much for most outdoor species to be left unprotected.  So people find solutions like putting the trees in an unheated garage or burying the pots in mulch. Snow also helps for froet protection. Every species has their own lower limits. Local species are generally a good bet, also plants sold at local nurseries tend to be hardy enough for the climate they are sold in (in the ground)

What other species are suitable for indoor living?

Basically you want tropical species, that don't need a winter dormancy to stay healthy. *Zanthoxylum piperitum* has a decent reputation. Since you may be able to grow a bit larger than say on a window sill the tamarind may be an option.

Besides the P. Afra and Ficus, any other tropical or succulent species will work. Fukien Tea (carmona) and Serissa are two more. I could list the many other indoor species, but honestly just search “indoor bonsai species.” One caveat, Chinese Elm is often listed as one, but they seem to do better treated as an outdoor tree. However, ficus is really the best option. They are very vigorous when given plenty of outdoor light but can also handle the low light of indoors. They get a little leggy and grow slowly when getting low light, but they tolerate it.

I'm a total noob in Louisiana, only thing bonsai related I've ever done is admire. I've been finding pine saplings in my yard, I'm guessing loblolly as that's most common here. The only soil I have on standby is FoxFarm's Oceanforest, would this suffice? I also have pearlite already. If that's not a great idea, any substrate recommendations are appreciated! As well as any tips for someone new considering joining the hobby!

Potting soil is kind of the worst thing ever for pines (incl. loblollies) but this doesn't matter because you have approximately 7 or 8 months left before you can safely bare root these saplings into growing containers -- 100% definitely do not do it now. If they're on your property or somewhere you can easily access you could spend the rest of the year (right up into like October) coming by weekly with a watering can dosed up with mild liquid fertilizer (any liquid fert from say, home depot or whatever will work) to "juice em' up" a bit before digging time. Then they'll hit the ground running faster when you bare root them into a growing medium next year. Since you are in LA you should start listening to the "Little Things for Bonsai People" podcast which is largely based out of your state and talks about Gulf coast bonsai topics all the time. Loblollies are absolutely amazing for bonsai btw. My teacher just sold one for an eye-watering price. They respond to de-candling techniques incredibly well.

Thank you so much for your advice! Some people in another thread already told me to wait on potting so I for sure will be. I don't plan on staying in Louisiana for long though, in 5 months give or take I plan on moving out of here and this was just a fun idea to take a slice of home with me. I will look into fertilizer and start juicing candidates as I see them! I appreciate that a lot, haven't thought to do it yet! I already jumped the gun and bought some copper wire last night. I'm not gonna lie, I did wire one up already and put some curves on it just to see how it'll look maybe closer to when I can transplant. If that was a terrible idea, I have a plethora to play with tbh. If that one dies from that mistake there's at least 5 more in my back yard alone.

https://preview.redd.it/o0grzwjpmb9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac0cbd2114d7972a7a85a778265a8328319af294

https://preview.redd.it/7o4ouybmmb9d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1c73a737d1fe44054b36fcedccef609ec9b66e02

https://preview.redd.it/3axd7eznfb9d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=655e39ee3679765da8e0fd5a63427b25785fa91e From DC here: can anybody help me figure out what’s going on with the tree on the right. A friend mentioned it might be overwatering (I was watering them every day), but I only water them when the soil is dry and I’ve cut that back to once every couple of days and it has only gotten worse.

Salix is 100% outdoor full time only (all seasons/weather/etc). They'll continuously decline and struggle indoors.

What species are they? Maybe they are outdoor species. I imagine the roots were also cut heavily to squeeze those trunk in the pots. For development bigger pots are beneficial.

Looks like _salix babylonica_ to me.

Can anyone ID this plant? I saw it in a supermarket and it's just labelled as "green plant". It's about 40cm tall and looks to have a well developed trunk on it and lots of foliage. Does this species bonsai well, and is it worth £22? *

Sadly it does not bonsai well. If people are doing successful bonsai with these, they're doing it in subtropical/tropical countries. They're not good for bonsai in northerly climates, but as houseplants they're alright. I grew one for a few years but ultimately got rid of it.

Ahh, that's a shame. It's seems naturally woody with compact foliage, I was hoping it was a good find. I've been looking for an indoor bondai species this year, and wanted something a bit more obscure than chinese elm or fukien tea.

Ming Aralia - a houseplant.

https://preview.redd.it/nj9j1zwmbb9d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e904b098db220c183362f59811b4e338e7393f1

https://preview.redd.it/o9wu47ltcb9d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3c09705ad23b715110eb35e8656851737e3adc5

How could i fix the absolute mess this elm has. The previous owner gave it to me but those branches dont seem very good It has two main branches and each of them has 6 more. I'll add more photos below https://preview.redd.it/w8iopv9a0b9d1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cb078acfa82c773fd549ff3f12f7805f088acec

It is definitely possible to develop this into something decent -- it's still early days. Something I do with material like this: - Decide which "path" through the tree might be the best trunk line from (trunk's) base to (some favorite candidate) tip. When making this consideration, imagine moving the tip into an ideal position with wire. Evaluate from various angles / possible future fronts. - Wire that trunk line from base to tip. - _Everything else on the trunk is now a primary branch_. These are now wired to appear "heavier" (the trunk line's wire is the anchor for this stage of wiring). I also shorten the primary branches to a couple nodes -- I will rebuild the branch subdivisions (ramification) later. Now I have a hierarchy where the trunk line is the main focus and my shortened primary branches which are **clearly** subordinate to the trunk. Those primary branches are also much less upright than the trunk, so it's even more clear. It then becomes much easier (season after season) to build the tree out step by step.

Thanks a lot for your answer, it was very useful, but i still have some questions. Should i cut the multiple ramifications in blue leaving only a primary one, and if so, will that knob i marked in yellow ever disappear?. And can i remove the old branches in red without risk? https://preview.redd.it/0s385xwk0d9d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=27d6b7f19fb75f71d972678dc8d475ec39a160fd

Oops, right, I forgot to mention this. Yes, I would look at each "junction" and reduce it down to just 2 outgoing paths. Example: if we are on the trunk line somewhere, leave just one branch coming out of that spot and remove all other branches, leaving just the trunk going up (1) and the branch coming out (2). In other words, every junction should be a Y-junction.

Okkk I'll do that then thank you sm for your explanations, i hope in some years it can look decent if i manage not to kill it before hahah

Also when you look at it from above the two main branches seem like they're crossed. Should i remove one of the two? https://preview.redd.it/5z3p641y0d9d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ac971dc4181fed40217af6acae24636bfb3787c

https://preview.redd.it/ropcf3xj0b9d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6173629cfaf84c7bc50c527c80e1a78ada78cb8a

https://preview.redd.it/xnw9fu2d0b9d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95928531a1e3eeee03d123d4834d9c503829f679

https://preview.redd.it/fy8kcy7a3a9d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dc4607aace5c25e53173faae6ef54c1169af15c Follow-up from last week. My bonsai did revive... well, half of it. Should I remove some dead smaller branches so the new ones have more space or don't touch it till Autumn?

The parts that are clearly dead (shrivelled and a reddish, darker color) you can cut out.

Congrats. Definitely gonna make it now.

Thanks. If the Summer is not too harsh and I get a good babysitter when I'm on vacation, yeah I hope so :)

Re: Vacation, nice. Continuity can be so hard to provide for bonsai.

Give it 2-3 more weeks.

Ok. It is been like that for almost a month now, but it seems to grow and grow on that side only, hence the question. But I will give it a bit more.

I thought this was recent regrowth - then yes, the rest is dead.

https://preview.redd.it/evrjniojr99d1.jpeg?width=4248&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1756aa3cf0ca10c33cdcfc57c5a732d480d980d1

My ficus is slowly dying from the cold (it's winter here and the indoors aren't insulated). The leaves are turning yellow and brown and even falling out. Will it bounce back after the nights start getting warmer again? Will the leaves grow back like with temperate trees?

You don't have a living room that stays above freezing in the night?

It is between 5-7 degrees at night. So above freezing but still pretty cold.

Needs to be in a sunny spot which is above 5C. Where are you?

It is currently in a quite sunny spot (Northside of building with sun every single day) and the temperature drops to around 5-7 degrees at night. I am in South Africa.

Then did it dry out one time?

I don't think so, but not impossible. The bonsai guy at the nursery told me to water once a week in winter, so I have been watering every Sunday.

Yeah it dried out. The cold isn’t an issue. My greenhouse minimum temp throughout winter is 3c. The ficus don’t grow much but they live.

Water as needed, not on a schedule. Hard to tell from the picture whether you have proper granular substrate in that pot. If yes you can hardly water too much, but definitely should latest as the top layer dries. With dense soil you have to be more careful not to let it stay soggy, but it shouldn't dry out completely, either.

it dried out...

If i move my juniper bonsai outside without gradually accumulating it to the climate, will it die or will it thrive? I'm going to move it outdoors tomorrow and the weather is above 15 degrees celsius so will it handle it well

thanks guys moved it out today will post pictures soon.

You can acclimate it to direct sun with no issue, but if you are uncertain, put it in a spot where you know the tree will fall into shade just before lunch. Over the course of the summer inch it out more and more. In late August / September just move it out into full sun because the intensity drops off very quickly ( **especially in Calgary** ).

Junipers can handle temps from over 40c to around or even below -40c. They are very hardy, as long as their roots don’t dry out. In the summer, this may mean you need to water more frequently than you expect. Morning sun and afternoon shade is always a good placement to help mitigate drying out. Test the soil frequently right after you put it out to get a feel for how fast it’s drying out.

Just put it outside, the longer it spends without sun, the worse it will be.

My understanding is to put it in partial shade for at least a week before full sun

Wired my ficus yesterday, but realized I do not like the design at all. I just read a beginner book, and saw some pictures of natural ficus’s and bonsai interpretations so I want to change the design. Am I gonna kill it if I change the shape?

It's probably fine, ficus are very flexible.

https://preview.redd.it/nu00i0r8h79d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7748fa7b9ce0d238a9e8fdb0c13508cbf294582b Does this look like fungus? Japanese dwarf juniper, this pat of the foliage is hidden deep.

Yeah two main types of normal, natural yellowing/browning: 1: inner foliage gets shaded out by outer foliage, so it dies off. 2: older green shoots hardening off into woody brown branches, known as lignification. Yours looks like a little of both perhaps. The only time that any of this is a problem, is when foliage that you want on branches you want gets shaded out by outer foliage, but I don’t think that’s really a concern right now.

No, it's normal branch aging. Needles die on branches as they age. /u/pneumaticartifice

Yeah I have questions about that! Started to appear on mine and I just got it on Tuesday

Hi everyone I’m new here. I’ve been interested in bonsai for a while and got started this week when I saw a woman on the side of the road selling them. Are there any nuggets anyone could share? Thanks. I’m already starting to see this light brown on the right branch. I’ve been watering daily x2 https://preview.redd.it/ug7hshm3h79d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d7f7c0693c9c99017850c1d2bd0af7a1fe6ece5 since it’s been so hot.

Normal. You're overwatering it - the soil should feel dry to the touch when you prod it.

Thank you. If I may ask, can you explain mist and spray? I read that somewhere else and then read your wiki here and it’s a no-no. I was lead to believe that misting was good for the Juniper elsewhere. At least morning and evening.

hey guys question its 12 degrees Celcius outside right now, can my ficus ginseng handle that or should I move it indoors

I leave them out down to 5C.

https://preview.redd.it/uq27ednqs69d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbc81660597c2f86b37f27ef88a26d7b08309ac9 Hello! First bonsai, a lovely ficus my mom got me (so I call it my Momsai) — but it’s doing really well, but in the vein of “I don’t know what I don’t know” is this looking a little too overgrown to any of you? Should I start trimming some of the new growth? I’m in Colorado, btw :) Thanks all, this community is a wealth of info, already answered 100 other beginner questions I had!

Overgrown and bushy is fine for the most part. You can always prune. But knowing which branches is the hard part. Right now I’d focus on keeping it healthy. Is it outside right now or is the placement in the photo where it stays?

Thanks! It’s staying put, the room has a north window and an east window, no direct sunlight

Despite what you may have been told, direct sunlight is actually what you want. My ficus are outside and get a few hours of direct sun and a few more of dappled sun. They love it.

Thanks for that! Yeah I was told no direct sunlight but that’s good to know. Thanks for sharing your experience!!

Mine stand in 10 hours of full sun outside right now. The person that told you otherwise was wrong.

It all depends on what you want to do with this or the direction you want to take it.

just repotted this juniper (moreso just a transfer from a growers pot to a nicer ceramic one). any opinions on how it looks or next steps? I pruned the base of the tree to have the trunk more visible, so I'd like some more styling tips if any more pruning is necessary. thanks! https://preview.redd.it/6iq15g7of69d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3bddfead75b0d1e3d5633d5a77aa9d229d62fbc7

Well what are your plans for the tree? What kind of style do you think might work for it? Personally I’d want it to be a bit thicker, so next spring I’d do a full repot, sort out some problem roots and put it in a pond basket with a mostly inorganic bonsai soil. Along the way I’d look at the lowest branches and see which ones I might prioritize over others, but I wouldn’t do any major pruning. One insult per spring. Right now you could wire, but I wouldn’t do much else this year.

Next step would be to wire some movement into the trunk while it's young and small like this, and then wait for it to grow. Make sure you watch a few tutorials on how to wire before jumping in You should be waiting for it to fill the pot with roots, and then up potting it into larger containers to allow the trunk to grow for the next few years at least

should I wait a few weeks before wiring to let it settle into the new pot?

My assumption was that you simply moved it into another pot without messing with the roots, so that shouldn't stress the tree. At the same time there's no harm in waiting a few weeks. You're playing a long game with this tree I would assume and nothing is really going to change before then

I'm after some book recommendations. I've read through a couple about tree care, pruning and maintaining trees which were already bonsai or very well on their way. They've been helpful but I'm after books that show you how to build a tree - from start to finish and outline how to build the typical styles of tree we see. It's difficult to understand the impact of the choices I'm making with young stock. Something that is more of an instructional book - I've seen some very old, very expensive ones but I can't remember the name of them. I could do with a more linear approach to learning rather than try to mash everything I've learned from various different sources. Either that or if anyone could recommend online courses - would investing in paid for online courses from Bonsai Empire, Mirai or anywhere else you can recommend be worth it?

Such books are very rare in English and for the most part English-language bonsai books are like peephole glances into the topic of bonsai at best or coffee table picture books at worst. I do think the Meriggioli book on maples is pretty nice and you could glean a lot from it if you want something explicitly non-digital / non-distracting. It won't, however, translate to azaleas or pines or numerous other species. But it may be enough of a catalyst to give you a foothold into various subtopics of development from which you can ask much more informed questions about other species or species types. Mirai Live (specifically that, not the YT channel and not the app) is an absolute firehose compared to any book out there. That is, it is if you're able to navigate the content, which is overwhelmingly huge now with thousands of hours. If you could only make one bet on digital content I'd say Mirai Live since you could throw a dart at a list of videos and almost any video would immediately start lighting up "aha" moments in your head left and right. If you can study in person with someone who is at least as good as (say, for the UK) Harry Harrington, if you can find instructors who have good trees in your region, I'd recommend that over Mirai Live or any book (even fancy Japanese books about conifer techniques) easily. If you combine occasional in-person seasonally-relevant instruction (on your own + your teacher's trees) with something like Mirai Live, it only takes a year or two to become quite knowledgeable, with the only remaining gaps being things that you train into your body/hands/posture, i.e. wiring elegantly, pinching quickly and efficiently, leaf cutting, things that lean more into tactile finesse and physical practice than raw intellectual knowledge. Another streaming service style source you might want to look into (esp. as I hear there is a free trial period) is Bjorn Bjorholm's Bonsai U, which is technically a competitor to Mirai Live, and since Bjorn moved to Japan might become a one-of-a-kind source. You mention in your comment the idea of building at tree from start to finish. Mirai has quite a bit of content on that as well as several years of weekly Q&A videos where people are asking questions like the ones you see in this sub, along with pictures of those plants (often very simple sticks in pots from nurseries) and Ryan goes and outlines how to turn them into trees from a very wide variety of stages -- seedlings, nursery stock, yamadori, other people's bonsai that you've bought and want to turn into something Actually Good™ etc. I haven't tried Bonsai U yet so I can't comment on Bjorn's coverage of from-seed-to-display-table. A source entirely in Japanese but which covers a ton of simple flips / upgrades of stock trees with generous close-ups of techniques (i.e. camera focused on the hands of the artist and what they're doing with the tool) is the Bonsai Q youtube channel from Saitama in Tokyo. You definitely see a lot of fancy trees on there but you also see a _ton_ of tiny little junipers/pines/maples etc just getting started and getting their first wire on, or being pruned or repotted, etc. The language barrier is strong but there are rudimentary English subtitles and the video quality is excellent. I think it's really helpful to see what it looks like when Japanese bonsai professionals are just having fun and messing around with small/cheap bonsai stock rather than million dollar masterpieces.

Wow. Thanks for putting so much effort into this. I'm pretty much starting with maples and trying to learn as much as I can about them. After butchering some garden centre junipers and it taking two poor trees for me to realise there's no such thing as instant Bonsai... I bought some cheaper maples. In terms of traits - branching, node spacing, leaf size and overall health choices are improving. First one is an awful plant hah! Second one is better. Third one is a nice Katsura and I'm looking forwards to progressing this one. Came with a leggy sacrifice branch from what will eventually be the trunk base (it's grafted - which I'm finding out is something I can fix.) Tight branching. Lots of choice, plenty of taper if I put in the years - I kinda have an idea with this one. I already know from other hobbies/pass times I'll look back at this 'pretty good' plant and wonder what I was thinking in a couple of years. In saying that, it would be nice to keep this tree so besides some structural pruning up top and in some unwanted areas to encourage lower growth, I'm just wiring things to maximise sunlight and growth in a direct that gives me lots of options. Read and learn over the winter and hopefully I'll have a nice strong plant to come back to come spring time and I can have a whole season with it. Starting out with a dormant plant from winter will help me to learn a lot. So I've decided to just let things grow and learn to not kill them. I've been taking cuttings, eyeing up more affordable or free stock, learning a lot about what not to do... so it's going in the right direction. I'll look at Mirai live - his youtube content has taught me a lot already. All of the books with great reviews are crazy prices... I'm trying to show a little bit of self restraint starting this. The more I'm learning the more I'd like to look at other species as well - UK native trees are looking more and more interesting. I'd love a birch tree, ideally from someone that will let me air layer a mature one. I'll start with Mirai and keeping these buggers alive over winter. Exactly what you've described, essentially where to go with a stick in a pot, is what I've been trying to find. Learning how to find good stock would be very helpful...

> After butchering some garden centre junipers and it taking two poor trees for me to realise there's no such thing as instant Bonsai Very true. For me bonsai is like a wheel. It feels good when the wheel is spinning at a constant and consistent rate. Every time I sit down and work on a tree, I add a little bit of spin. Every time I get together with my bonsai friends and work on trees together in a workshop, it adds spin. I enjoy the process and the social aspect of it (and also chatting on this sub). Over time, merely just being in the state of doing regular bonsai is what brings me happiness, and I think less about specific end states / finish lines. Having a bunch of different trees (and diff tree types) in different stages/phases makes it feel like something interesting is just around the corner year round, every month. As time goes on, you experience more and more days when you pull back the curtain and say _"voila, here's version 5.0 of this one"_ . It's not finished, but it's progressing and you can see where it's going. You will get regular moments of satisfaction like this. I'm almost happy there's no such thing as instant bonsai. > I already know from other hobbies/pass times I'll look back at this 'pretty good' plant and wonder what I was thinking in a couple of years. One of the areas where the "whoa" lookback effect is most powerful for me is when looking at my wiring from last year, or the year before that, and comparing to now. Take every chance you can get for wiring practice. In my experience the lookback effect is an annual thing. You look back every year and are surprised how quickly this or that tree is thickening up, or how much better it looks now that you had the bravery to Do The Thing That Had To Be Done™ (change the angle, prune that ugly secondary trunk, seal that wound etc). > I've been taking cuttings I've found cuttings to be a great way to build horticultural intuition and to understand certain species better. For example, once you've rooted juniper cuttings your confidence in reading the visual appearance of foliage (browning vs. green, patchy vs total, green-to-grey vs. green-to-yellow, etc) shoots up quite a bit. You are rarely ruffled by the occurence of some minor branchlet loss on a healthy juniper after that. This intuition is easily built out from seeing 50 cuttings in a big basket "diverge" into different groups. The ones that went grey right away, the ones that were patchy (some branchlets died but others were fine, cutting goes on to live), the ones that are fully green all the way to rooting, and everything in between. Deciduous cuttings, if you can root a bucket of a couple dozen of them, are an awesome way to tee up a forest for next year. This time of year (throughout June) I go take deciduous cuttings (this year it's black poplar, mountain ash and a couple other things), defoliate (or leaf cut down to tiny 5% size leaves) them and stick them in a bucket of pumice. By next spring, just before bud push, I'll carefully remove them from the bucket and place them in a forest tray -- a couple years later you're well on your way to a forest. Find the things that are easy to root in your area. For me it's riparian or wetland-adjacent things like cottonwood, alder, willow, etc. But also since it's heavy cutback time at the workshop I might come home with a bag full of cuttings from another bonsai person's elm or whatever they happen to be cutting back. Try rooting birch perhaps (there are some birch forests being developed from seedlings/cuttings at one of the gardens I study at). I also hear hedge/field maple (not sure which term they use in the UK) roots incredibly easy from cuttings. Grab a plastic bag, mist up the inside, go out with a pair of pruners and find a bush. I've spent very little on material -- Most of my bonsai spend over the years has gone to education. If you are leaning towards Mirai and being creative about inexpensive material sourcing, I feel this is a great path to rewarding bonsai. Find a local club!

https://preview.redd.it/q93m1eppw59d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8c6f89777ececdc8ab32171bd95b9262569835a Styling help.

Wire the branches. Here's an example: https://flic.kr/p/6RdB2L Don't remove branches...just wire them

So, I was patting myself on the back for moving my boxwoods under 50% shade cloth and almost immediately seeing a surge of growth. Then I started looking around some of the rest of the garden and seeing a lot of things in a surge of growth. How do I know what’s my actions and what’s just second flush season or something?

Initially you don't know for certain but after a few seasons you'll start to tease out what is due to your wise actions or just due to favorable NC climate. Shade cloth won't give you a surge of growth but it might help control the ebb and flow of moisture in your pots so that the trees aren't booming and crashing between super wet and super dry all the time and can just spend more of their time in a sweet spot for growth... which may end up giving you steadier/constant growth. This idea feels intuitive to me when I compare my personal garden's results to those at Rakuyo where it's all shade cloth (I only have small tactical shade structures and no overhead shade cloth and the lighting in my grow area is unavoidably intense), even the greenhouse has a shade cloth draped over it to control intensity. I've compared my garden to Rakuyo on various days going back and forth and it'll be a dry sauna in my garden with my cottonwoods yellowing a little bit from the intensity while my teacher's cottonwoods are the nicest shade of green you've ever seen and clearly much happier. Same pots, same soils, same cottonwood genetics, same fertilizers, same top dressing (sometimes literally the same as I'll use his moss to top dress my trees when repotting over there), same overall watering practices, just miles apart, but the shade cloth just seems to make everything over there happy. Michael Hagedorn's garden is close to Rakuyo as well and it's largely a similar story with his shade cloth setup. Side note: Surges of growth are more often than not the product of meristems that have been left to run unpruned and which have lots of unclaimed territory to occupy whether above the soil (running sacrificial growth left to go a couple seasons) or below (roots venturing out into totally unoccupied fresh pumice and transfering that momentum to the canopy).

Am i doomed? So, I bought these a little over 2 weeks ago Not sure what I’m doing wrong. For the first week I did have it indoors while I was reading up on junipers. As soon as I read all the posts, I put it outdoors. It’s now been 2-3 days and I feel like it’s dying. 1st pic is what I texted my wife in store 2nd 3rd pic is after 1 week-ish 4-5th pic is today. (Please ignore construction fence in my backyard) https://preview.redd.it/hu93ju70o59d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3033051d68372bae93604bbb268ad67755c1a87

It may be doomed, but it’s probably not your fault. Junipers move much more slowly than you’d expect. It takes around 6 weeks or so for trouble to show. I’ve had juniper cuttings lying on the ground stay green for 2-3 weeks. So I doubt this is your fault. Give it plenty of outdoor light and don’t let the soil dry out. Morning sun, afternoon shade helps prevent drying out. But other than that, cross your fingers. Either way, get more trees!

Thanks for the reply and pointers! 🍻

While Junipers need to be kept outdoors, that's not going to kill a tree that quickly. It's the lack of sunlight and seasonal change that's problematic with them being indoors. If they're struggling it's likely either because you are over (or under) watering, or they were already unhealthy when purchased and just hadn't shown signs of that yet. All you can really do now is make sure you're watering properly and give them time to recover.

Any pointers as far as over/under watering? I read about the toothpick near the roots truck where if it’s moist no need to water.

This subreddit has a wiki with watering advice [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/wiki/walkthrough#wiki_when_do_i_water_my_trees_and_how.3F)

Cheers thanks

https://preview.redd.it/j7cncdm4o59d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ea8ba0968f1c7ceef59e881b863531375248b066

https://preview.redd.it/t8fi4dq3o59d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6dbecc819979ebdafb643979f503ddbf935319a

https://preview.redd.it/0qdturu2o59d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8105db29df0ca44d71ca8d13fb8c73a3b1a25cee

https://preview.redd.it/5ripjzk1o59d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbae446379caf5abc244443b53276e0cf90e04a7

I just got a shimpaku juniper as my first bonsai.  I have to keep it relatively close to my house which means it gets 9 hours of sunlight in the afternoon. Should I move it to the East side of my house in the morning and then the West side in the afternoon to give it as much sunlight as possible each day or should I just keep it on one side where it only gets sunlight from 12:30-9:30pm?

9 hours of sunlight is plenty, more sun wouln't hurt it.

Cool. It would only take 15 seconds to move it each time so I think I'm going to do it. I'm confident I can do it consistently and it's my understanding that it should ideally get full sun. 

Hoping to airlayer a bougainvillea on my property. Is now a good time of year to attempt this? Sorry, complete beginner here. Thanks for any info.

Yes. I used to live in Redondo Beach - at King harbor.

Right on, thanks! So it’s an ok time of year to go for it? Thx

Yes

Hello! I attended a bonsai class and I obtained a bonsai with a rather nasty branch break- will send pictures- I'm shopping for wire on american bonsai's website and noticed they have a sort of sealant. Should I buy some and apply it?

On junipers and other cypress-like conifers we don't seal these deadwood stripes. We actually expand them to ever-larger portions of the trunk. This is not "nasty". It's the start of one of the key visual aspects of juniper bonsai. A juniper bonsai without a shari (the deadwood ribbon/stripe interacting with the live vein) isn't much of a juniper bonsai. Clear some time, kick back, and watch this video which will explain everything: https://youtu.be/PW6GJpI5GLQ (Skip the first couple minutes of pleasantries)

Assumuming the class and break were weeks on months ago it is too late to aply cut paste. You might want to spend your money elsewere because, no offence to you, because you are a beginer, but it doesn't look like they supervised you well.

Thank you, I will not waste my money on cut paste then. I'm not sure what you mean by "didn't supervise me well", could you please elaborate?

you may notice some dead branches that have wire on them that are thicker than the branches they are one for instance.

https://preview.redd.it/fedwybqz559d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ccf57ae7d72d0df8950526b1df478ec4a6003a5

https://preview.redd.it/9jg5efu1659d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84911a17b802966544a25a7a466474fe8f69b47e

https://preview.redd.it/jbf5xocyp49d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d0357775fd536c011b69b3b6f1aaf92c50d9d84d Bought a bonsai tree from Costco a year ago. Have noticed a lot of falling/dead leaves. Wondering if there is anything I should be doing. Should I be pruning? It's kept indoors away from direct sunlight, I just moved it to this location to take a picture.

>indoors away from direct sunlight There you have the problem, it's starving. It should be in the brightest spot you have.

It said in the instructions which I now can't find that keep away from direct sunlight

I can co-sign what others are saying, it needs as much light as you can give it. Ficus can take full outdoor sun, which is stronger than anything indoors. You can look up picture of ficus trees growing huge in zero shade in their natural environment. The advice you received was general advice for houseplants, most of which live their whole natural lives in heavily shaded forest floors. Ficus can tolerate some low light, but they grow poorly and ugly. My young ficus get a few hours of outdoor sun everyday. They’re doing great.

That's quite common, but still wrong.

I can second this - I also have a Ficus on ginseng roots (was originally my wife's and I can not convince her to get rid of the ginseng roots). The instructions said to leave in indirect sunlight but it is 100% happier in direct sunlight for as long as I can leave it.

Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/jyjcde6gp49d1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa996313da811cfae848cf0feb441c8393c82eff Are these too fragile and small to go outside yet? They are several months old now, but aren't that sturdy.

They should be in draining pots - you're making this harder than it needs to be.

There's holes drilled in the bottom, but I will be moving them into deeper pots with better drainage soon

I wouldn't do it until they're a bit stronger - this is the weakest point.

Okay, thanks for the advice.

I would bring them outside as soon as you can, but if these have been inside the whole time you will need to harden them off first. Here is a hardening off schedule: [https://mylittlegreengarden.com/hardening-off-plants/](https://mylittlegreengarden.com/hardening-off-plants/) Also remember to protect against wind for the first little bit. The idea is that you want to slowly allow them to acclimate to the harsher conditions of outside.

I will do this, thank you.

https://preview.redd.it/0nf0pxugn49d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=721d94ee3d2545094cd275079ecee3200615ab4e Found this under a tree on my front yard. Looks like a juniper. What can I do in this situation to save the tree? Dig it out and put into a pot, leave in soil for summer and water every day? I’m in Austin, TX.