My first bonsai

Hello, I have recently acquired two bonsai, the first, a focus as a birthday gift. The second, a dwarf pomegranate, I purchased for $40 from a local vendor.

I would aprichiate some honest feedback from experianced bonsai growers, thanks, :-)

Never mind, when I try to upload pics it makes emotions, oh well maybe tomorrow.

Joel
Go to the first section and follow the instruction closely. Don't be worried about failing on posting photos on your first try. It's kinda like the " jump scene" in the move the Matrix. No body makes it on the first try.

Mitch

thank you, i uploaded my dwarf pomegranate.

There you go Joel. It took me longer to learn how to post photos.

Now for your " bonsai " yes it is a tree in a pot but this tree needs one thing before you can really call it Bonsai and that is ..........time. You see bonsai is all about the illusion of age in a compacted model. When we see a bonsai like this we see a meer stick in a pot. Why, well the bonsai is a story of survival. The trees journey to continue life. The story of it's survival all begens with the trunk. It should have a wide base with rootage that looks as if it is a hand gripping the earth. All upward growth should taper as reaches for the sun.
There should a story that you can read in the way the branches flow. We use terms like cascade, formal up right, live oak style, flat top style. These are terms that describe where in the cross section of terrane it would be growing. They are models we base our designs on.

You really to seek some books and study them to progress in bonsai. Better yet find another bonsaist to learn from first hand. You will learn much faster this way

Good luck in your new found hobby/ life changing endevior. I guess no one has told how addictive this art form is.

Mitch

Thank you for the advice

While waiting for this to mature...you can check nurseries for better raw materials. Check the 5 gallon or bigger pots. You can also check old hedge/plants being replaced or discarded around your neighborhood. My best plants are collected this way and I have around 50 plants now though I am only 5 months into this hobby.

By the way, they grow and mature faster in bigger containers (and the biggest container of all is mother Earth).

Good luck!

Oops, forgot to post my ficus, I don't know what kind of ficus it is, but i have had it for two months and trimmed it for the first time on Sunday.

Here it is

Please tell me that poor little pomegranate isn't being forced to live on a dark shelf under a light.

I wish i could, but it has to be inside in the winter because it will die if the temperature gets below 41.

Joel T wrote:I wish i could, but it has to be inside in the winter because it will die if the temperature gets below 41.

Really? Who told you that? If properly acclimated, they are perfectly hardy to at least freezing. Granted you have some tender new growth and it's very young, but 41 degrees isn't going to hurt anything. Pomegranates are not tropicals.

"Really? Who told you that? If properly acclimated, they are perfectly hardy to at least freezing. Granted you have some tender new growth, but 41 degrees isn't going to hurt anything. Pomegranates are not tropicals."

I read it here http://www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/dwarf-pomegranate

"Position: Place the tree outside; the tree does well in full sun. Once temperatures drop to around 5 degrees C (or 41F) place the tree indoors, on a bright position."

I agree with Russell on this one Joel.

My pomegranates stay outside all year and I have never lost one to cold weather.

Here in Northeast Florida, we get temperatures in the low 20's F. for short periods of time each winter. They will lose their leaves when the temps drop that low. But they spring right back when the weather heats up.

Regards,
Paul

The problem with Maryland is that its been in the 40's for like 6 months and i dont want to kill such a young tree.

Well, if it's on the internet it must be true!

I hope no one tells that to the fields of dwarf poms grown for the landscape industry here (where it occasionally drops to the mid/upper twenties).

40s aren't going to kill you tree. If anything it will just go dormant (like they are supposed to do).

k, i guess ill put it outside, worst that happens is i see its not growing well and take it in lol.

May I ask how old you are?

13

Hi Joel. Nice to have you on the forum. Can I ask if you have ever visited the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington DC? IF not, it's worth a trip. If you have, think back to the trees you saw there. By looking at good bonsai such as at the museum or such as you'll find in good books, you will get a feel for what to aim at in your own trees. A common thing that newcomers do is buy material that is not good and/or go out and dig up trees that equally are not good.

If there is a club in your area, go along to that and get some good hands-on help. It is also possible that someone in the club may be able to give you better material to work with. If not, as I think someone has already said on here, get them to suggest better material you could get at the garden centre or nursery.

It is worth paying that little bit more for something that will make a better bonsai in the long run. Maybe you could persuade your family to give you a good tree or a better quality bit of raw material for a birthday or Christmas.

In the meantime, here's a good link if you haven't already found this site. Just click HERE . The articles Starting Out and Learning to Walk are excellent.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone for the positive advice and introduction to the community.

I'll second the advice to find/join a club, or at least take a beginners class if possible. It's one thing to learn what good trees look like, but another matter entirely to figure out how to create them (and keep them healthy). There's nothing like hands-on learning, having someone show you how to prune, wire, repot, etc. And of course, how to pick decent starting material.

Oh, and welcome to the forum - lots of good info here, spend some time browsing through old threads!

Joel T wrote:13

Chris and Fiona are right.

When I was 12 I joined the local club where I grew up. Best thing I ever did. I was taken in by a wonderful group of people, most were older than my parents at that time. They made sure I was included in everything, and I'll never be able to repay them for all they did for me - not that they would expect me to. I would suggest that you do the same.

Oh, and don't believe everything you read on the internet!