2 New Trees Indoor & Outdoor

Afternoon,

Firstly I apologies if I have posted this in the wrong part of the forum, I am fairly new to Bonsai. Only having 1 other Bonsai before these 2 that did not really fair well, mainly due to the condition I had brought it in from my local garden centre.

I have just been brought 2 Bonsai by my partner one indoor Zanthoxylum and one outdoor which I believe it is a maple of some sort ( I will be uploading photos of both soon). I just wanted some advise on how to care and train both of these, I have already trimmed and wired the outdoor one and are happy with the result. though regarding the Zanthoxylum I am unsure where to start.

I know that I need to re-pot it ASAP as its one that was brought from the garden centre and the soil is not free draining enough for it. I would like some advise regarding where to go with both if possible I have been reading up on the different style though branch selection and pruning im still unsure of????

When first brought



After Trimming & Wiring



So I thank you fro any advise that will be given and look forward to posting my 2 new Bonsai progress as the develop.

Kind Regards

Martin

Welcome Martin Fisher

They are lovely plants. Congratulations.

I would just like to bitch first, so sorry....

would you be so kind, and everyone else, especially the lovely Americans, can state where in the world you are, I now know that you are in England, but I had to google Olbury West midlands first. Yes can you believe it...I'm THAT stupid!

Your Bloody maple is very popular as bonsai, and altough I dont grow maples myself ( just to bloody hot in Africa) you will be able to find lots of info in IBC, just do a search.



The Zanthoxylum capense I know very well, we call it here the Knobwood, and has nothing to do with your anatomy! hihihihihihihihihihihi
It grows the most bizarre knobs on the stems that each ends in a thorn, the knobs only gets bigger with age. That they sell it as an indoor bonsai is even more bizarre!! It is definately not an indoor plant, it will thrive in the sun, so treat it exactly as you would treat the Maple.
They do gow in the shade, as young trees germinate under the forest canopy, but they will never have the lushness of a tree grown in full sun.

What did you polish the leaves with?

Hope you will have fun with us..

Love and light

Hi Martin. First, I will say that beginner trees are the ones you learn skills on without worrying too much about what happens. You have got a decent one to learn on in the maple.

Your maple is probably a Bloodgood of some sort and as you have rightly identified must be outdoors. As I said, most maples have potential to be decent enough bonsai, but you have been perhaps a little hasty to do anything with it as it is a very long way away from having the growth to turn into a bonsai. I would find a piece of ground you can plant it into (or a very large container) and leave it for at least a couple of years to fill out. At this point it doesn't matter what height of eventual bonsai you are aiming for, that trunk needs to develop into something that is not pencil thin. Growing it open ground does this quickest. Then we worry about styling.

The other tree is something that is often sold in the UK as a pepper tree. It is nearly always sold as an indoor tree in the UK, mostly because it never does well outdoors. remember we don't have the luxury of André's climate here. To be honest, it doesn't do that well indoors or in a sheltered location here either so don't worry if it doesn't thrive. Use it as a beginner tree to practise horticultural practices such as watering and feeding.

I'm trying not to say your trees are inferior. The maple certainly isn't but it needs a lot of development. If it were me, I'd forget about the pepper tree and start looking more for things like larches and hawthorns to develop your bonsai skills. If you can get to the NEC on the weekend of 12-16 June, go to the Gardeners World Live event and see the trees on the Best of British Bonsai stands so you can get an idea of wht you can aspire to. You may even be able to pick up some business cards for proper bonsai nurseries near you. Sadly garden centres are not the best places to buy bonsai.

Good luck with your new hobby and stick in with that maple. There's no reason why it can't appear in a show at some point in the future.

Thank you Andre for the advise And yeah I forgot to mention that I'm from the UK I will update that wright away!
I have already noticed the knobs on the tree though have been a little bold and brave I have decided to do a root over rock though on a slop and cascading a little.
I have also lost all of the clay like soil and replaced it with a mixture of cat litter, wood chippings and potting soil. I will post some pictures of it asap.