AusBonsai

Hey all, I understand that bonsai isn't "quick" at all, but I was just wondering what methods other people use to produce shohin from seedlings relatively quickly.

So, say you get handed a Trident or Elm seedling- what would you do to get it into a bonsai the quickest?

My thinking is to firstly put the seedling in a tile/CD to get nice nebari. Then I'd wire in some movement and into a raised grow-bed it would go. Leave it for a year or two to build a trunk, then pull it up to develop the branches in a nursery pot.

What would you do? What style is the fastest to achieve?

What are some other methods to produce some relatively quick bonsai?

Hi Sheepdawg,

Your method is pretty sound so that's a good start. I've found root cuttings from Chinese elms can result in nice shohin in a few years if you can start with thick roots with interesting movement.

If you're willing to wrestle with a willow there's a thread for one I created for the 2016/17 shohin competetion:
viewtopic.php?f=158&t=22302
From stump to basic Shohin in 18 months!

Matt.

Have a look at the ausbonsai Facebook page ... Steven did a demonstration on developing Shohin for a Canberra club last month that was livestreamed.

(sorry, would include a link but work blocks Facebook )

Matt S wrote:If you're willing to wrestle with a willow there's a thread for one I created for the 2016/17 shohin competetion:
viewtopic.php?f=158&t=22302
From stump to basic Shohin in 18 months!

Hi Sheepdawg, did basically the same as Matt in the same comp but with 2 chinese elms
viewtopic.php?f=158&t=22397&start=0
viewtopic.php?f=158&t=22396

I know it's not with seedlings, but if you can find something a bit bigger to start with it can speed it up a bit more.

All good points.

This blog has some great pics.
Tridents
https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/fwnt1093/folder/460497.html

With one seedling, I'd think it'd be a struggle. I have been through 4 'batches' of seedling growing 100+seeds and probably got 10 decent shohin pre-bonsai.

The hardest part I have found with this process is sticking to the plan and getting the initial wiring to produce a nice look. The formula is pretty simple, get seedling, wire for shape, grow with lots of fert, cull hard, and cut hard to keep small internodes.

Maybe it is me, but it is hard to get good results.

I no longer leave fast growing trees in the grow beds for more than 12 months at a time. Nebari is important for maples so you really need to root prune and make corrections each year to achieve good roots. Trunk taper is also important. Regular pruning, even if it might slow growth a little, will give plenty of leaders which can later be removed or retained to give better trunk shape and bends. More leaders also gives more but smaller scars that can heal quicker than one single large cut on a stump bonsai.
I agree with Scott that, even with good knowledge and skills, quite a few just won't make the grade when fast grown. Changes are unpredictable and may be good or bad. Personally a couple of extra years taken while growing a bit slower but with better control is well worthwhile.
Cotoneaster horizontalis and C. microphilla are currently producing some really nice shohin trees for me.
Elm root cuttings mentioned by Matt S are probably the quickest way to a broom style shohin. Otherwise cut a larger elm at required trunk height and train the resulting shoots for broom style.

Jump on AUSBONSAI facebook page, video post from 2nd feb. Steven gave Canberra Bonsai club a presentation on how you could produce quality shohin in about 3ish years time. I was there on the day it was really good preso. Worth watching