Beginner advice - Fig / Elm / Juniper / Trident maple

[xgenshinx]

Hello Bonsai friends,

Received most of these trees from a bonsai nursery as an early xmas pres. Loving it as a hobby so far - very relaxing . I've had to deal with a few issues here and there already (spider mites, aphids, correct sunlight position, watering) but I'm enjoying learning.

Since having started I've been told (correct me if I'm wrong) that to form a beast of a tree - most of the time repotting into a larger pot and growing it out is the way to go. The Trident maple is the latest buy which I'd like to see grow into a beast. Have read that repotting in August is the best here - so thats the plan for all the trees. Big pots all round next year.

Until August - I'm looking to get some questions answered on each of my trees if any experienced people have the time

Juniper - Came wired - but should I do any more wiring/shaping here? Also should I be trimming all leaves that aren't facing up?

Fig - I plan to defoliate this one in the next few weeks to reduce leaf size. Have read that leaving the stem when cutting is the way to go? Also - should I bother wiring and shaping this one at all before a repot?

Chinese Elm - More of a display piece at the moment. Advice - other than repotting down the track?

Trident Maple - Should I bother doing anything to this other than letting it grow?

Also - do you think the glass tables I have them on will be burning/affecting the leaves? Should I lay down some sort of rubber mat over the glass?

Thanks in advance!

[Bougy Fan]

Hi xgen and welcome. The glass tables wont hurt - good that you have them outside which is often a beginners mistake. Make sure you water them every day and even a second watering on really hot days. The wire may need removing on the juniper - it looks to be cutting in ? Wire scars are best to be avoided if possible. Remember to feed the trees as well - liquid fertiliser and some seasol as well.

[DocPep]

Welcome xgen.
With regard to the fig, repot now into a good free draining mix and cut back the leggy stuff.
Once it starts to leaf out, hit with fertiliser and it will power away.

[Jdceng]

Hi xgenshinx

If I was you I would look these guys up.

http://www.newcastlebonsai.org.au/m/home

[shibui]

Second DocPep advice to repot the fig now. Figs and many other natives do far better when repotted in warm weather. It already looks very hungry so repotting into a larger container and plenty of feed will do it the world of good. The long branches could be cut back at the same time and it will produce lots of new shoots. defoliating this tree will not produce good results. Pruning will be better. You could wire branches if you think that will make better shape but I cannot see much worth wiring in it at this stage.
If/when you do defoliate your research is correct and applies to all species that are defoliated - cut the leaf blade but leave the leaf stem. It will fall off in a few days as the new shoots start to grow.

Bougie fan advice about the wire on the juniper Get it off now. It has already been on the tree far too long. You can wire other parts again if you want to change the shape. Trim off any excess shoots, including any that are growing down unless you need them to fill in space then wire them into a better position but it looks like there is already more shoots on this tree than you need so pruning is probably better for now. It has way too many branches I would like to see more of the trunk and some spaces between the branches so some thinning would be in order I think.

Cannot see enough of the trident's structure to offer much advice. probably feed and water well and let it grow this summer would be OK.

Feed, water and keep trimming the elm. It will probably grow into a nice tree.

[loriperry]

Thanks a lot for these advices. Even experienced people can find here useful advices!

[The Munt]

Hello Bonsai friends,

Received most of these trees from a bonsai nursery as an early xmas pres. Loving it as a hobby so far - very relaxing . I've had to deal with a few issues here and there already (spider mites, aphids, correct sunlight position, watering) but I'm enjoying learning.

Since having started I've been told (correct me if I'm wrong) that to form a beast of a tree - most of the time repotting into a larger pot and growing it out is the way to go. The Trident maple is the latest buy which I'd like to see grow into a beast. Have read that repotting in August is the best here - so thats the plan for all the trees. Big pots all round next year.

Until August - I'm looking to get some questions answered on each of my trees if any experienced people have the time

Juniper - Came wired - but should I do any more wiring/shaping here? Also should I be trimming all leaves that aren't facing up?

Fig - I plan to defoliate this one in the next few weeks to reduce leaf size. Have read that leaving the stem when cutting is the way to go? Also - should I bother wiring and shaping this one at all before a repot?

Chinese Elm - More of a display piece at the moment. Advice - other than repotting down the track?

Trident Maple - Should I bother doing anything to this other than letting it grow?

Also - do you think the glass tables I have them on will be burning/affecting the leaves? Should I lay down some sort of rubber mat over the glass?

Thanks in advance!

Cool starters mate. And I love the mononoke tree spirits in the pot haha!

[kylejustice]

Thanks a lot for advice about watering. It is really helpful