HI all
This is my first attempt at a lot of things bonsai.
The species is Thuja occidentalis and its around 550mm high and 250 wide.
It was bought as a pot bound nursary stock a couple of weeks ago. I decided to go with a formal upright with the second smaller trunk completely jinned.
It was my first attempt at wiring, jinning and also repotting. I spent a lot of time reading through a lot of posts on the forum before I took the plunge and put my new little tree under the knife. Its early days but the tree seems healthy enough.
Any tips and advice would be much appreciated.
And sorry about the poor image quality i had a few issues resizing them.
front.JPG
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“Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you?” Yoda
Hi Tinmonkey, welcome to the forum.
Good on you for having a go! It's the best way to learn.
My opinion,
Shorten the jin to about 2cm,
When the tree starts to put on new growth you should try to reduce the size of the higher branches.
The thickest branch should be the lowest, the next highest should be the next thickest. etc.
This can be controlled by reducing foliage, less foliage = slower thickening
Then you wait,
read lots,
join a club,
speak to some experts,
and get another tree
or two.
Soon you will be lost to the addiction.
Q: Why are we all here?
A: Because we are not all there.
well done im pree new at bonsai to but i think let it grow out a lil bit and start to get the shap you want,, get thick wire and put a lil movement in the trunk, if you want, and the cut the higher branche by half maybe and pinch the lower ones.
again im not great advice.
good luck mate, and i think it lookin ok
Welcome to the Forum and welcome to the wonderful world of Bonsai as well. That isn't to shabby a tree to start with either, although you could have started with an easier species, say like a - oh I dont know, maybe a fig.
Good luck on your journey.
Graeme I will forever defend your right
to disagree with my opinion.
Well done with starting your journey into the wonderful world of Bonsai. As you progress, you'll gain a heap of experience and a wealth of knowledge. If you have any questions, just post them. There's a huge pool of resources here and someone will always point you in the right direction.
To help start you on the right track, perhaps you'd like to have a look at this topic about wiring. Hopefully it'll give you some tips on how to do it:
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.
Taffy that wiring info was great thankyou very much.
I've had another look at the little guy and decided to do a bit more work thisafternoon.
I realised that i didnt quite get the angle of the tree right in the pot and the new pic shows how i think it should be.
Not sure if i should attempt to repot again or would this put too much stress on the tree?
Once again thanks everyone.
Daniel
new front.jpg
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“Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you?” Yoda
you have a good eye, this tree has some real potential and is a great find.
your last pic looks great
alot better than any of my 1st 10+ trees
Now the hard part LOL keeping it alive
welcome to your new addiction
Mummy of three under three, I love having my arms full
I am going to be straightforward and a little blunt, with some advice that I would offer to anyone starting out in bonsai. Thuja occidentalis is a poor species for bonsai. The foliage for one is difficult to work with and the tree always wants to be upright and sparse. It is likely that even in experienced hands, this species will make sub average bonsai at best.
This is not your fault, this is your 1st tree, you could not have known any better.
Many Junipers (Junipers squamata 'Prostrata', J.procumbens, J.chinensis 'Sargentii' etc.) are better choices, while these may be a little difficult to source at a regular garden centre, bonsai nurseries will have plenty to suit most budgets.
The advice of Gerard to: read lots, join a club, speak to some experts and get another tree or two is very good advice. On Ausbonsai there are some of the best bonsai minds in Australia, if not the world, they are here to help, so just ask.
Cheers,
Mojo
...Might as well face it, I'm addicted to Shohin...
"Any creative work can be roughly broken down into three components- design, technique and materials. Good design can carry poor technique and materials but no amount of expertise and beautiful materials can save poor design". Andrew McPherson - Furniture designer and artist
You live in an area where some of the best tree's is Australia are plus some of the best advice to be gained. The National Bonsai and Penjing Collection in Commonwealth Park.
Also a very good Bonsai nursery in Ledanta nursery.
Just talk to Leigh Taffe, he will offer great advice as well as good stock.
Cheers and welcome to the affliction, Pup
IN THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE ATTAINED, ACHIEVEMENT IS WITHIN SIGHT
whereswally007 wrote:how old is the bonsai now, 3-4years??
Hi wally
Not really sure of the age I asked in the nursary when i bought it but the two staff gave two different answers. One said 18 months the other said three years both at the same time, it was almost comical, but not very helpful.
@Pup
I went and checked out the NBPC during the week and they really do have some amazing trees. I was also lucky enough to time it when Leigh was working that awesome Elm raft.
And thanks for the welcome.
@Mojo
Thanks for the advice. It might turn out to be a nice little tree to practice on without being too worried about killing it then
I also went and found a nice Juni which i will be posting soon for some feedback.
@Normamay
Thanks for the wonderful comments always good to get some encouragement.
“Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you?” Yoda
