Bonsai is a personal journey for many of us no matter
how we go about our process. I think sitting in
judgment of another’s process is counter productive to
that process. There are many ways of birthing a
bonsai. Seed, Cutting, collecting, nursery stock, all
valid in my book.

My personal choices are from cuttings or collected
materials ( collected from neighbors, wild and
nurseries) With over 300 trees in my collection, I am
a bit picky about what I add or subtract from that
collection. I have a 30 year old koto hime maple
(very small leaves) that is about 25 years in my care
from a 4” nursery pot. It is now in a 2 gallon can
and has gone from pencil size in diameter to about
2”. We have a relationship. She has been mother to
many other Shohin sized bonsai grown from cuttings.
She has populated forests from 1.5” in height to about
10 inches in height. She is not a bonsai tree, but
may start becoming one soon. She is in partner with
me for my process.

Do I think this is the only way to do bonsai? No. I
have tried my seeds. I have trees in the ground. I
have many spectacular trunks with good nebari. I
don’t consider any of these bonsai at this point in
our lives, but we continue the journey.

Kits


****
"Expectations are resentments under construction."

Anne Lamott

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Edmund Castillo++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

OKOK ALL I MEANT WAS. THIS PERSON IS JUST STARTING BONSAI. WE ALL KNOW THAT TO START A BONSAI FROM SEEDS WILL TAKE A LONG TIME. I AM NOT SAYING YOU SHOULDN'T TRY BONSAI FROM SEEDS. I DO IT MYSELF. MATTER OF FACT I HAVE A FEW POMEGRANATE SEEDS THAT SPROUTED. I AM JUST TRYING TO GET THIS NEW PERSON TO GET THE FEEL FOR BONSAI BEFORE THOSE SEEDS TAKE HOLD. JUST TRYING TO ENLIGHTEN THIS PERSON TO OTHER WAYS OF DEVELOPING BONSAI.
THE POMEGRANATE SEEDS WILL BE ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD BEFORE THEY ARE USEABLE.
I HAVE ALMOST 200 TREES AT VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. I THINK MANY BONSAI PEOPLE DO. IT IS PARTIALLY DUE TO THE FACT, I GET IMPATIENT WAITING FOR ANY ONE TREE TO DEVLOP INTO WORTHWHILE BONSAI MATERIAL
SteveW
Long Island NY


-----Original Message-----
From: Lee Braiden
To:
Sent: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 14:08:45 +0100
Subject: [IBC] It's spring and I need sprouting advice


On Saturday 23 April 2005 13:36, Steven Wachs wrote:
starting from seeds is really stretching it. Being you are just starting
BONSAI get a book on BONSAI. Learn about style and pruning. then buy some
inexpensive plants and prune away. starting with a good size plant will
get you success sooner than some seeds which take years to grow into a
suitable size BONSAI. Pomegranits which is the same as Chinese Apples are
sold in fruit stores. Those seeds take about a week to sprout.. I never
tried Ficus from seeds. SteveW

Sheesh. It seems to me that he can start however he likes. Back when I was a
kid, my grandfather and I planted a little seed in the ground. I never even
thought about it for years, but one day I suddenly realised that the huge
tree outside their window was the one we planted together so long ago.

I've also sprouted a few trees from seed without even trying, and now I have a
number of seed trays sown out. If it doesn't work, so be it. Then, I'll
keep tending my fully grown bonsai, and plant more seeds. But if it does,
it'll be a pleasure to watch and help it grow, and every failure will lead to
more appreciation of my successes.

There's a lot to be said for starting from seed, and if people think they have
the time and patience for it, there's no reason to tell them any different.
Sure, they could buy a pre-grown tree in the meantime, and that might be good
advice to give, but telling people not to grow from seed seems quite
different to me. It's not *about* shaping branches for some of us, even if
that is a large part of the final art.

--
Lee.

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Edmund Castillo++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Edmund Castillo++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

No need to yell


"Steve wachs" wrote in message
...
OKOK ALL I MEANT WAS. THIS PERSON IS JUST STARTING BONSAI. WE ALL KNOW
THAT TO START A BONSAI FROM SEEDS WILL TAKE A LONG TIME. I AM NOT SAYING
YOU SHOULDN'T TRY BONSAI FROM SEEDS. I DO IT MYSELF. MATTER OF FACT I HAVE
A FEW POMEGRANATE SEEDS THAT SPROUTED. I AM JUST TRYING TO GET THIS NEW
PERSON TO GET THE FEEL FOR BONSAI BEFORE THOSE SEEDS TAKE HOLD. JUST
TRYING TO ENLIGHTEN THIS PERSON TO OTHER WAYS OF DEVELOPING BONSAI.
THE POMEGRANATE SEEDS WILL BE ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD BEFORE THEY ARE USEABLE.
I HAVE ALMOST 200 TREES AT VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. I THINK MANY
BONSAI PEOPLE DO. IT IS PARTIALLY DUE TO THE FACT, I GET IMPATIENT WAITING
FOR ANY ONE TREE TO DEVLOP INTO WORTHWHILE BONSAI MATERIAL
SteveW
Long Island NY


-----Original Message-----
From: Lee Braiden
To:
Sent: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 14:08:45 +0100
Subject: [IBC] It's spring and I need sprouting advice


On Saturday 23 April 2005 13:36, Steven Wachs wrote:
starting from seeds is really stretching it. Being you are just starting
BONSAI get a book on BONSAI. Learn about style and pruning. then buy
some
inexpensive plants and prune away. starting with a good size plant will
get you success sooner than some seeds which take years to grow into a
suitable size BONSAI. Pomegranits which is the same as Chinese Apples are
sold in fruit stores. Those seeds take about a week to sprout.. I never
tried Ficus from seeds. SteveW

Sheesh. It seems to me that he can start however he likes. Back when I
was a
kid, my grandfather and I planted a little seed in the ground. I never
even
thought about it for years, but one day I suddenly realised that the huge
tree outside their window was the one we planted together so long ago.

I've also sprouted a few trees from seed without even trying, and now I
have a
number of seed trays sown out. If it doesn't work, so be it. Then, I'll
keep tending my fully grown bonsai, and plant more seeds. But if it does,
it'll be a pleasure to watch and help it grow, and every failure will lead
to
more appreciation of my successes.

There's a lot to be said for starting from seed, and if people think they
have
the time and patience for it, there's no reason to tell them any
different.
Sure, they could buy a pre-grown tree in the meantime, and that might be
good
advice to give, but telling people not to grow from seed seems quite
different to me. It's not *about* shaping branches for some of us, even
if
that is a large part of the final art.

--
Lee.

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Edmund Castillo++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Edmund Castillo++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++