Bonsai refers to a "tree in a tray"... and just about any tree can be
trained as a bonsai, and other plants for that matter. Some plants do not
like being in pots, others look out of proportion. The way I see good bonsai
is, here's the goal: if you were to take a picture of the bonsai, just the
plant-nothing in the background or nearby to suggest scale, it would look
like a normal sized tree. Only until you saw something to compare it to
could you tell it was a small one in a pot.
And it doesn't have to be a shallow pot- a cascade style would fall over if
it were in a shallow pot! Different species of trees lend themselves to
different sizes of bonsai also, I have seen some bonsai in pictures that
looked awesome and was amazaed they got that type of tree to be bonsai'd...
then I saw the real tree in person and it was WAY bigger than I thought!
Different people have different definitions of what becomes too big to be
bonsai...a lot of it is in the styling of the tree. Just sticking a tree in
a pot doesn't immediatly make it bonsai. And when I say "tree" I don't mean
a pine or juniper, most woody plants can be trained as bonsai. I say a
picture of a rose done as bonsai (wish I could find more pics!), and a rose
isnt' what most people would call a tree...
Seeds will make you impatient if you don't also have a bigger plant to
work with... The tendency will be to overcare for the seedlings (trust me on
this!). I'm finding this out the hard way, I have a tendency to be
impatient. I have to "hide" plants from myself that are too young/immature
to work with or I'll work with them anyway! To stop myself from doing this,
I went to Home Depot over a period of a few weeks and picked up some
junipers to style-those little buggers grow so much they keep me too busy to
mess with my poor holly plant or my baby pine seedling . And for a few
dollars, you get practice on styling.

Susan L. Marsh

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Update! I went to walmart today, no I didn't buy a bonsai plant from
walmart, put away that flame torch..heh. Ok I went to the plant
section.. bought a few shallow pots, some rooting hormone product and
potting soil. I got a bit carried away and didn't read the section in
the book or get any advice from you guys yet about the "propper"
rooting hormone/potting soil if there is a such thing. What can I say,
I got excited...the good news is, I'm going to read it now! And I got
pics for you guys to see what I got so I can get some insite. Talk
about an inexpensive hobby, I got all this stuff for under $10! I think
it was like $8.50.

http://tekmanx.serveftp.com/~tekmanx/plant-stuff/

Also, I noticed some people send me emails direct and I see some
follow-ups there but not here on the groups page. Is it suppose to be
this way? I would prefer to see the reply to my post up here on the
groups page.

Tekmanx
-Zone 25
(Florida/Bahamas)

One thing is in your favor - you've got enthusiasm. Now about the stuff you
bought. The soil is an ordinary potting mix: good for annuals and other
herbacious plants, but not good for bonsai. Why? Because it holds too much
water and has insufficient drainage. You need soil with large particulates
which will let the water drain away from the roots quickly.
As for the pots or trays, I see no holes in the bottom for drainage. You
could drill some holes, but they would still not do the trick when planting
seeds. They could be used much later, after the seeds have germinated and
developed good root systems.
Do yourself favor and start with mature nursery stock. Growing from seed is
fine, but takes forever to become a bonsai.
Your $8.50 purchase was cheap indeed, but one gets what one pays for. Good
luck!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tekmanx"
To:
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 7:31 PM
Subject: [IBC] Bonsai Newbie


Update! I went to walmart today, no I didn't buy a bonsai plant from
walmart, put away that flame torch..heh. Ok I went to the plant
section.. bought a few shallow pots, some rooting hormone product and
potting soil. I got a bit carried away and didn't read the section in
the book or get any advice from you guys yet about the "propper"
rooting hormone/potting soil if there is a such thing. What can I say,
I got excited...the good news is, I'm going to read it now! And I got
pics for you guys to see what I got so I can get some insite. Talk
about an inexpensive hobby, I got all this stuff for under $10! I think
it was like $8.50.

http://tekmanx.serveftp.com/~tekmanx/plant-stuff/

Also, I noticed some people send me emails direct and I see some
follow-ups there but not here on the groups page. Is it suppose to be
this way? I would prefer to see the reply to my post up here on the
groups page.

Tekmanx
-Zone 25
(Florida/Bahamas)

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


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

Firstly I'll paste what DanD wrote me in email:

"
Hi Tekmanx, my main comments are about the pots - these are basically
drainage pans for large pots and if you are going to use them you
should put some holes in the bottom so excess water can drain out.
These are pretty small as well, not sure what you are intending to
plant in them but I'd keep it on the small/short side since there will
be little soil to anchor the roots. Pots this small also can dry out
very fast on a hot day so you'll have to be very careful of that. To be
honest, being new to the hobby I would suggest getting some deeper
pots, you're taking on a challenge already being new to the hobby and
these pots will be a real challenge - though maybe you are starting
from seed? I don't recall your earlier posts.

This can be a very inexpensive hobby but it's also a very long term one
so you'll need lots of patience. I'm sure others will offer some advise
as well. Keep us in the loop on your progress.

- DanD
"

I paste this back because I think DanD sent me a direct email rather
than though the groups.google.com page. This is the first time I have
ever used this groups thing, maybe I'm overlooking something but I
think it'll be good if all the post could pass though here.. that way
when I reply it wouldn't seem like I'm talking to myself.

About the shallow pots DanD. I got them for germination only. I plan to
buy some deeper pots for my cuttings in the mean time I'm using these:

http://tekmanx.serveftp.com/~tekmanx/cuttings/

Ps. Don't forget to reply through the groups.google.com page:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.arts.bonsai/

Tekmanx
-Zone 25 (Florida/Bahamas)

I can't make up my mind and I'm scared if I make the wrong decision my
plant will suffer! Question is, where is the best place for my
germinating seeds and perhaps for the cuttings. I took three pics of my
options:

1=2E Bathroom window 90=B0F or more, One window poor ventilation (Moist)
2=2E Room window - Air conditioned 70=B0, Somewhat dry atmosphere
3=2E Outside Balcony - 90=B0F or more, Good ventilation, Could get VERY
hot at times.

Picters listed in the above order:
http://tekmanx.serveftp.com/~tekmanx/Where/

About the cuttings, In my "Sunset Bonsai" book a suggestion was made to
wrap the entire pot with cuttings in a plastic baggie. It said that
moister encourages root growth.. but wouldn't that be like suffocating
the plant!?

Tekmanx
-Zone 25 (Florida/Bahamas)

I can't make up my mind and I'm scared if I make the wrong decision my
plant will suffer! Question is, where is the best place for my
germinating seeds and perhaps for the cuttings. I took three pics of my
options:

1=2E Bathroom window 90=B0F or more, One window poor ventilation (Moist)
2=2E Room window - Air conditioned 70=B0, Somewhat dry atmosphere
3=2E Outside Balcony - 90=B0F or more, Good ventilation, Could get VERY
hot at times.

Pictures listed in the above order:
http://tekmanx.serveftp.com/~tekmanx/Where/

About the cuttings, In my "Sunset Bonsai" book a suggestion was made to
wrap the entire pot with cuttings in a plastic baggie. It said that
moister encourages root growth.. but wouldn't that be like suffocating
the plant!?

Tekmanx
-Zone 25 (Florida/Bahamas)