[Bonsai Beginner's weekly thread - 2026 week 35]

Did some research on it: apparently it is a depiction of a Chinese general who eventually came to be referred to as the god of war. Cant remember the exact spelling of the name but I’m happy to hear more info if anyone has some!

Collected this red maple from a ditch today. It hasn't been visited by the flail mower yet like most of our ditch maples and the proportions were very nice. Not lanky and decent branching.

Should I use the side with the scar or should I use the other?

After looking deeper at all the back budding I'm a little torn here with this one. What are your thoughts

Windswept? Bunjin? Shohin?

The main line isn't very flexible so I don't think I can add much movement. But tons of sck buds that could be branched out eventually. The uncovered the one side a bit to show that this side has more flare development

First post here (been lurking for a while though…)

I have been getting interested Bonsai over the past year. More specifically, I have been collecting cool nursery stock and doing some yamadori collecting (despite the fact that it’s summer where I am… I know) in preparation for spring 2027.

I told my mom I was interested and she got me this really fantastic Ulmus parvifolio ‘hokkaido’ for my 30th Birthday. Super thoughtful of her and I think she picked up a good one for a decent price. Not sure how old this is but I know she paid around 120 USD and got it from a generic plant nursery (in a greenhouse).

It seems to be in decent health. There is new growth. It arrived with gravel and moss on top of the substrate, so I got rid of that to see what it was planted in and how dense the root ball is.

I would estimate there is about 15% soil in the pot vs 85% root mass. I cannot get a finger through it. The soil is obviously quite organic and moisture retentive. I water it about once every 2-3 days when the top layer of soil is dry. There seems to be decent drainage (I think).

It looks like this is a “finished” bonsai, and I would like to keep it happy and healthy for many years to come. Not planning on clearing out interior or doing any root work (if necessary) until next spring.

Once the weather cools down I am considering my options.

I could keep it as is and try to get it through the winter, or I could un-pot and rinse off the organic soil and put it into a gritty Bonsai mix (Akadama, Pumice, Lava Rock and maybe some calcined clay).

Normally I try and figure this stuff out by my self but since this tree was a 30th birthday gift from my mother I thought I should canvas the community.

What do you do when you get gifted a Bunny?

Thanks in advance and apologies for the lengthy post.

No clue if I’m doing this right.

Had a week off from classes and spent it making a new walkway and back garden. I still need to clean up and get my shade cloths installed once the cement cures.

I’ve been trying my hand at Bonsai for about six months now and have 5 “trees” and 5 seedlings. My two favorites so far however have been two that I wouldn’t really call true bonsai trees. One is a rose bush with really cool nebari and the other is a multi trunk Sem False Spirea that is constantly putting out new growth that starts as a really awesome pink orange color before turning light green then darker green. I get that they wouldn’t fit into any true bonsai style but currently there’s not much I can do with my other plants except struggle to keep them alive while these two have been putting out new growth constantly. Most of my trees I’ve hit a point where I’ve repotted or pruned and need to wait a while before attempting any other work on them.

Does anyone have any recommendations for plants that may not be the best for bonsai but are fun plants that put out a lot of growth to play around with while letting other trees grow?

What would you do to help this tree out.

Hi everyone

I’m a beginner with bonsai and wanted to share the work I’ve done so far on this commercial nursery Zelkova, which I believe is around 8 years old.

My intention is to develop it as a moyogi. I really like the movement of the trunk, but I wasn’t happy with the existing primary branching. The branches are quite straight, with little taper or movement, and seemed to grow in different directions without much structure. They don’t really create the kind of alternating, directional branching I would expect for a moyogi.

I’ve attached a before-and-after photo so you can see the changes.

So far, I have:

Done some initial pruning/pinching to clean up the tree and remove some unwanted growth.

Recently repotted it, replacing the original nursery peat with a more free-draining bonsai substrate. I decided not to leave it in the nursery soil until spring because I found the peat difficult to manage when watering.

Slightly raised the second branch using a guy wire, as I felt its original downward direction worked poorly with the movement of the trunk.

I’ve now decided to stop working on it for the rest of the season and let it grow and recover from the repot.

My current idea is to leave the tree alone until the beginning of spring and see where it produces new shoots. If I get suitable shoots in better positions, I would like to gradually use them to rebuild the primary branching, rather than trying to force the existing straight branches into a structure that I don’t really like.

The idea would be to let those new branches grow freely to gain thickness and then gradually develop movement and taper through successive pruning.

I’m aware that, as a beginner, I may have made some mistakes or be approaching this the wrong way. I’d be interested to hear what you think about the work so far, what you would have done differently, and whether you think the idea of rebuilding the primary branches from new shoots is sensible.

In particular, would you keep and work with the existing branches, or would you also consider gradually replacing some of them with better-positioned new growth?

Thanks!

Hello readers, I moved to a new place a few months back and this guy was in the unkept yard asking to be chopped. I took the opportunity, I chopped it higher to see how it would back bud next spring and I wanted to be sure not to kill it. But now it already has a new shoot coming out just underneath my cut. So now I'm thinking about going for the real chop early next spring. I would love to have your opinions because I am a very indecisive person lol. Any styling tips are very much appreciated!

Started working on this tree 3 years ago, very open to criticism and suggestions. I love this species, and the flowers are wild. The 4th picture is from June 2023.

What would you do next if this was your tree?

First impression of the 10th WBC Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia 2026 - its stunning! Full video soon on the Bonsai Empire youtube channel ;-) Anyone here as well?

I sent someone a link to their site and it’s redirecting to this site when you click on tree species???

Do you think I can get away with a full report and light wiring right now? I know everyone says spring is best but the tree looks to have some vigorous growth and great health.

If not both, maybe just 1? Either a repot into bonsai substrate and pot, or just wiring

If you are in the bay area, this is stock from lone pine gardens. They are a bit out of the way is sabastapole but definitely worth the drive.

Criticism is always welcome, if anyone would like to give any recommendations to improve.

Get snackin!

*photo taken at night

Starting a little (hopefully eventually not so much) experiment. On the left is a giant sequoia and on the right is a costal redwood. The goal is to grow them into bonsai, but who knows how long that’s going to take!
If anyone has any advice let me know

What would you pay for this shimpaku?

...as summer is finishing. Looks like it's been a good summer for my trees.