A photo from my recent trip to the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Washington. Unfortunately I don't remember what your of tree...

Hi all! I got a weeping cherry bonsai from my mom today and am really excited. I’ve always wanted to get into bonsai, but I’ve heard they are extremely difficult to care for so I’ve been a little hesitant. Well, now I’ve got one and I would very much like it to thrive. Any advice? It says it wants 8-12 hours of direct sunshine, but our yard is like a sun dial so I’ll be moving it to follow the sun throughout the day. And moist soil, should I spray the soil with spring water to saturate it? Or pour from a spout? Any advice would be helpful! I’ve only grown herbs and some fruit bushes so this is all new for me.

I have a 5-6 year old bonsai that I think needs a hard prune.

Any advice?

Approximately 12-year-old juniper procumbens went into a pond basket after removing about 50% of the root ball from a nursery can.

Shown after one yr of training and some hard cutbacks.

Perform to major overhaul on this juniper pro Cummins Nana approximately 6 years old. I put a couple Big Ben's into the trunk last year and it has recovered well so far. Next I need to work on creating more roots out of the left side of the trunk base.

Tiny ginkgo in training with great movement at the base already.

In hot climates, should hinoki cypress grow in akadama or more organic soil?

Late summer clean up for my elm forest

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.poundncashdown.com/post/132323

An ambitious project for me. It was a lot of fun to figure out. I'm hopeful that it'll grow in and cling to the rock in the future. Getting rid of that wire would be nice.

Once it puts out some growth and shows that it's established, I'll do some semi hard pruning to refine the shape a bit.

The pot is one I formed by hand with a mix of portland cement and perlite dust.

Going for a Pierneef style

Before and after. Going for Shakkan style with a twist, literally.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.poundncashdown.com/post/90603

This is a follow up to my previous post linked here.

I’m trying to encourage the trunk to thicken while slowly figuring out which branches to make the main ones and how to balance the overall shape.

I try to let this tree grow out thick and dense with little to no trimming, then chop it back to a state that will let light through to the lower foliage while building the shape. That usually means clipping off upward growing new shoots to push growth into lateral or more downward growing shoots. Rinse and repeat that a couple times a year and we’re here.

I usually propagate most of the cuttings by throwing them in water under a grow light elsewhere.

I'm still lacking some solid, low growing, main branches. Stay tuned for more shenanigans.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.poundncashdown.com/post/79872

This is one of too many Benjaminas. They propagate far too easy for my lizard brain's good.

This tree needs a reduction in foliage and upward growing branches in the upper section. That should help balance out the growth between top and bottom, push some back budding to occur, and let the lower foliage get some proper light.

Trees in progress

Time to start learning how to wire and care for them!

Relatively new to bonsai, this is mine that I’ve had for about a year. Have not done any pruning. Anyone have tips/tricks to share with a newbie?