Anyone into their bonsai on here?

Have done a few over the years and trying to get back into it.

Have an Acer that’s growing nicely but I can’t think what to do with it..looking for some inspiration 🙂

Bless You!!

Friend of mine runs a bonsai business. It’s been going really well for him.

He’s going to have to move to smaller premises soon.

IGMC.

Reminds me of the guy who set up an origami business.

Sadly it folded

Bonsai has taken over for me in the last couple of years, whack a pic up of the Acer.

I don’t trust bonsai trees. They’re just a little shady in my opinion.

Here’s the Acer schrick. Currently about 2′ high and I’m thinking the side shoot is lending itself to a cascade style tree, in a tall pot..

<<“Fatbike Cozz to the forum please.>>

-Just followed the link – and I thought Surly’s were expensive 🙂

Its a cruel, barbaric hobby. Breaking limbs, torturing with grinders, peeling off skin with pliers, what kind of person does such things?

you going to have to machine up a tiny wooodburner or grow 1000s of those^^

What chainsaw for Bonsai logs?

You could store them in a matchbox.

@stuey, just been reading through the book I got years ago, by Harry Tomlinson 😀

Cheeky bump for the weekday members 😉

2′ ? Is that bonsai?

I wouldn’t say I was into bonsai, but was given a quite attractive little tree – ficus micrcarpa ginseng, IIRC and it’s doing well. Dunno if I’m supposed to trimming stuff as the branches are a little wayward.

Like this

But my branches are more spread and less clumpy 🙂

Can probably lose about 12″ on the height when it’s trimmed/shaped 🙂

Its a cruel, barbaric hobby. Breaking limbs, torturing with grinders, peeling off skin with pliers, what kind of person does such things?

Nonsense – as a hobby, it’s treemendous

Bonsai always makes me reach for the jin.

Have a read up on Niwaki, similar to Bonsai but perhaps more appropriate to the size of tree you’ve got there.

hi guys

Yes, I been doing bonsai for nearly 30 years.

I’ve been lucky to travel around teaching and doing demos

my website is http://www.bonsai.co.uk

take a look

ill post some pics but photo bucket is driving me mad

This coming weekend we have a open weekend with FREE bonsai demonstrations and exhibition each day SAT/SUN

My English Oak

[url=https://flic.kr/p/XBFQyW]DSC02093[/url] by corin tomlinson, on Flickr

Deshojo Maple

url=https://flic.kr/p/WZjTLP][/url]P1100095 by corin tomlinson, on Flickr

Juniper
[url=https://flic.kr/p/WZiTcp]DSCF4388[/url] by corin tomlinson, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/YdLeHt]IMG_4518 2[/url] by corin tomlinson, on Flickr

^^ wow… nice!

Your dad Harry was a big influence on me during my bonsai days and I was sorry to hear of his passing. I never met him but The Complete Book of Bonsai was a constant point of reference. My lad is now expressing an interest and I think that I may restart my hobby. How is THE[/u] Oak? Is it still with us?

Thanks for the reply cozz. Like coyote, your dad’s book was a huge influence on me when I started with some old stock from the garden centre I worked at.
My mum took over my collection when I moved away but we’re both looking to have a good go at doing some more and bringing on what we’ve got already.
There’s plans for a visit to Greenwood as we both need some bits and, TBH, we just want to have a look around.
Any thoughts on what an expert could do with the Acer, above?
It only started as a £3 Morrison’s tree but has started to develop quite nice shape.

A clash with the Dragon auction there Corin.

Stevied I don’tthink there’s a cascade there, the low right branchy trunky thingy is too straight and taperless. I’d just go with the one trunk that splits off to the right, chop above a node and regrow a new leader and new branches.

One of my better trees

where can i upload photos

its unlikely that you can get that acer to bend enough into a cascade style.

I would concentrate on an upright, remove the lower branch and give the tree a good trim back to encourage more back budding and branches

Re-pot next spring in to a shallower bonsai training pot

Where are you based?

@cozz

Wowtastic.

I had a beautiful little elm for a long time, but killed it through neglect in a bout of can’t-be-arskedism

I have started an English Oak this year though. Still very much a baby, from this spring’s acorn growth, but he’s survived a rabbit attack (no joke, completely stripped) and mildew so far, so I have hope….

I’ll have a good look at the shape this weekend and give it a trim.
Will pick up some proper training pots when we pay a visit.
I’m in Malvern so not a million miles away 😉
That’s a lovely specimen schrick 🙂

So I thought I’d give the Acer a haircut. Looks a much better shape and something to work with. Also got 10 nice cuttings so will see what they do: