Hello World! (programing joke)



I am 6 weeks into my Journey (or 1yr 2m if you include the juniper I bought last year and killed). I have a mentor/friend who is helping me get started. I have made many mistakes and I am sure I will make many more. I just hope that over time the mistakes get less and less frequent. I am trying to get off to a great start but without breaking the bank. Please let me know (if some of you could think back that far) how you got your start and what tools and supplies you got first.

Welcome to bonsai
A love of the outdoors coupled with an affinity to Japanese culture brought me to bonsai nine years ago. I started on my own, then found fellow bonsai artists in my area, then a club.
First tools were standard hardware items: pliers, wire cutters, branch lopers, pruning saw. Three years in, I purchased proper concave and knob cutters, scissors, etc. in a beginner set. Advanced tools came as I saw fit.

Bonsai Bender wrote: Hello World! (programing joke)

I have made many mistakes and I am sure I will make many more.

Yes, you will, that's how i learn , anyway.

Out of curiosity, was there a reason for pruning all signs of life from that little tree? Looks like it'll be alright though .

Hi, welcome to the forum. Hope you have fun.

Samantha wrote: Out of curiosity, was there a reason for pruning all signs of life from that little tree? Looks like it'll be alright though .

Yes I hard pruned the azalea that was a nursery stock.
The azalea will grow back and by next growing season should look like the top photo.

Welcome to the forum

Bonsai Bender wrote:

Samantha wrote: Out of curiosity, was there a reason for pruning all signs of life from that little tree? Looks like it'll be alright though .

Yes I hard pruned the azalea that was a nursery stock.
The azalea will grow back and by next growing season should look like the top photo.

That still does not answer the why question though

leatherback wrote: That still does not answer the why question though

It'll grow back
It actually looks better like that then like this.

Let me rephrase.. What is your long term image for this plant? Do you have a certain final image in mind that you strive to achieve?

Let me rephrase.. What is your long term image for this plant? Do you have a certain final image in mind that you strive to achieve?