Auk wrote:

Krištof wrote:

I wouldn´t buy any of them

I wouldn want to have the pots either.

I would take the first pot with chinese writings for my favourite chinese noodles soup.

Does anyone have a good website that sells non mallsai plants haha?

Ok i think i'll take Leatherback advice and leave it how it is. and adjust the watering with how quick it drys out.

Should i wait a few weeks before using a slow release fertiliser and liquid fertiliser?

Depends if you want yamadori that you will want to turn into bonsai or finished ones.
For yamadori I would go here:
bonsai4me.com/shop/#!/Bonsai-Trees-for-S...offset=0&sort=normal

or here:
yamadori.co.uk/buy-yamadori-and-bonsai/

Or Kaizen bonsai of course, they don´ t sell just mallsais

And fertilize away

Krištof wrote:

But again - Leatherbac k is the most experienced bonsai enthusiast on this forum - so if he thinks you can wait till next spring - I wouldn´t argue with that

Ehm.. not sur ethat is true, but thanks
As for not repotting.. in the end.. We cannot see/touch/smell/taste the substrate. The poster will have to judge whether the soil stays wet very long, or wehether it drains well.

Kaizen is nog a bad place to get trees. Just make sure you select a tree that is not cookie-cutter 10.000 per day plants and you'll be fine. Especially their yamadori & raw material section has some interesting bits. But yeah, they are raw. You have to make something out of it. for most, that is where the fun starts.

Driver170 wrote:

Does anyone have a good website that sells non mallsai plants haha?

Ok i think i'll take Leatherback advice and leave it how it is. and adjust the watering with how quick it drys out.

Should i wait a few weeks before using a slow release fertiliser and liquid fertiliser?

Just work on your own material. get a few books, take a Bonsai class, learn how to make your own Bonsai. Practice with nursery grown trees. I started with Boxwood and Junipers, and found Boxwoods to be very educational and easy to work with. Keep in mind, for the price you buy a mallsai on these online stores, you can buy a tree (oak,maple,etc...) with a developed trunk and use the chop method to work on a real Bonsai. Yes it will take time, but you will end up with something a lot better for the money, and more experience. Yeah you'll have to chop and grow a new leader and grow primary branches and blah blah and it will take a while. But that's what bonsai is, it takes a while. Meanwhile, while you wait for your tree to grow, you can work on small boxwoods and junipers, style them, repotting, ramification, etc... make mistakes, learn.

I think i'll leave it how it is and see how it goes.

eangola wrote:

Driver170 wrote:

Does anyone have a good website that sells non mallsai plants haha?

Ok i think i'll take Leatherback advice and leave it how it is. and adjust the watering with how quick it drys out.

Should i wait a few weeks before using a slow release fertiliser and liquid fertiliser?

Just work on your own material. get a few books, take a Bonsai class, learn how to make your own Bonsai. Practice with nursery grown trees. I started with Boxwood and Junipers, and found Boxwoods to be very educational and easy to work with. Keep in mind, for the price you buy a mallsai on these online stores, you can buy a tree (oak,maple,etc...) with a developed trunk and use the chop method to work on a real Bonsai. Yes it will take time, but you will end up with something a lot better for the money, and more experience. Yeah you'll have to chop and grow a new leader and grow primary branches and blah blah and it will take a while. But that's what bonsai is, it takes a while. Meanwhile, while you wait for your tree to grow, you can work on small boxwoods and junipers, style them, repotting, ramification, etc... make mistakes, learn.

Hmm interesting! I may purchase a juniper indeed and work on that. Its finding a good one though

Driver170 wrote:

Hmm interesting! I may purchase a juniper indeed and work on that. Its finding a good one though

I personally prefer Boxwoods because they naturally grow tight branch structures, they are almost as hardy as junipers, they backbud very easily, and their small leaves are easy to work with. They also grow a lot faster than Junipers, which will let you see branches and backbuding happening in a matter of months. They take a very very long time to thicken, so you have to get material with a decent trunk thickness (not too hard to find).

Junipers don't back-bud well, they grow really slowly, and I find the needles harder to work with than boxwood leaves. I am also slightly allergic to them, so anytime I work with one I get a rash. However, they are not too difficult to style, they are easy to take care of, and wiring their branches is pretty easy. You can find good juniper material for starting, but you will have to spend time digging, and looking at trunks at the nursery. From my experience, 1 out of 20 is good material. I tend to find boxwood material easier than Junipers. Junipers teach pruning and styling very well.

Guys i'm going to buy these 3 at a local bonsai club. The Larch forest is going for £60 the Red Pine is £25 and the Yew will be £70

I'm very excited to collect these in a few weeks. What you guys think?

Really nice I would totally go for it too good luck