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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14776

  • patoestavillo
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Hello everyone, I bought my first Bonsai at a local nursery but I am not sure what species it is. I think it is a juniper but I am not sure. Does anyone know?

Thanks!

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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14777

  • Auk
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This is a young juniper, not a bonsai.

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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14778

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sorry I am still very new at this. Is it considered a bonsai once it is pruned, wired and formed to a specific shape?

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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14779

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It is bonsai after using any techniques in which produces a good taper, nebari, ramification and a tree which fits into a style (there are far more characteristics).

What you have is tree CALLED "bonsai" however it has not any of these characteristics. Do not worry, about 40-70% of newbies (including myself) buy one of these at the start of their journey thinking they are bonsai.

We like to call them mallsai to mix in the fact of commercialism with bonsai. :D ;) people in china mass produce a lot of these in order to sell them as bonsi so they get a hell lot more profit.
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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14780

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sorry I am still very new at this. Is it considered a bonsai once it is pruned, wired and formed to a specific shape?


What Bob said, and:
This plant is far too young to start pruning and wiring.
Let it grow for a couple of years, then check again.
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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14781

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Thanks Auk and Bob. Would you guys recommend that I purchase an older mallsai and take a shot at turning it into a Bonsai, or purchase a bonsai online (Brussels Bonsai) and start my learning process with it?

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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14782

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Buy something there? At 34 USD for this Rosemary I would go and stand in front of their door, point at it, and laugh hysterically.

shop.brusselsbonsai.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=8528&category=14
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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14783

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lol, it seems that I cannot stop showing what a rookie I am. Well would you recommend that I buy a trained bonsai or try to turn an older mallsai into a bonsai? If you recommend the first option, any retailers I should look for?

Thank you very much

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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14784

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Well would you recommend that I buy a trained bonsai


What is your budget and do you have any idea what a real good trained bonsai costs?

or try to turn an older mallsai into a bonsai?


What we learn on this forum is that this is not going to be a success.
Mallsai are not intended to be starter material, they are a finished, commercial massproduct. There's not much you can do with'm except prune the shoots that grow too long. Turning mallsai into bonsai is done, but it requires knowledge and a lot of time.

As you don't even know what you bought, chances are that, like 99% of the rest, you'll buy the tree, can't wait, repot it, prune it, wire it... and kill it in 2 months.

I recommend to start studying. Don't buy anything yet. Learn what bonsai is, what they look like, how they are grown, and how to get good starter material. Then start looking for such material.

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Is this a Juniper? 9 years 1 week ago #14785

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What auk has said could not be more true. these are for the research: (two great websites)



www.bonsaiempire.com/basics

www.bonsai4me.com/bonsai_basics.html

www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_StylingForms.html
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