Hello,

I live in Newfoundland, Canada, ( which is an average of 10 degrees C throughout the year, and gets lots of snow in winter) and I am quite new to the art of bonsai. I have always been interested, and started last summer with a Ficus and two Fukien teas, I wanted to try indoor bonsai before I moved into outdoor bonsai because I wanted to practice and see if I could handle the skill and care bonsai trees need. Now that I have decided on getting a few outdoor bonsai, I am wondering what trees I should invest in, I am particularally interested in coniferous trees, and I wanted some advice as to which species will suit my climate, and how should I start the tree, seed, cutting, or nursery stock.

Thanks,
Kurtis

Kswc2000 wrote:

Hello,

I live in Newfoundland, Canada
I am wondering what trees I should invest in

Best thing to do is try a native tree that is suitable for bonsai.
Look up native trees of Newfoundland .
For each tree, type in the name + 'bonsai' in Google.

For example, the list shows "Larix Laricina". Googling for "Larix Laricina Bonsai" gave me:
bonsaijournal.com/larch-with-taper.php

excellent advice from Auk.

In General, juniperus, pinus, Larix are the families for you to consider first. If you can, try to locate a group in newfoundland, and also ask them which species they use, and how they keep them over winter.

Thanks for your help,

But one more question, should I start these bonsai from seeds, cuttings, or from nursery stock. Are they all the same? I realize that it takes longer from seed, and I can manipulate the bonsais full growth if I start from seed, but I really don't have an preferred Image of the tree I want to make. I I just want to know, is there a "best way" to start it? This may sound like a dumb question, but I just want to make sure. Thanks

If you want to do bonsai, the think you normally want, is to DO.
from that perspective I will always recommend to at least buys some trees. I love growing things from seed & cuttings, and do so all the time. But it takes years before you can actually do anything besides watering. So get some plants that are ready to be worked. Ideally you do not work them untill you have shown you can keep those alive for 6 months. But I realize that is never gonna happen.

Find someone close by who knows this stuff, and buy her a beer in exchange for a few hours helping you get the right tree from a nursery & explanations on how to get started. You'll have a good time.