Auk wrote:

Winter wrote: I think it might be possible in the next 10 years

Check your audience.

Yeah, I know - but technically it is possible. I just can't be so straight as you are, but I'm working on it.

Winter wrote:

Auk wrote:

Winter wrote: I think it might be possible in the next 10 years

Check your audience.

Yeah, I know - but technically it is possible. I just can't be so straight as you are, but I'm working on it.

OK. The good thing is that Dippy knows what is beautiful.
However, creating a tree like this requires either very good starter material or at least 15 years of growing a trunk. It will also require talent, skills, practice and patience. Telling someone who did not know the difference between a bonsai and a dead shrub, that it is possible in 10 years, is not realistic.

Dippy, it is a nice tree indeed, but I think you need to lear to walk before you run. Great to keep this tree in mind as a future goal, but start at the base.

Thanks for being honest auk with me I will get there I'm a very determined person it maybe 10-20years but I'll get there with most likely alot of help from you guys on here anyway back to my poor mallsai what can I do with her??

You need to get it healthy. Follow the care guidelines on this website. You could Google for more info about this species.
I can't see the soil and if it 's any good.

Thanks I'll do that here is some more photos of soil

As a newbie myself, I can share a few of the things I learned from my first 2 (and last 2) Mallsai - a Fukien Tea, and a Chinese Elm:
1) I learned that buying trees off the internet, sight unseen, means you don't stand a chance of getting even the "good" Mallsai. (No, there are no good Mallsai, but some are even worse than others.
2) I learned to do research, and I looked up every article I could find on those two species, I searched YouTube for them too. (Just remember, that anyone can call themself an expert and upload a video. Bonsai Empire's videos are a great place to start.). I also googled "Fukien tea bonsai image" and "Chinese Elm bonsai image" so I could see what a mature bonsai of that species should look like - and how mine did not fit that mold.
3) I learned about inverse taper, ideal branch placement, air layering (fixed that inverse taper at least!) and that even poor branch placement can, in some cases, be addressed (with skill and a lot of patience) by grafting.
4) I learned that when a tree goes dormant in the winter it may lose it's leaves and create the "dead houseplant panic." I learned that dormant means "not dead yet, but you can still kill it." - More water isn't always the answer. I learned about over-wintering my different types of trees.
5). I learned that it's a heck of a lot cheaper to make by beginners errors on an $8 nursery plant. It's a huge amount to learn, and if you're really dedicated to doing it right, then the learning curve up front is pretty steep. But it's all part of the journey.
The little juniper in my 'avatar' image, is an $8 plant. I've learned a lot since getting him. I learned that what I did to him in the first few months, such as forcing him into a bonsai pot so quickly, and within a very short time of a major pruning, should probably have killed him. I was very lucky, and he is now thriving. That pic is 5 months old. -I will never mistreat a juniper in such a manner again, however. :lol:
It's all about the journey. So even if some of my early errors are in bonsai pots, all of my trees are really pre bonsai material. The rest (they are like potato chips, and I can't seem to have just one.. or two...) are either in pots or in the ground. I nurture them as I would if they were in a bonsai pot, and when they are ready, they'll each move up a step on their journey towards being a real bonsai.

Lynette,
If only all beginners were like you. Great approach.

Lynette
Thank-you for your help

Hi everyone
Just doing some research on my Chinese elm should I re pot it in a larger pot? So that it's trunk can go abit more? Am I right in thinking that if it stays in this small bonsai pot that it will stop growing and most likely die? Also I'm reading that when the leaves are turning yellow it means I've watered to much?? Any help would be much appreciated cheers

Dippytree wrote: Hi everyone
Just doing some research on my Chinese elm should I re pot it in a larger pot? So that it's trunk can go abit more? Am I right in thinking that if it stays in this small bonsai pot that it will stop growing and most likely die? Also I'm reading that when the leaves are turning yellow it means I've watered to much?? Any help would be much appreciated cheers

Dippy,
Bonsai pots are like a frame to a picture. When does a painter frame a picture? When it is finished.
If you want the trunk of your tree to grow larger you need to place it in a bigger pot. Not necessarily it will soon die in the small pot - it will first just stop growing and will be weak. But leaves turning yellow usually means too much watering so repotting in a bigger pot with good draining soil can only help. You could only water less, but a well draining soil drastically reduces the chances of over-watering or root-rot.