My new bonsai kit is arriving today. I went with the Planter’s Choice 4 tree starter kit (hope this is a good one).

It seems like some bonsai trees turn out much healthier and cooler looking than others, and I’m wondering if there’s a way to ensure that my tree grows nicely from the start.

So my question is...for a total beginner, do the experts out there recommend any special steps? Maybe specific soil or a fertilizer? My kit comes with “expanding soil discs”, which I’m guessing isn’t the best growing environment for my seeds.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/basic-techniq...t-i-ve-leaned-so-far

I'm relatively new to Bonsai as well but here are the few tips I know. 1. Buy the right type of plant for your environment ex. indoor vs outdoor, tropical vs deciduous (leaves fall off in the fall).
2. Light, you can never have enough light. except for the very few species that do well in the shade. If indoor get lights that can supplement the natural sun. Keep plants in window with south facing light, they need about 10-16 hours a day of good sunlight.
3. Water. You're new so I recommend a cheap water gauge to test the soil moisture. Over/Under watering is the killer of most plants from what I've heard, along with not enough light. Seeds need to be propagated with a florescent light or indirect or filtered sunlight.
I hope this helps. Again I'm new too so always learning.
Cheers,
Badger

Just ordered a dual plant light and a moisture/light/pH gauge.

I’m wondering about the pots that I’ll be planting in. The kit comes with these recycled material cups and I’m thinking that after the tree has started growing, I’ll move it to a nicer, more substantial planter. Is that possible?

Any other advice I should take as I start out?

bluewaterpig wrote: My new bonsai kit is arriving today. I went with the Planter’s Choice 4 tree starter kit (hope this is a good one).

In my opinion, it's not. You're just buying ordinary, but overprized, tree-seeds.

Don't use a water gauge. It won't work.
If I'm right, no one of the regulars here uses grow lights. We grow our trees outdoors, where they belong.
I have never ever used a PH gauge.

seeds!
if your looking to have a tree in the next year good luck. you wont be able to perform any type of bonsai techniques in the next 5 years or more. you might be able to do some pruning and re potting but thats about it. at this point you are just going to watch them grow for quit some years. if you do indeed want to grow from seeds use the next 5 years to read and learn as much as you can. look up what what the art of bonsai really is and all its techniques then you will soon find out your not growing a bonsai you are just simply growing trees that you hope to train into bonsai trees one day in the future.

if you want something you can work on now and or practice with i would recommend buying some nursery stock. learn how to keep the tree alive then start doing work to it. but you also have to know what to look for in nursery stock its not just about buying a tree, pruning, re potting then calling it a bonsai. there are certain aesthetics your looking to achieve. do your research and studying.

5 years? Yikes. When you say nursery stock, do you mean trees that are already grown? Or something that is about to turn into a tree?

I would still like to watch my seeds grow, but maybe I can learn on something else in the mean time.

What would you guys recommend I buy so that I can start some bonsai techniques?

bluewaterpig wrote: 5 years?

And a decade more before you have a pre-bonsai.
Add another decade for a good bonsai, and a few more for a really great, impressive one.

bluewaterpig wrote: 5 years? Yikes. When you say nursery stock, do you mean trees that are already grown? Or something that is about to turn into a tree?

yes trees that are already grown and for example are a few years old that come in a 1-3 gallon pot.

bluewaterpig wrote: What would you guys recommend I buy so that I can start some bonsai techniques?

its hard to recommend material since we dont know where you live. look up trees that are native to your area and you will have the best chance in keeping it alive.

A very good step is to walk around outside looking at trees. What species do you see growing? What does the bark look like? How about the roots? Fall leaves? Go out in the woods. Find a tree that you like and identify it from a web page or a tree book.

Ask Google about the tree as bonsai. If it looks like a good idea, find a nursery close to home and get one.

A lot of work? Well, if it is work maybe you should find a different hobby. It should be a lot of fun. Can you spend too much time looking at trees?