welcome to a life long addiction

The most important lesson is to learn patience and timing. I think learning from KZread gives the impression that everything needs to be done at once. But watching a tree grow doesn't make interesting content so we're watching a highlight reel of interesting jobs that need to be done to lots or different types of tree at different times of year. But because that content is ready whenever we believe these jobs needs doing all the time because we're watching them be done all the time without considering when the content maker made the video.

Great selection of Wish I'd Knowns! In a few years you'll have plenty more to add to the list 😉 but I also think we need to experience some of the mistakes first hand to really "get it".

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I've enjoyed a lot your content! Maybe in the future I'll make a "What I wish I would have known when I got my 100th Bonsai".

@murray821

Жыл бұрын

@@ApexBonsaithat you will get one hundred and one bonsai 😅 Oh and eventually you need good pots for all of them 🙈

@BlueSkyBonsai

Жыл бұрын

@@ApexBonsai haha "I wish I had stopped at 40 trees" 😂

It's amazing how much information is available so easily with the internet. I remember not buying expensive books when I first started, so I really had no idea what I was doing. With the wealth of experience being shared on KZread, we're all in a much better position to do things the way they should be done. Thanks for your video 😊

@sharkhaywood

Жыл бұрын

I find KZread a great source of information and inspiration.

Everything you said makes absolute sense. Started this art back in the early 90`s, did not have the time or patience then. Guess what, they all died. Imagine that. I am in the process of starting over, hope things go better this time.

I’m doing bonsai now for 3 years, and learned allot. Making the same mistakes, too much pruning, wrong time of the year repot or dug up. Doing everything at once. But I’ve learned and studied the techniques and have my backyard full with trees in pots 😂 after a lot of seedlings I now go for bigger starter material, like hedging plants. They have lots of character and potential. Like forsythia, honeysuckle, blue star junipers. I acquired some nice trees from relatives and neighbors. Good luck on your journey!

Right there with ya, started with one ficus a little over a year ago, and now I have well over 50 😂. Mostly Chinese Elms that I can dig up and play around with, which are great trees for beginners considering how forgiving they can be. Bonsais offer us therapy and teach us patience for sure.

I agree, it is very hard not to just jump in and "doing bonsai" as you said. I was luck to have found some great info on KZread. My first was a sorry looking Golden Gate Ficus I found at Lowes 2 years ago. It was not in a bonsai pot, in fact it had no drainage, so I purchased a ceramic drill bit, carefully removed the tree, cut 5 holes in the bottom and replaced the tree. Then took a lot of care watering and fertilizing it, got it in the sun when the temperature permitted, purchased indoor lighting for it and a humidly tray for indoor storage during the colder months and now 2 years later it's in a great bonsai pot with much better soil and it even has a few children that are doing well from some clippings. LOL I would say the trunk has grown, not quite 50%, but is well on it's way. It's shape is great from some wiring I did and now that it's summer it gets a few new leaves almost daily. This started my journey. Now I have 8 pots with various kinds and stages of Bonsai, even a replanted maple from my yard that is maybe 5 years old...thought it was going to die on my but all of the sudden dozens of new sprouts and leaved just appeared, so it's doing fine so far...see if it makes it through the winter but if it does, I have great plans for it.

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Awesome! I bet that maple will turn out great!

I’ve been doing this for only 2 months now and every point hit home for me. Thank you!

I like your fresh, honest approach! Yes, bonsai is addictive, and the joy is unlimited. I've lost entire collections several times in my life, but I always restart. Once addicted, you'll never want to let the habit go.

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Susan!

My first one was a small juniper bonsai that I received as a gift in 2006. I had no clue how to care for it and thought it would be fine on a window sill. This was how I learned about the differences between indoor and outdoor bonsai. I got my second on vacation in Hawaii in 2008 a dwarf scheflera that I still have to this day. I now have 12 both indoor and outdoor.

Having done this since I got interested in the 1980s and the first karate kid movie, I would offer the advice of digging up your trees on the side of the road or in local fields. Something that grows near your house. That way, you know, if it dies, it's not because somebody sold you a plant that wasn't accommodated to your area. And it's free; you can kill half a dozen of them without crying about it. Also, if you dig up a 6 inch tall tree, that's going to be as big as it ever gets unless you put it in the garden to grow. Larch are my favorite, they grow really quickly, they are reasonably hard to kill, and they survive transplantation well if you get them when they are, say, an inch across at the base of the trunk. Bonsai Mirai has an amazing series of month by month care videos for free. I can't say enough great things about them.

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Love me some Bonsai Mirai thanks for checking out the channel!

You've done well to still have your first Bonsai alive. This is a great example of learning. All mine are outside Bonsai having sadly killed many indoor ones due to not having enough light look forward to seeing more of your channel

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Eddy!

This video does a great job describing the early steps in learning bonsai! I’m looking forward to watching your bonsai journey.

I am at the stage where you were. Got my first bonsai. Today... Ordered all the tools... But ill take heed of your development advice.😂 I figure if you i want to do different activities i xan get different sized trees. Going to start one from a privet bush i am removing from the garden. Cheers.

I think this is helpful for beginners, so good job on this. There are lots of bonsai channels on youtube some for beginners some for people with more knowledge.

Great video. I can relate to your experience my first juniper is almost dead because of poor soil and overwatering.

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Hopefully you can save it!

This was great!

I’ve been doing bonsai since 2021. All are in development.

Great video. First time viewer. All these things you mentioned I wish I had known when I started as well. Keep up the good work love your trees

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Excellent video,lots of good info. I have just purchased my first bonsai and as you say you need patience 😂 very tempted to start chopping and shaping

I would definitely take the first juniper and develop it into a mame or shohin bonsai. I’ve seen a lot worse when someone gets their first tree, you didn’t necessarily mess it up too bad though, growing it into a large juniper with a thick trunk could take 10-15 years. I usually take my smaller junipers and plant them in the ground, that’s where my first bonsai is planted, I won’t take it out until the trunk is about as thick as my wrist, only thing I do is dig it up and root prune every few years. However with your first tree, i would definitely make it a mame or shohin tree. The second juniper you have there is great pre bonsai material, I have a few that I got a while ago that were very similar, I repotted them into large nursery containers and the amount of size they’ve put on is incredible, I typically just leave them alone while doing some minor pruning and wiring

Funny, but just the other day I dug up a tiny cherry tree strt from the giant cherry tree in our yard. Put it in a bonsai pot with another, hoping one will survive and i stumble on this video without looking for bonsai on the net. Interesting video It's not the tree as a tree. It's about making the tree into living art. Hmmmm...something about this. Something like making a wolf into a pet trained to please us. The wolf gives up his freedom for companionship and security. The tree gives up it's chance to grow into its future for care and security. Whatever, it ends up living art or even a living Rorschach Blot.

Thx you. I just got mine first baby tree last week. I don't know what to do with it. Now I think I will let it grow first.

Another way to find more trees and what I did was find basic planters and find wild trees in nature and slowly train them to put into a pot from the ground

Great and useful video! Thanks for sharing. 😊 I dropped a subscription and will catch up with your other videos soon.

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Jane!

I had a little roadside cheapo bonsai I started with and had in great shape for years, thats what got me addicted, unfortunately during a move my family members loaded all my bonsai into boxes that were supposed to be for tools so they were low priority for unloading. After about four days of chaos trying to remodel I realized I hadn’t seen my trees. They were baked to death in my garage 😢

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Oh no... sounds like you need some new trees.

Great video!

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

These are good tips! Grts Kennet

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

You are the last person I expected to see when looking for bonsai tips flanked 😂

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Small world Jeff! Let's get it....

1 Tree equals 30 Trees in no time. 😂

One more: Good water makes everything easier. Bad water kills. The tap water has either chlorine or chloramine. Both lead to salt accumulating in your soil. Chlorine is easily identified by smell, and if you store tap water for a day or two, chlorine will evaporate and water will be good to use. Chloramine is worse. It does not smell, and storing water does not help. If your plants were doing great for quite a while, and then started getting worse and worse for no apparent reason, this is probably salt accumulation. I am currently feeding my plants with bottled drinking water to wash away the salt that has accumulated. This can get quite expensive. So I've just bought some liquid designed to fix the problem. I haven't tried it yet, so I cannot recommend it. In addition, most plants prefer slightly acidic soil/water. Azaleas, camellias, gardenias and rhododendrons like it more strongly acidic. But plants of fabaceae (bean) family like their soil/water alkaline. Most beans (wisteria, carob, etc.) are not that sensitive, but sweet broom is very sensitive, give massive leaf fall, and I am having a lot of trouble with mine. Do your research.

Well I killed my first bonsai poor soil and too much water. I kept my tree in side because I was afraid someone damage it or steel it now a have about 25 mature trees and about 30 trees that are still nursery stock

Been having fun with Dessert Rose for a bit now! Saw the tag in the back, you a Mountaineer!?

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Born and raised! I live in North Carolina now!

@prayformemolly1244

Жыл бұрын

@@ApexBonsai Woooo! Montani semper Liberi ! Yes i have been in Florida for a while now but always have the mountains in my heart

Any suggestion for a good substrate mix? I live in alberta, canada. Any response will be highly appreciated. ❤

Atleast you didn’t kill it, most people kill that first one.

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

True

Your balcony is nowhere near filled with trees. Lots of space for a lot more bonsai ;-)

@ApexBonsai

Жыл бұрын

Just showed this to my wife.

Good video…I wanted to let you know that you are pronouncing bonsai wrong. It should sound like bone…si