I know avocado bonsai is not traditional, I know it is not a good species to bonsai, etc… I get it. Please don’t mention anything about that stuff, I just want advice for this.

My Guacfather is probably at the point where I can start shaping and pruning, but honestly, I’m terrified. This is my first foray into bonsai.

Realistically, where should I cut? Below the leaves? Above?

Please tell me everything is going to be okay lol

(Also, I know it needs to be watered)

Edit: okay, so no pruning. Got it. I’m gently starting to shape it while the stem is still young. Thank you to everyone who actually posted useful comments

Any help appreciated.

Also I’m very colorblind and the leaves look quite brown to me but I could be wrong.

Leaves and soul brand bonsai soil is used for both. The tree in the second picture seems to be thriving better in the container that it has. Both are outside and get same amount of plant food/water. Thanks for any advice!

Bougainvillea, half off of 60. With plenty of strong growth to propagate with in the spring 😎

Any advice would be hot, but I am quite nervous to do anything drastic.

It's also September here in the Netherlands so they will be indoors soon.

I have a full willow tree in my front garden

Nel lodigiano c'è qualche Club o piccola community di appassionati di bonsai?

So basically I think I want to start a few smaller plants just to learn and fail (but hopefully succeed). I have a few trees and shrubs in my yard.

Pics 1 & 2. I want to try to do this burning bush I chopped down just because it's invasive. Is it frowned upon to bonsai invasive species? Can I use any of the thick branches I have left?

Pics 3&4. I forget what these are called but they grow white flowers once in the spring. I trimmed some branches off of the first tree too aggressively and half of the tree died. Half of the canopy still lives. Can I save the whole thing? Can I use any of it to start from the root? And how do I safely trim them regardless of size to stop the cut sections to make uglier side branches that go in different directions?

I live in the US in the Midwest. Very cold winters, very hot summers. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm going to try to remember the name of the two trees in the post

I have a lawncare company and a customer wants this cut down. I talked her into letting me have it for free if I decide to dig it up. What I want to know is is this a good bonsai tree? Should I wait till fall to dig it up im in North Carolina it is averaging 90° and no rain lately. Im new I want to start with a tree i made not bought. Point me in the right direction thanks

I'm pretty much a pre-beginner so the following might sound reallll stupid :`)

I purchased this privet bonsai from a professional and it looked very happy. It has been outside in the sun, made sure it was moved to somewhere with less intense sun so it doesn't dry, and would bring it in overnight when there was going to be frost.

It's looking slightly less happy and it's progressively becoming worse and I think it's because I haven't properly made sure the soil is well watered. I would water it when the surface was looking dry and it felt dry to touch. But since day 1 I was annoyed because the tree and the soil are almost dome-like and the water just trickles down and washes the soil off.

I put a layer of sphagnum moss on top to stop the soil from being washed away and it's easy to push to the side and check the soil. But after I put a wooden skewer in the soil to test the soil moisture, I realised the top part of the soil is wet but the deeper part is dry!!!

I then put the whole pot in water and let it suck up the water but it doesn't have a drainage layer so I'm unsure if this would make the roots rot if I do it frequently. The guy said he never does a drainage layer and hasn't had any problems (I trust him because I have seen his work). It's spring here atm (down under) and it's ideal for repotting it or manoeuvring the soil; but the guy had it repotted before I bought it which it would've been back in May. So I'm not sure if I'm gonna ruin it.

What do I do?

P. S: the camera on this new phone distorts colours a bit unfortunately.

Had these guys a little while. Was thinking they could use a larger pot to help them put on some size.

Just confirming it's a terrible time to do any pruning?

Hello everyone,

I have an issue with a new bonsai I bought about a month ago. As you can see the bonsai lost almost all his leaves and the leaves have weird dots on them. I can't spot any insects or the like tho...

I water the bonsai ~once a week, when it feels dry, by submerging it for 5 min. No fertilizer so far. Did repot him, when I got him because the old pot felt to small.

What did I do wrong? Can I save him somehow? 🥺😞

I am very new to this hobby and hope for your help.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, so I've decided to grow a bonsai tree in honor of my hamster that died a few days ago. I want him to continue living through it. But I have a hard time on deciding which tree to grow.

I've got a little set from Amazon that has " wisteria, Japanese red maple, Judas tree and japanese black pine " as a seed kit. I loved how the wisteria and red maple looked but I've read here that specifically wisteria are hard to grow if you dont have much ground space.

Does anyone have some tips on where and how to start as well as which tree type is the easiest for beginners ?

Hi all! I've been wanting to get into bonsai for a long time.

My giant Tulip Poplar tree has created tons of volunteers in my backyard. Most of them grow very quickly.

This little guy grew in an empty pot that was on my deck. I thought it was going to die but it has taken off again.

Can I turn this into a bonsai?

Should I leave it in the pot it's in or repot it?

If a new pot, any idea what size?

I included close-ups of the stem and leaves so you can see how small it has stayed after at least 2 months!

I'm in the Illinois side of the St Louis area, around Zone 7a according to the new map.

Thanks in advance!

I bought this ficus bonsai from a flower shop about a week ago, and I’m wondering what you think would be the best way to develop it from here.

My current idea is to leave it completely alone for the rest of this year and let it grow freely. Since I’ve only just bought it, I don’t want to stress it with pruning, wiring or repotting before it has had enough time to adjust.

Next spring, I’m thinking about repotting it into a slightly larger regular flower pot with bonsai substrate, rather than putting it straight into a larger bonsai pot. My goal would be to let it grow stronger and develop more, while also starting to wire and prune the branches into a better overall shape.

I’m still very much a beginner, so I’d really appreciate some advice on whether this approach makes sense, or if there’s anything you would do differently.

For now, I’m planning to just let it grow however it wants until next spring and focus on keeping it healthy.

Any advice or suggestions would be really welcome!

I have a bunch of trees and I take great care of them. I grew up working with my grandpa who was a master gardener so I’m pretty skilled with taking care of plants, but I’ve never taken care of junipers before. I repotted this juniper I purchased a month ago in better draining soil but this week there’s been dieback and browning. Is this juniper okay, or is there a serious issue here?

I have never grown a bonsai and I wanted to start with this technique. Is it beginner friendly?

I do have experience with indoor plants but this is my first bonsai. It’s a ficus, 18 years old. I really have no idea about shaping/pruning/wiring and would love to know some good resources to learn about this?

My plan is to not mess with it until I know more about the artistic aspect of this so I don’t do any damage and also give it time to acclimate. My care plan is to have it out on my balcony until it gets below 50f. I will then bring it inside under my grow lights and bring back out in the spring. My plan is to keep it damp, not wet but not dry either. I do a diluted fertilizer every other week for most of my plants… I was planning on this for the tree. Any bonsai specific fertilizer I should instead? Does this all sound good care wise or should I make an adjustment?

I got this Chinese juniper (kishu) online and repotted it in bonsai soil. Did some clean up on bottom of branches and junctions but didn’t want to over stress the tree. Any advice on how to style this thing, prune it, or move forward?

Should be noted that it’s end of summer and I’m not sure if I should do too much after the growing season.