Maple bonsai decision.

[Ashleypaine90]

So I've been having a look, Australian bonsai grower has a large stock as mentioned, I'm thinking of getting a swamp cypress, a trident maple and possibly another, I'm thinking maybe a conifer? Japanese either red or black pine? Thoughts? I also love the look of carmon Fukien tea thanks for your help guys


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[Ashleypaine90]

Also does anyone have some sort of idea on pricing on these? I've heard Bunnings is more expensive than a bonsai nursery, I believe my juniper was around $45, obviously the price will vary dependant on size, quality and wether it's been worked, but some guide would be helpful thanks


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[Jarad]

Trees dying is part of the learning process, I now wire my trees into their pots.

I would avoid the pines until you get the hang of bonsai. Grab another juniper instead.

The bonsai nurseries here you'd be able to get at least 3 or 4 of that size for $45. I have no idea what the prices are like up there.

[Pearcy001]

Hi Ashley,

I would stay far away from Bunnings for Bonsai if possible, although I understand it is about all some people can get to.

Bonsai nurseries will sell much more advanced stock for that price, aswell as better stock compared to Bunnings.

To give you some form of idea, I picked up this root over rock juniper for $40 in Melbourne earlier this year.

viewtopic.php?t=21633

It had plenty of branches for me to practice my wiring skills on which was great for learning.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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[Ashleypaine90]

Thanks for all your help guys, that's a nice juniper too pearcy, ok so I'll stay away from the pines for now, are the swamp cypress and trident maples good choices? I'll speak to the people at the nursery too and see what they recommend for a beginner


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[Pearcy001]

+1 for the Trident Maple. In short I find its essentially a hardier, quicker growing and more beginner friendly version of the Japanese Maple. Unfortunately I can't comment on the Cypress, as I've never tried them personally.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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[kcpoole]

I'll speak to the people at the nursery too and see what they recommend for a beginner

See this WIKI list for good Starter trees
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... ter_Bonsai

Ken

[Lane]

Sorry for straying the thread but Pyracantha is on that list Ken as a deciduous?

[Ashleypaine90]

Thanks guys, And thank you for the list ken, I will refer to it when picking out some new additions, hearts pretty set on a trident maple


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[Ashleypaine90]

So my wonderful fiancée sent me a photo whilst I'm at work, she's picked me up a trident maple from our local nursery


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[Ashleypaine90]

Apparently it's in need of a good prune which they were going to do at the nursery today, however it has lots of new growth so is healthy, I will upload more photos later when I get home, any tips on pruning this? I will also give it a good feed and water and remove the moss thanks guys


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[Bougy Fan]

If you are off to the GC the Gold Coast and Tweed Bonsai show is on this Sunday - not sure what you will find there. Personally I think you are better off going to Sydney for Trident maples - we seem to get a lot of overpriced rubbish stock in Brisbane. Steve has a lot of stock out there but I don't think he does a lot of root work on it.

[Jarad]

Nice!

Make sure you start a new thread for it.

[Ashleypaine90]

Thanks guys, I will take a load of photos when I get home and start a new thread for it, it looks healthy so I'm happy with it, I know I'm no Masahiko Kimura so I'll be happy if I can just raise a nice maple to go alongside my juniper stay tuned


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[Beano]

Yeah I think bougy is right about Steve not doing a lot of root work. I recommend swamp cypress for you as a beginner, I've got a few and you can't overwater them. If you sit them in a water tray they'll go nuts with growth. They have large roots that will break through the bottom of plastic pots in one growing season, but you can hack a lot of them off and the tree won't bat an eyelid. I repeatedly cut the top of mine to get taper and I'll get a strong new leader, even if I cut it off clean with no bud visible. They branch prolifically, but I'm finding it's not always where I want, however a lot of websites go into approach grafting for swampies and I have no doubt it would be simple to do - I haven't done it but I'm only working on trunk tapering right now, it's not time for branch development for mine yet.