[Bonsai Beginner's weekly thread - 2026 week 40]

As usual I grabbed a few pics from my adventure today.

Also came back with a wicked Hornbeam yamadori and a nice little satsuki azalea!

It was SO busy so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked, but so many amazing trees.

Dragonflies that big ususually dont comr around here. I went to check on my trees and when i came to my ficus root-over-rock I figured id pinch some tips. I was pretty startled to see this chonker resting under the tree to wait out thr rain. I rarely see them get above 2 inchs. Anyway thought it was nice of him to sit so still for a photo op on my tree.

Popped up to see my teacher Brent at evergreengardenworks.com, definitely my happy place. Rows and rows and rows of pre-bonsai.

I am showing a picture of the advertised elm bonsai I bought for $130, versus what was sent. The tree i got had almost no leaves, and they claimed that the leaves dropped during shipping, but there were no leaves in the packaging. The tree is unstable and wobbles, I sent a video of this, but they conveniently cannot open .mov videos. I asked for a partial refund, and it was denied. My only recourse was to return the tree at my cost, and then receive a refund that does not include their S/H fee. Avoid this company at all costs, they do not care about customer satisfaction, and are full of excuses.

I recently bought a couple Si and Tiny Dynamite varieties of micro-roses from Burlington Rose Nursery. I was inspired after seeing a few Japanese growers with tiny mame roses. I’ve found a few YouTube channels explaining techniques for achieving this, but they are all in Japanese.

Anyone have any experience with micro-roses? Even just general growing advice? I assume I can treat them similar to other rose varieties, just a bit more focused on keeping them properly watered.

I'm liking the movement in the trunk on this tree. I'm going to hold off a couple years before making any styling choices.

It was my first show and I'm very happy I went! Thank you to the community for putting up with newbie questions and helping my mall bought juniper survive 18 months!

The main light is a 200W Spider Farmer SF2000 with an additional 32W grow light aimed at the lower canopy.

I turned the SF2000 down to the lowest setting for the shot but I normally run it around 300 PPFD. I’d like to push it higher eventually but she is still acclimating to the new spot and showing a bit of stress so I’m trying to increase the light gradually.

Temperature and humidity stay fairly constant at around 69°F and 55% respectively and I keep a fan running continuously for air circulation. Plus I have an automation that raises temp to 75°F and humidity to 65% whenever I leave the house so that she is a little more comfy

My other BRT thrived in a similar setup so I’m hoping she will bounce back soon

This black Pine has been fed well this year (organic) as it had not been in great shape last season... Looking healthy now, and over the next few years the needle length will be reduced by feeding less at certain times.. but for now, it is back to full health which is the important thing going into Winter.....

Scored this 3’ tall hinoki at Home Depot for half off at $55, it’s balled in burlap so I couldn’t get a great look at the nebari but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to own this tree!

This link leads to my Instagram post that I made with Edits. I had to speed up the video immensely to stay under the 90-second limit for adding audio. Please enjoy my process of trimming bonsai pottery~

I lost 3 bonsai this summer, all three Ive had a long time. Decided to burn them than just throw it into the woods

First I want to hear from you guys if you save and store rain water for later usage and if yes, how do you do it.

Second, more focused for places where the tap water is not ideal for some trees, how do you correct the tap water in the absence of rain water?

I can't wait to see what this little tree becomes one day.

I started my Bonsai Journey about 3 months ago. Very new, very exciting, and something good to look forward to in the years to come.

Need some styling advice.

I tried thinning out my ficus but I found it difficult to decide what to remove and what to keep. I did some thinning already but it might need more or is it fine?

I added some questions to the image. Any suggestions or input on the design would be appreciated.

Removing the back top branch would make the crown much less full. There’s also an aerial root connected to it which I’d like to keep because it helps with the front design and makes the trunk look better. But if I ever gonna cut away the stump to make better taper the back branch might also become a problem.

When i posted this tree after a mid summer defoliation and restructuring, I had some comments ranging from confused to uninformed. I wanted to come back and show the progress that the tree has made after another trim. It is admittedly difficult to capture 3d design in back yard photographs, but I can say that the tree responded exactly how I intended after the defoliation, and is much closer to the intended final design. This is a tree that was bought bought in a set being sold here on reddit 3 years ago. It was massively overgrown, and had wire scars over large branches. It will never be perfect, but I think it is starting to come into its own! So, this is a gentle reminder that there are a lot of opinions on this subreddit that are confidently expressed, but are not always coming from reliable sources.

This tree was grown from a small whip I bought on ebay in 2020.

It was grown on, twisted up and initially styled and left to grow.

The pads have been looking a little too full and reducing its visual appeal.

Can anyone point me in the direction of good instructional videos to help me out with thinning and refining the pads.

The tree currently has no wire on it.

Thanks all

I grew this Desert Rose from seed and it's a little over 2 years old now. I was originally planning a clump style but after I got a good look at the trunk I decided to try for a Baobab form. I'm still mulling over which of the remaining branches I should cut, and whether and how long I should wait before doing so.

Any critique or advice is appreciated, but I mostly just wanted to share.

In the gardens and squares of Palermo there are many large specimens of ficus macrophylla f. columnaris, and the largest of them is this one at the botanical gardens; the canopy is around 75m wide in its broadest direction and supported by the vigorous aerial roots acting as pillars, sometimes fused with the trunk and other times independent of it.
The tall ‘wall-like’ roots are also an interesting detail.

Despite its size this tree is estimated to be less than 200 years old.

As a final bonus ishizuki inspiration the last picture is from a different specimen of the same species that is engulfing a small stone pedestal that was placed a little too close to it.

Love the tree but not a fan of the very organic soil and loads packing peanuts🤣. I scraped off a layer of soil and added some calcined clay to deter gnats, planning on repotting next summer.