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Amen, I think our adult brains can get kind of inflexible. Kids can help us see things differently.

yep, I agree, bonsai is a great way to practice patience - hopefully that patience is transferring to other aspects of my life? I'm not too into tropicals...until winter comes, and then I'm glad I have a few indoor trees!

Yeah, kids are great; I'm enjoying experiencing 'kid life' again, this time as an adult looking in. They certainly influence me just as much as I influence them.

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching. In recent years I've become more introspective about why I do what I do. It's perhaps not too important to ask the "why?" behind our hobbies, but it can be valuable in other aspects of our lives.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video. Best of luck if you decide to make another one.

Glad you are enjoying my videos, and I'm glad you plan to start some hardy sedum bonsai! I should try to start another one, to see if I can reproduce the result. This Lime Zinger sedum was a happy accident - I had zero idea of how it would evolve.

I'd love to attend a club and be able to ask questions to some experienced bonsai practitioners in my area, but I don't have a close one nearby, so it's mainly been RUclips for me. Ha, I'm not a "technological moron", but I was unsure of myself when it came to video creating/editing. I was no stranger to photography, but video was something else. I was pleasantly surprised by how intuitive video editing software is - it was fairly simple to learn, at least for my basic videos. I'd say if it sounds fun to you, try making a couple videos - maybe you'll enjoy it, maybe you'll hate it. The first one was hardest for me. And there's always blogging with a photo series of images of how your trees have changed over the years - photo series that span years are pure bonsai "gold" IMO - I love them.

@@BonsaiNorthwest you are right, I have only one tree which I have followed through my tree and a bit years of bonsai and it is so satisfying to see the 3 in Shimpaku cuttings progress into a beautiful little bonsai. I have gone through creating a logo and started a RUclips profile but haven't gone any further. Thank you for the encouragement. I also interact in the bonsai beginners group on Facebook, a lot of the UK RUclips guys contribute there often and share their RUclips content, to get through to more people.

Thanks!

I'm sorry to hear you haven't always gotten responses. I appreciate your comments, and like to do my best in providing detailed responses (sometimes I realize that I'm writing essays in my responses and stop myself). Like I said earlier, however, I'm a beginner myself (I've really only got 5 growing seasons worth of bonsai experience under my belt, as before that I was only "dabbling" in bonsai.) I hear mostly positive things about bonsai clubs, and would attend one myself. However, there are no clubs close to me, so it's been RUclips, books, and experience that I've learned from.

Thanks for tuning in.

Glad you found the video! I hope you can turn your tree into something you like. Here's another video that might inspire you, Ryan Neil working on his first bonsai tree that he got when he was 12 years old: ruclips.net/video/LduXqbCF-DI/видео.htmlsi=zuNiFqEsDL1yCTPQ

Yep, cuttings are free and low pressue, although I am admittedly over anxious about my two Yuri Hime JM cuttings that rooted for me - really want them to live. Thanks for the comment. Best.

@@BonsaiNorthwest got my fingers crossed for them.

Ha, good point. That's one reason that I recommended in my first video that beginners not buy these 'mallsai' junipers. I think they are occasionally not sold in great health, either from poor aftercare, water and/or lighting. So I guess I need to qualify my statement: there's nothing wrong with starting with these beginner juniper bonsai trees - as long as you buy a tree in good health. However, a beginner might not know what a healthy juniper should look like...so it can be a gamble...

@@BonsaiNorthwest it's a dice roll. Honestly I've killed alot of trees along the learning road. At one time I thought I was a serial tree killer. Hah. I think like you mentioned, they can turn into nice little trees. Thanks for sharing by the way.

@@frederickdominguez4829 You're not alone - I've killed plenty of trees. Thanks for watching and commenting. Best.

@@rb89362 Thank you!

Thanks! Yes, I have sincerely had a change of heart for this tree - I didn't see the potential when I first bought it but after studying it for awhile I saw what I could do with it, and now like it much better after this first styling. You're right that it could have been styled many different ways - indeed versatile. I'm excited to see how this tree develops, the plan is to let it grow for awhile. Still undecided whether I'll repot into bonsai substrate come spring.

Thank you!

Thank you as always for your kind words, I appreciate the encouragement. Best.

Thank you!

Glad you enjoy the channel! Thanks for the question. It's a Thuja occidentalis 'Primo'. The common name is Northern White-cedar or Arborvitae. 'Primo' is a dwarf variety developed in Oregon, USA. Thujas are great for bonsai, tough trees, but aren't perhaps as commonly used as the more popular Hinoki Cypress, which have a similar look and of which there are also dwarf varieties. I believe Hinoki Cypresses also propagate well from cuttings.

Just like I see sequoias infrequently in yards around my area, I infrequently see them for sale in nurseries around here. I hope you can find one. There isn't much info about using them as bonsai but there are some nice examples: www.bonsaiempire.com/inspiration/progressions/giant-sequoia About the Lime Zinger Sedum: I bought it in 2021 in a 4 inch pot. I separated it and planted part of it in the same 3-inch pot that it is in today; I believe it was multiple stems at that time. My intention was to use it as an accent plant. I'd let it grow unrescricted each summer. Mine also has fairly large leaves at this time of year. About a half inch in diameter. Keeping it in the small 3-inch pot has reduced them a little. Later in the fall/winter, the leaves get old and brown. I prune/pluck the old leaves. Behind them are new tiny rosettes that stay small and pink while temperatures are cold. That's when I took the picture that I used as my thumbnail for that video. After doing this a year or two, one trunk became dominant, and I noticed that I could make it look like a tiny bonsai with some pruning; I think I pruned off one or two smaller trunks. So the trunk that mine has now has taken about 3 years to develop, while in the 3-inch pot. I was happy to hear that you might try the same. I see a lot about Crassula/Portulacaria bonsai but not much about sedum bonsai.

Thanks for watching. I plan to keep doing updates on this sequoia tree.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

Glad you found the video helpful! Here are some answers to your questions: I defoliated just because many of the leaves were quite old and beat up, and I just wanted fresh leaves. However, if I could do it over again, I would have left a few leaves for the tree to recover with, or I would have repotted first, then waited a couple months before pruning the top. I put the sphagnum moss on to maintain humidity in the uppermost strata of the soil, but not necessary. I overwinter my schefflera by keeping it indoors underneath my grow light; when it gets colder in my basement where my grow light is, maybe 65 deg F and below, it stops or slows growing. If you can keep it around 50 deg F or above, it should overwinter just fine. I generally keep my grow light on for about 12 hours a day, but anywhere between 10-18 hrs would likely work (I haven't done much research on optimizing grow light times).

@@BonsaiNorthwest Excellent news...Thanks for all the good information...Bonsai on...

Nice work. Trunk has nice movment now and is all set for the future. Growing well now after treatment. Well done.

@@chrismarshall8321 Thank you!

Sorry you haven't had luck with white pines. You might be right that they get too much water in your climate - I've heard a lot about white pines not liking constantly wet feet. I water my Kinpo about half as much as all of my other trees, only when the top 1/2 inch of soil is dry. I think my climate is good for JWP. It stays pretty dry for a good part of the year here, and nighttime temps stay fairly cool (50-70 deg F at night), even during the hot months of July and August. And we have cold winters here in the my part of the Inland NW (USDA Zone 6b).

Yes, and apparently it's only the pit or seed within the red berry that is poisonous, not the outside fleshy part.

Thanks, much appreciated! My larix laricina has always done really well for me. You've got some great larix laricina as well.

Yes, I started with only 3 different kinds of sedum in 3 small pots. I think I've likely increased them more than 10 fold since they propagate so easily from cuttings. I now have them all over in various parts of my yard and in many of my bonsai pots. I agree, I think succulents would do well in USDA Zone 10.

Amazon. They worked well for the grow light group of Yuri Hime, as well as for ficus cuttings.

When we called poison control, they just told us to monitor my son who apparently ate 1-3 berries. I think the next step, if he got feeling really sick, would be to induce vomitting, but we never got to that point because the berries didn't seem to affect him. I've since been seeing nightshade around my area quite a bit, including growing in another part of my yard.

Definitely, I'll post an update, whether successful or not. I'd love to get even just one more Yuri Hime established.

@@bimmer635csi Thanks for the advice. I might do just that, as several folks have suggested the same.

Thanks for your vote. I'm thinking I might do just this, perhaps putting it in anothe container to allow for escape roots.

@@baldyeti Thank you! Hopefully I get those others rooted, and keep the already rooted one(s) alive.

@@bradbuss9753 That's great that you've gotten your wife involved, nice work (I can't say the same, although my wife apparently watches all my videos). And a big amen to the rejuvenating experience of going to the mountains! Sometimes I wonder why I continue with nursery material, when I have great access to old trees (and collecting permits for my closest national forest are free!). So I might be following in your yamadori footsteps in the future...

@@BonsaiNorthwest …and maybe sprinkle in a maple purchase once in a while😁

@@bradbuss9753 of course!

@@backbudbonsai Thanks for the advice. Several people have recommended letting the roots escape into another container. Any thoughts on that? I'm leaning towards that (several folks have recommended it), although I'm still debating whether I'll just go for it like you suggest, and remove from the small container first.

Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. Transplanting now is risky of maybe damaging the fragile roots, but if done well, the plant is ready to push growth in early spring, and sometimes just continue to grow roots in the fall if done flawlessly. Escape rooting” is great for getting as much root growth as possible, but the escape roots have a tendency to get tangled up and need to be untangled which is difficult and tedious and often I ended up just cutting lots of roots. Which is not a big deal for the plant to survive usually, but growth next spring, in my experience, is less vigorous than transplanting now. I have had success with both methods. Personally I prefer carefully transplanting in early fall. If the cuttings survive winter, they are already in an individual pot just waiting to start growing. Escape roots are great for maximizing overall root growth (also great for mame or shohin summer protection). The cuttings with escape roots will have more energy in early spring, but often get delayed cause of the root work that will HAVE TO BE DONE, and also it needing a couple weeks to establish its self in a new container. Long story short and it’s just my opinion, escape roots is safer but growth next spring is half as vigorous as the cutting that was transplanted in fall and already established in its pot. Plus, the cutting will probably have more roots than the escape root one. U will inevitably have to cut more roots than u would like to get the cuttings out/free from the escape roots method. Both methods work though!! Maybe do an experiment and do half one way and half the other way… I wish u luck on whichever u decide to do!! Great channel, friend!! Keep sharing the great videos and have a blessed day!

@@backbudbonsai Thanks for the detailed reply! I really appreciate it. Your pros and cons make a lot of sense - removing now sets it up better for the future but is more risky...still not sure what I'm going to do. If I get any more containers with roots poking out, then I'll definitely try both methods.

This was my thought as well.

@@percyacutt3110 Thanks for the recommendation. Several people have recommended this idea as well, so I think it's what I'm going to do.

@@n8tyler Thank you! Based on a few comments that have come in, I'm likely going to let it escape root into something bigger. If it wakes up in the spring, maybe I'll transplant then. Thanks for the encouragement - I'm enjoying the video creation process so I plan to keep producing.

@@AlexBraunton Thank you. It's a spider farmer sf1000 grow light, off Amazon. It's definitely more effective than my previous small $20 grow light. I've had it two years and it still seems to be going strong.

I've had a similar realization - that many people wouldn't consider just about all of my trees "bonsai", but beginner or "pre-bonsai". Which, I'm okay with, at least for now, I enjoy my trees. Although I wonder how my tastes might change over time. A lot of it is about the journey and process for me, so I think I'll still be happy with my collection in 5 years, but we'll see. It seems to me that to get a really nice specimen, you either need 1) time, or 2) to buy that time. If you don't have either one of those, yamadori might be a solution - you can get that time for relatively cheap, and once the tree recovers from collection and you can refine it a bit, in the space of maybe 5 years, you could have a really nice tree.

@@rinkydinkfretboard8737 Best of luck on the tree collection! I agree, nothing to lose if he's going to remove it anyway.

@@BonsaiNorthwest much appreciated. Channels like yours make it a hobby that I can fit into my life both vicariously and in reality, such as I’m able to. What you tube was supposed to be all about IMO !

@@rinkydinkfretboard8737 I love that about bonsai - it can as casual and low-key as you want to make it, great for busy people.

Thank you for the kind words, and thanks for visiting.

I’m 60 and I’m collecting seeds and seedlings to make what I’m calling starters because I’m just getting into this hobby. I’m also playing with dwarf jade so I have a chance to see a something that looks like a bonsai. I might never have a real bonsai that I started, but I’m having a lot of fun.

It's also about the process for me. I enjoy growing plants in general so I'm not too concerned about how quickly I achieve a nice bonsai. I'm also into improvement - I enjoy seeing trees progress, however small those improvements are.

Amen, the process can be just as gratifying as the end result.

@@backbudbonsai Good plan. I like having a few things going too, and enjoy both my bigger trees that I purchased as older plants as well as seedlings. And most everything gets a little better with each year, something I really enjoy about bonsai.

@@dkstott29 Thanks, much appreciated info! I have cruised the web a couple times looking for what variety of crassula this might be, and that was one of the suspected varieties that I came up with. It's nice to get confirmation from someone else. The trunk is at least 8 years old now and quite smooth. So I'm going to consider it a Crosby's Compact unless I find a better fit in some other variety. I really enjoy this plant.

Ha, no worries, as long as it's bonsai related, write away! Sounds like you've got a lot going. And nothing wrong with killing trees - we all do it. I learn something from most trees that I kill. As for your questions: In general, fall is a good time to wire, prune both large and small, less good of a time to work roots (although you can work on roots if you can provide winter protection to roots. And minor root work (not removing too much) is probably fine). I'd wait for spring to work roots heavily and transition to a different soil. My son is a seedling himself, less than a decade old.

@@BonsaiNorthwest Thanks! I am going to get a cold frame to winter these trees in. If we have a severe weather warning, I'll move them to the garage. I don't have that many, yet. The indoor trees will go under grow lights in my bedroom. So good, I will do a little pruning. Thanks so much!

@@lisawagner6076 Sounds like a solid plan. That's basically what I do - I keep my trees in an unheated garage that's not attached to my house over winter. When it gets extremely cold, I move them into my attached garage, that usually stays above 25 deg F even when it's less than 15 deg F. I also have a nice grow light that keeps my tropical trees fairly happy over winter.

I think I am the same way (as I have yet to experience refining a tree!).

@BonsaiNorthwest I've got about 6, and it takes hours to prune or rewire. I don't get the same joy as taking a cutting and putting a shape to it.

Ha, I really do get that. After all those years of watering and care, I have become pretty attached to many plants. Definitely like pets. Nothing wrong with that attachement! But sometimes it is a relief to just give it away, or let it go to the garden in the sky... I agree, I think a lot can be learned by buying lots of different kinds of plants to start with. It's what I did and other beginners have done, and seems to be a necessary learning experience for many. It helps you determine what plants are best suited for you. And a lot of us enjoy keeping a variety of species (I think I'd categorize myself this way).

Thank you! Cheers!

Watch cutting there tap root. In my experience they hate there roots messed with.

I read the same thing about oaks not liking to have their tap root cut. That's one reason that I moved my little oak into a bonsai pot so quickly - I wanted to increase my chances of successfully transitioning it into a bonsai pot by doing it early. My 2-year-old oak seedling took the transition well, although it did seem to take awhile waking up this spring - for awhile I thought I might have killed it. I don't have much experience with oaks. I guess I can also share that transplanting Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) is tough. I've killed several, but was finally successful with a very young seedling this spring - it looks like it's going to make the transition from ground to pot.

@BonsaiNorthwest that what happened to a couple dozen I started. I cut the tap root, and the first year they grew a little, then the next year they didn't wake up.

@@jameswalker3416 Yikes, here's hoping my oaks wake up next spring 🤞. That's bonsai and trees though - they can die slowly and sometimes unexpectedly.

Hi, thanks for visiting. Glad to hear you're into NA natives. The South African climate is a mystery to me - zero experience. I'd be curious to hear how spruce, larch, and fir would do there. I'm a fan of Portulacaria Afra, a South African native.

@@BonsaiNorthwest my region in SA is very Hot and Dry does not get very cold in our region maybe max - 2C on the coldest Mornings. But other regions in SA are more wetter, colder and Humid sub tropical weather. The P. Afra or Spekboom like we call them are very adaptive and easy succulent bonsai trees.

@@PercyWarX Thanks for the info!

Thank you! And thanks for visiting. Best.