[Bizzi Lizzi]

My daughter is interested in growing bonsai trees but it's something I know absolutely nothing about.  I could get loads of information off t'internet and buy hundreds of books but does anyone know anything that would get us heading in the right direction?  Any recommendations?

Just had a quick look on one website and apparently you can even grow bonsai fruit trees that product miniature fruit too ... it's all belong me.

Helps, comments and useful suggestions very welcome.

[evie2]

My Dad had a bonsai in the bay window of the sitting room, he pruned it regularly, leaves and roots and had special food for it.  I think it was easy to grow; Dad didn't have much patience We have a couple of garden centres near us who specialise in them and thery're always busy

[sunshineband]

Outdoor hardy trees are easier to bonsai and keep healthy imho.

You could start with a seedling tree, and grow it in a smallish pot, before transferring it to a shallower container after a year or two.

I have a copper beech that is twenty years old growing in washing up bowl. I 'rescued' it from the woods when it was an inch tall  

Japanes maples make excllent bonsias too.

Try browsing this article -- it might be helpful   http://www.bonsaigardener.org/

[Bernard]

You can easily find seedlings of sycamore and ash. Cultivating these in pots is a good start for a youngster and it costs nothing to get several of then going. Oak in the end makes a better bonsai but is a little more difficult to find as a seedling and is usually deeply rooted, but if you can find them, worth the effort.

The easiest to grow from seed is the larch. Find their cones, put in a warm place to open the scales and poke or shake out the winged seeds. Sow several to a pot in all-purpose compost, keep it damp and see what happens in spring. As they grow they can be trained to any style you wish.

[granjan]

I also have a beech tree that I found as a seedling in the garden.  I fancy growing a horse
chestnut too so I'm going to collect a few conkers and give it a go.  I would love to have a garden large enough to grow a full size one but it's not likely to happen so it would be a good substitute

[sunshineband]

I have an 8 yr old horsechestnut but it is difficult to get the actual mature tree shape so far. leaves are nice and small though now 

[granjan]

I have an 8 yr old horsechestnut but it is difficult to get the actual mature tree shape so far. leaves are nice and small though now 

That's good.  Does it flower?

[hamstergbert]

I potted up one of my cherry plum self seeders twenty or so years ago, bit of wire coathanger to disort it and gave it a couple of decades of benign neglect, trimming to keep a low habit, sometimes giving the rootball (in a smallish saltglaze pot) a haircut etc.  It froze solid in winter but struggled into life each year.  Started putting a handful of flowers out each winter-end five or six years ago.  Finally cracked and transplanted it into a spare patch outside my home office door and it has flowered beautifully every winter-end since, but been easy to keep to 18" or so tall (snipping off every vertical shoot as soon as I spot it.   Other self seeders at the same time that were placed in 'proper' ground at the bro-in-law's garden are 20' tall!

Bonsai joke:
There's this company that specialises in bonsai trees and after just five years they are already so successful they are looking to move into smaller premises!

[evie2]

Groan 

[SG6]

One of the easier to grow is a Chinese Elm.
Can be a broom shape or upright tree, have both.
They can grow easily from a trig, you just need a twig.

Most bonsai are outdoor trees. I know they are small but in this case they are small OUTDOOR trees.

Next, read a book that has lots of photographs and details of the trees. A good bonsai is 24-48 inches tall. Not 6-8 inches as the garden centres seem to think. Those are called Mame if I recall and are DIFFICULT to keep alive.

I grow mine in what are half pots, say about 8 inches diameter, not in the display trays. They take too much care and are really for display.

[sunshineband]

I have an 8 yr old horsechestnut but it is difficult to get the actual mature tree shape so far. leaves are nice and small though now 

That's good.  Does it flower?

Not yet    I'm ever hopeful though 

[Bizzi Lizzi]

Thanks for all the tips and advice.  Not sure if daughter is as keen now that she realises just how long bonsai will take to grow ... she's 15 going on 50 and very impatient sometimes. 

[Bizzi Lizzi]

Thinking of buying her a cactus and see if she notices the difference!

[Bizzi Lizzi]

Bought child three small bonsai trees from the Harrogate Flower Show yesterday.  One outdoor and three indoor.  Got a really good good and some food too.  Off to the garden centre today to buy a few more things.

Also got her three small cactus that appealed to her and some tomato seeds (heritage toms no less) that she wants to grow herself.  What on earth happened to her yesterday?  From girly girly yuufff to amateur gardener in the space of one day?   

[00mph]

My wee lass thought the bonsai trees were dying until we reminded her that they were trees and yes, trees lose their leaves.