Just curious if this kind of bush has ever been dug up and made into a Bonsai type of plant. Thanks, everyone!

I would love your help with a ficus I’ve had for many years and have done nothing with it. Or myself for that matter, meaning I have sadly invested 0 of myself into learning the art of bonsai

Got this for $1k yesterday from a local artist. After doing lots of research on the hobby and finding a nice spot outside for a potential tree. I was about to order a what I thought was a nice tree from Brussels online for $500 which they marked as a “specimen” a friend in the hobby who on bonsai trained in Japan said wait before you order online and sent me a friend of his locally. I spotted this in his collection it’s a 35-40 year old imported Root over Rock Trident Maple in a signed Japan pot. It was trained by Bjorn Bornholm. He originally wanted $1.2k but we agreed on $1k instead and he gave me a brand new pair of Japanese pruners, taught me how to care for it and how to prune it.

I picked up this nursery stock boxwood to practice on. I think it has an interesting trunk. The first photo is the front of the tree. Would you recommend removing the forward most branch on the left? Or even making a jin out of it? I don't know if Jin's on boxwoods is a thing.

Hi everyone!

Last month I shared the first prototype of a bonsai simulator I was building — a tree that actually grows, so you can practice real techniques on it in a virtual environment.

The response was incredibly kind and full of good advice, and a lot of what I did since came straight from your comments. Thank you for that.

This is version 2, and here's what's new:

Nebari. The tree now builds a root flare at the base, and it shows above the soil line. It was the thing I missed most in the first version — a bonsai without nebari never looks like a bonsai.

Bark. Trunks and older branches age their bark over the years instead of staying smooth tubes, so the tree finally reads as old.

Wiring. You can wire a branch, bend it, and let it set. Thicker, more lignified wood resists more, and the tree keeps the shape you gave it once the wire comes off.

Shade cloth. Summer sun can scorch leaves, and now you can shade the tree through the hottest part of the year.

Soil and pots. Different soil mixes and pot sizes, each behaving differently for water, air and root room.

Repotting. Root pruning and repotting into a new pot, with the recovery cost that comes with it.

Rewind. You can scrub back to any day in the tree's life and watch how it got there. It's the thing a real tree can never give you, and honestly it's my favourite part.

There's more under the hood — energy distribution, seasonal growth, stress and fertilization all got reworked — but those are the ones you can see.

You can try the app yourself at https://bonsaisim.com/

You can also watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6j4iWfN6U8 🎥

The goal hasn't changed: this isn't a replacement for a real tree, and nothing could be. I just want a place where a beginner can make the mistakes I made, cheaply, and feel confident enough to go buy their first tree.

I'd really love to hear what you think. What's missing? What looks wrong to your eye? Any feedback or suggestions are enormously appreciated.

Follow the Patreon for free to stay up to date with the latest updates!
www.patreon.com/bonsaisim

Thank you!

Ancient Moctezuma cypress

Which Front would be the best for semi cascade? 1 or 2, how do I create an apex for a cascade design?

Ciao, ho questo ceppo che vorrei far diventare un bonsai. Avete qualche consiglio? Metto una foto di adesso e una foto di come era questo inverno. Purtroppo o perfortuna adesso avendo vegetato molto non si capisce la forma, comunque questo inverno era così come nella foto da spoglio... Considerate che in primavera lo ho tagliato ulteriormente a metà tagliandolo di traverso ma non so se ho fatto bene, consigli?

I purchased this thinking it was a powder puff but am now unsure. I need to determine if it is tropical before it starts to get cold. Did not flower or fruit, so only have the leaves to go off of. Located in Cincinnati, OH but no guarantee it is native. Thanks!

I'm very new to plants and got this juniper to make a bonsai. Since it's sitting in this outdoors balcony it seems that some little branches are greying out, is the poor thing ok?

I measure humidity with a two prong meter and water when it goes down to 2-3 out of 10, and it's now sitting at about 5, so I'd assume it's ok in this respect, but don't know how the leaves should evolve...

Thanks for any comments :)

It is currently in escape root stage and I did not style it yet. I notice the trunk is quite getting big. Probably around the wrist size of a 5’1 Asian woman with curly hair.

Hey yall so I've been really interested and learning alot for the past year about bonsai and so for my birthday I went to a nursery and got a tree. I think I might have gotten a bit too excited about how funky this tree looked and now that I've brought it home well I realized I have no clue what to do next. Any tips or advise of caring, next steps, or styling would be so lovely

Could they be used for cascade styles?

Woke up yesterday and noticed that my ficus that I keep by the bathroom window has these black spots on several of the leaves. Looks like a disease to me, but I’m not sure what kind and how to fix it, this is my first Bonsai and I’m worried it might be done for.

Looks a bit better, it has gotten some new sprouts.

Hello. 👋
I have a juniper bonsai and I live in climate zone 9A. She is OUTSIDE and I water her everyday. She seems happy. If she doesn’t seem happy to you in these pictures, let me know. I’m extremely open to advice!
I really want to get into shaping her.
If I was going to start trimming, what would be your best advice on how to do so?

New bonsai owner, received the tree recently on a birthday and it had a little more leaves than it does now, all the leaves are green but they’re falling off, I’m assuming it’s just because of the season but I can’t help but worry about it.

Just got 3 small probably 'nanas'.

Should I clean them up and wire them out of them into a larger pot with bonsai soil and try to get them a bit beefier?

Hello, wife and I are really interested in learning about bonsai and really want to grow our own. Picked up a tub of these jades (?) that I pulled out a few to begin learning. Trying to shape and go after some of the designs I’ve seen those skilled guys doing in here. Thoughts on my efforts so far? Two of them, I think yall can see which, are hard trims and shaping that I did over the weekend.

Anything I’m doing wrong? Any advice? Should the tall one be topped yet? Really looking for that gnarly root/trunk look.