Bonsai Advice Needed

My partner has always had an interest in growing a bonsai tree and last year he was given a bonsai growing kit from a friend which he hastily set out reading the instructions on germinating and sowing the seeds.

A year later we have a little Mediterranean Stone Pine (Pinus Pinea), after trying to search endlessly for information on guided steps on how to care for this type of bonsai the only info I've manaded to turn up is that the Mediterranean Stone Pine is the least favoured of all species of bonsai growers, which kind of leaves me feeling why would they use these these seed in bonsai kits if it is the least favoured? but hey ho it's growing now so time to carry on.

Does anyone have any advice or information on how to care and steps on how and when we start to train or bonsai the Mediterranean Stone Pine?

 

search youtube ... there's loads of info

as far as I understand, the key to bonsai is regulary foiliar feed with fertilizers such as seaweed/fish hydrolosate and others

I have a client who has promised to teach me this year .... she waters with bottled spring water, (never uses tap water) and waters daily during the warmer months ....

I've seen her water, and the water drains right off immediately, so the potting soil medium is important

she also has them outdoors most of the time and only brings them indoors when she gets visitors and wants to show them off

I'm hoping to try a Japanese maple, but prefer the larger bonsai (2-3 foot tall)

 

Just about anything you ever wanted to know about bonsai you can learn from Walter Pall. His articles on types of media, feeding and watering etc are particularly illuminating.
http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/

 

Thanks for that dim and kevinm

 

I never heard of anyone growing such a pine tree for bonsai. From what I can gather you just leave it to grow, water it and don't fertilise it.

Usually you start to, as you say "bonsai it" as soon as it starts growing: There is no mystery to it although some growers like to use jargon and mystery. For a basic upright bonsai tree you nip out the top when it gets to the height you want. When the tree is becoming established you also nip out the leaf stems as soon as they produce two leaves which encourages another stem which has shorter distances between the leaf nodes. Then the nipped out stem can be pruned later. Size of pot, bowl, etc. is complimentary to the size of the tree which means that the tree will become pot-bound so the roots will need to be pruned and the tree repotted in early Spring. All of this will probably not apply to your Pine. That's the basics in a grossly over-simplified nutshell and you'll need to look up the specifics for a particular tree.

For a beginner I would recommend perhaps a Chinese Elm, Maple or an Acer variety so that the basics of Bonsai can be learned. Or for a virtually cost-free start, an apple tree: Save the seeds after eating an apple, line a small plastic container with kitchen towel, spray it with water, put the apple seeds on it, cover it with more kitchen towel, spray again with water, put on the lid and stick it in the fridge. In two to three weeks the seeds will sprout and can be planted in a pot. In around 10 years you will be rewarded with tiny apples

Hope this helps.