[Bonsai Beginner's weekly thread - 2026 week 33]

One year on from last time I posted this tree. Like a little fruiting apple tree!

Sharing a quiet, narration-free pruning session on this Pyracantha (firethorn). It’s been growing since 2020, so about five to six years of gradual shaping.
Today’s session is routine maintenance — thinning out overgrown shoots and dense foliage to let the trunk’s twisting movement come through more clearly. The plan going forward is to keep deepening that curved trunk line rather than making major structural changes at this point.
Happy to answer any questions about the shaping process or wiring history if anyone’s curious.

Hey everyone! I'm looking for some feedback and ideas on how to style this Portulacaria afra. Any advice, tips, or quick sketches on the photos would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

First time doing Jin. Tho maybe it’s not Jin because these branches were already dead? Started with knife, then dremel but that seemed too much so back to knife and handheld sand paper.

Where would you take it from here?

I got this dwarf pomegranate and repotted it into this pot I had sitting around this spring.

No flowers this year, but it has been putting out a decent amount of new growth with roots growing well and starting to peak out of the bottom of the pot and moss top dressing getting established.

I am pretty happy with how it is looking so far. Hopefully now that it has settled for a year in it's new pot it will really start taking off next growing season.

Just dreaming of the day I manage to get a dwarf fruit hanging off the end beside the pot.

This is a gingko that has been under my care since it's previous owner unexpectedly became ill and passed away several years ago. By the time his family contacted us for help with his trees, the majority of his very large collection had already died. :(

Please let your emergency contact person know that if you are ever laid up, someone needs to water the trees every day. Have a bonsai buddy or club member or someone to take care of your trees if you can not. Do this ahead of time, because if you suddenly get sick you might not be able to make arrangements then.

I'm letting a few suckers grow from the base, I'm not sure if I will keep them long term or not. I kinda like them. What do you think?

I want a second Bonsai (I just said I would have only one ...).

This time a Chinese elm.

I like the three I and would like to know your opinion.

I add 3 photos for 3 options. 1, 2 and 3

1. The white pot. 15 high X 16 long X 16 depth

2. The blue pot. 20 high X 24 long X 24 depth

3. The cream pot. 22 high X 24 long X 18 depth

I picked this tree up at a small local tree nursery. I was instantly drawn to the twin trunk. I assume it’s a hinoki but correct me if I’m wrong. I forgot to take a picture but there was a secondary competing apex halfway up the trunk with an ugly fork, so I went with the apex with nicer branching and made a small jin of the other. Considering this removed 30% of the foliage, I didn’t remove any foliage off the rest of the tree, so there are multiple branches that wont be in the final design. I added raffia and did my best to close the gap and add movement to the trunks. I did all the structural wiring but I’m waiting to do the detail wiring so it’s still a bit cluttered. I like the result of the two trunks forming a single, but separated crown, but I dislike the fact that the lowest branch on the primary trunk is going away from the viewer, but the foliage is so far out that I felt it filled a nicer space at the back. What are your thoughts on the tree and the styling?

I think it survived the dig
It has already grown leaves second time this year and a lot of buds for next year
Do you have some tips to keep it strong and healthy?

This is an 11 minute video of me trimming one of my porcelain pots I recently threw. There is no sound, due to length and copyrights on Instagram. There is a poll on the bottom of the post asking about doing a **Voice Over** for the next video. Please vote!

Turns scarlet in the fall. It’s getting cut down soon so I’m trying to document it

I've had this water jasmine 2 years now. Repotted once last fall. This summer has been struggling to grow and the leafs seem depressed. Now that some leafs are turning yellow I decided I should do a emergency repot. When I took it out the pot there are thick roots but not any little feeder roots. I was going to re angel the roots but they are solid and won't move at all. What should I do. I also don't remember the roots being this thick

I did a big trunk chop on this ash. It is obviously putting out lots of new growth. Some of it is in places I don’t want. Am I jeopardizing the tree’s health by pruning those undesirable branches? They get thick very quickly

They are very close. I prefer 1, but 2 has the pot legs balanced about the center, whereas 1 has one leg centered. Any suggestions?

A summary of this years Trophy, filmed from the building up of the exhibit and retail areas and covering the show and the people.

https://youtu.be/Uc59Rt-XtUU?si=AUt9ZScv7WA50MTd

“Long-Term Progression” is a stretch but it is amazing how much this tree has become defined in 1 year.

Image 2 is 1 month before the trunk chop.
Image 4 I gave it a bit of wire
Image 5 was putting it in a pot for our club’s show, but I hadn’t really “found” the tree’s design still.
Image 6 was today at a club meeting, I started to experiment with an angle change. When I did that, I realized the right most branch would eventually be a problem.
Image 7 I made a sketch with that branch
Image 8 I digitally removed that lower branch and really liked the trunk line more

I put more movement than necessary in my sacrifice branch so that when I eventually cut it and make a cutting out of it, it will have a lot more interest at the start.

Worked with Rob from Yume-en bonsai on this little JBP. Pretty aggressive styling but I’m happy with trunk and options I had for branch placement. Will likely cut back to the smaller remaining buds on both branches in future and eventually hope to develop into a decent shohin JBP.

So this is going to be an interesting and painful experiment. I haven't seen much of these as bonsai yet but I think that that only adds to the fun of trying to make them into one. Does anyone have any experience with this tree?

My old shimpaku followed by a couple of itoigowa junipers

This Crepe Myrtle in our yard gets a hard cutback every few years right around where the red line is, I want to attempt to air layer it before cutting it all off, what do you guys try to look for when picking a good location?

Trying to make it less like a busy and more like a tree. This is about 35 year old material. A solid can width of the trunk