Grow bonsai from local trees

This will give you a suitable tree

Native trees offer many advantages for bonsai education: Raw material is easy (and inexpensive!) to obtain, because all you have to do is go to the forest or the park In addition, these species are optimally adapted to the local climatic conditions and do not require any extra care such as wintering in a cold house. Instead, they are ideal outdoor bonsai that can be set up wonderfully in the garden. Just for one Indoor bonsai you should prefer exotic tree species, because oak, maple and Co. do not survive long in the living room. You can get a suitable bonsai blank in different ways:

• They grow trees from seeds themselves.
• They collect seedlings in the spring, which they carefully dig up and pot.
• They are specifically looking for older trees that have remained small.

With wild trees, however, you have to be careful and observe the locally applicable nature conservation laws. Seedlings or young trees are not allowed to be taken from every forest!

Which native tree species are suitable for bonsai?

In principle, all native tree species are suitable for bonsai. It is, however, an advantage if you prefer varieties with naturally small leaves, as this eliminates the need for leaf pruning, which is complicated for beginners. In addition to large trees such as English oak, red beech, norway maple or pine, many shrubs can also be trained to become tree bonsai. Especially from hawthorn, Cornelian cherry, Wild apple etc. beautiful bonsai can be formed.

Making a bonsai from a blank - the basics

Many years of careful care are required before a seedling becomes a finished bonsai. The basics:

• First, let the seedling grow in the pot for a few years.
• Cut it regularly so that it forms thick branches and a thick trunk.
• To do this, you shorten the later main branches again and again and cut off others.
• Only after a few years does the tree come into its typical flat bowl.
• Now the design of the right bonsai begins with scissors and wire.