Christmas self-present

Beginners
1

Well, I want to buy myself my first nice little tree and I would like your help choosing the right one.

I think small junipers would be a good place to start and my budget is around 250$.

For that price, here in Spain I have found some juniperus sabina:

  1. This one is the smallest of them all. I like how the trunk bends but I am not sure what to do of it.

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  1. The second one has a very solid base but not much green. I think this one would be great for a small shohin.

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  1. The last of the junipers looks like the easiest one to design, but I’m not sure if the nebari is well formed.

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  1. I know junipers are the way to go to improve your “bonsai game” but I really like decidious and this prunus mahaleb looks great.

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So, what do you think? What tree has the most potential for a rank beginner in bonsai?

2

Does your budget enough to purchase 2 specimens? They are all excellent material and if handle appropriately will improve exponentially with time. I say purchase the deciduous and a juniper.

3

Well, my birthday is around the corner, so I guess I can manage to get one now and have my wife get the other…

This store has really beautiful trees. It is an spanish online store and I think is the one that has the more valuable trees here.

www.laosgarden.com if you are interested in having a look.

4

Sabina’s can be a bit of a handful if not looked after correctly. May not be the best choice for a rank beginner. So maybe the Prunus would be a better choice.

5

@Nicknjh23 I second that, deciduous is usually a little more forgiving in terms of the care they need. Except for a lack of water, junipers like to be drier but even then they still need water.

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6

I would buy a handful of cheap trees, rather than one nice one. You will learn much more, and risk less. My two cents. Full disclosure: I’m cheap and have no access to pre-bonsai. I may just be jealous…

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