Grow Better Bonsai Faster || 4 Bonsai mistakes to avoid

Beginners often make a number of common mistakes. These hold back development of their bonsai and therefor stop them from growing better bonsai. By avoiding these mistakes you will grow better bonsai more quickly.

0:00 Mistakes that beginners make starting with bonsai in summary
1:49 Mistake 1. Buy a small tree to start a bonsai
3:28 Mistake 2. A Small Bonsai trunk is grown from a small trunk in a pot
5:30 Mistake 3. Moving a tree in a nursery container into a small funky pot
7:55 Purpose of a bonsai pot
9:19 You CAN grow a bonsai out in a bonsai pot
10:25 40 years growing out an arakawa Japanese maple bonsai
11:22 Growing a trident maple root over rock bonsai from seed
11:52 Bonsai pot purpose: Growth Reduction
12:50 Mistake 4. Keep your bonsai well-pruned

[rodschroeder]

Thank you for such a great video!!
I love all your videos they all help us. But this one is a must see for all beginners and needs to be expanded on, and help everyone understand the how, when and why of growing a bonsai.
For me I would watch all the videos I could, and all you see is great trunks, great trees and a small explanation of what it took to get the tree to what we see.
This is a great starting point, please keep growing this video.
Thank you.

[Christopher_Giustolisi]

I started with this hobby last year. I have many trees, probably around 20 (I should count them) but only two in proper bonsai pots because I bought them that way. The rest grows in flower pots. I care for them, I let them grow, prune them to direct the growth, make cuttings and I´m enjoying that process. Luckily I´ve watched enough videos before I got started, managed my expectations and spent way too much money on tools. I enjoy seeing them grow and thinking about the way I want to develop them. I started out with the expectation that a bonsai in a nice pot is the product of years of development. I enjoy that process and I think if you can´t, then just buy one. Maybe next year I´ll have a few mame bonsai in proper pots because some of the trees I bought last year look promising. But the larger ones will take time. I´m looking forward to that.
I think a painting is a great analogy. If you like paintings but don´t like to spend a lot of time painting, then just buy one from an artist. There´s nothing wrong with that. To make one yourself, you have to be able to enjoy the process from the first lines on the paper. And yes, you don´t put it into a frame while you´re still painting.

[brianl]

I've watched a lot of bonsai videos and I can honestly say this is one of the best and a great help for a beginner. Must add it is great to be able to enjoy a garden tree as it is grown for bonsai 😬

[Oxertham]

15 years ago I was too impatient and made all of these mistakes and my plants fufered as a result, so I didn't continue. This last year I've been getting up to speed with a better mind set, taking my time and learning from my mistakes. Thanks Jelle for all your advise, with it I'm really enjoying seeing my plants grow.

[notaclue]

Hi Jelle. I love your videos they're very informative. Only problem with this one is the music is too loud and distracting. Maybe its me but cant hear what you are saying. Keep up the excellent videos 👍

[TheBonsaiGarden]

Foist. Great video Jelle.

A big issue with beginners is starting with poor material. Inappropriate trees with large leaves, tiny seedlings that will takes years, trees with long, featureless trunks, or needle thin, multiple spindly trunks with long internodes. Give yourself a fighting chance and start with better material.

[ChuyGDL]

I agree because I make all this mistakes my self. A being doing bonsai for the last two years and another mistake the new beginners make is buying too many trees. I make the mistake, I had at one point over 60 trees and now I have only 17 trees that in the future will be good bonsai..
Thank you Jelle and great videos by the way!..

[Bruno-jr]

This is literally the best video on bonsai trees I’ve ever watched🙌🏼 it’s so straight forward and the informations are really important for a beginner. That not many other people talk about in other beginner videos. Truly thank you for taking your time and making these type of videos❤️

[deineath]

[Dramatic Music Playing] with some FACTS given. Thanks, Jelle.

[lilnoir]

Accepeting that your first impression of growing bonsai, were wrong and foolish is probably the moment that turns a beginner into a competent bonsai enthusiast.

[Youkaikaze]

I've watched a bunch of your videos in no particular order. But this is an entirely different level of valuable. Thanks, homie. For real. This video is incredible and I hope that other newbies to bonsai stumble upon it as well

[XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Very valid point and definitely the mistake I made for many years. The eagerness to put an 'unformed' tree into a bonsai pot has put a lot of my young material back a loing way - but the journey has still been fun. I do like the analogy to a painting and frame. Nice and relaxed :)

[tezzmvx]

I’m so glad that I only bought a plant from a bonsai garden centre this week… the cost of the ‘frame’ was a bit expensive so I shall save up for it 😉

[bonsaiencdmx]

Muchas gracias por tus valiosos consejos 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[voodoobunny]

I can comfortably say I never made any of these mistakes thanks to watching a ton of your YouTube videos first. 😂 Thank you. 🙏

[sbragaglia]

Very valuable advices. The only thing I don’t understand is why people wants the immediate gratification of a fully mature bonsai. No patience learning how to tend to plants, or to develop one into a bonsai, etc. I am a novice and I want to learn all these things: learning is a pleasant experience and cutting corners is not that advantageous to cut corners… this aside, I’m starstruck by Jelle and all the “dress changes”!during this performance (the t-shirts in this video)! 😉

[ranjanty]

Thank you for giving us the facts, I started doing bonsai and know I probably will never have a good looking bonsai. I will enjoy the journey. I don't want to buy a good looking bonsai because it just wouldn't be the same as creating one. I didn't start till 70 years old and don't know why I didn't know about the world of bonsai in my teens. I guess my first time was seeing Mr. Miaki (Karate Kid) triming that little tree. It's funny how some of us as we get older we start appreciating the finer things of nature.

[SteveAllotment]

Great video... Have taken advice before and now have some 10 year old field maples with nice trunks but now they are very tall ... When is the best time of year to make that big chop to cut down to size?

[dhwrwmbasumatary]

I really enjoy watching your videos. Great help. Love from India.

[FrostBiteBonsai]

That IS helpful! I made all those mistakes except the Bonsai pot, because they are not available here! Hahaha! I guess we all start out with the best intentions Eh! 😅