I’ve acquired a bonsai tree - it’s one of those ones where the trunk/stem kind of looks like a bum (if that makes sense) - sorry for the lame description - I found one in a store helpfully described as a ‘bonsai’.
Anyhow - it’s quite overgrown. I would like to trim it or groom it back to a normal bonsai state but I have no idea how.
Can anyone provide tips or helpful websites (maybe with video) to help?
Thanks!
Try here
I was/am into bonsai stuff and enjoy the growing of trees-in-pots (definition of bonsai, fwiw). I’d need to know the exact species to give ‘pointers’, but several rules make for better ‘trees’.
Its all in the soil. NO potting-soil such as the cheapo clay-based stuff or anything that retains large amounts of water and gets soggy. Loose, gritty soil usually works best for root health/growth - most probs come from overwatering or root problems with bad soil, IME. Its hard to buy decent ‘bonsai’ soil but is very easy to mix up with off-the-shelf components (like perlite, cactus soil, akadama ‘pebbles’ or similar, or even fired-clay soil-conditioner that has been sifted to remove the ‘fines’)
Don’t love the tree to death. Often, folks will think that something must be done everyday, no matter what it is that tree actually needs. Go slow and steady for the most part. Check for bugs now and then, of course.
Do not over-fertilize. Probably tied for first-place amongst tree-killer actions with ‘newbs’. Miracle-Gro stuff is fine, but generics are just as good, of course, and are cheaper. I like to mix up the ferts - like using a ‘standard’ type one week, then using a fish emulsion next time, and so forth. Just don’t overdo things.
That’s good for a start, I guess. Most store-bought stuff is junk for ‘true bonsai’, but sometimes a person can get lucky in quality. I’d bet that that plant is in horrible soil, and maybe even has glued-on pebbles (?? - a common decor that is worthless).
You can also learn a LOT going through these ‘articles’ that Brent wrote at this site. Brent is like a god amongst bonsai ‘pros’, and his words are from decades of experience of what works -v- what does not work. Memorize the details and you will have outstanding success with trees-in-pots (practically guarantee good things if the tenets are adhered to!).
Feel free to e’/PM me if you have any specific things to ask (and if I fail to see this thread again, LOL)
HTH, and Good Luck 
ETA: the bonsaisite forum I listed has/had a fair number of videos done by members for ‘self-help’ purposes. I have not been at that site in a while, but it appears to be how it was when I went ‘dormant’.
Thanks Ionizer! I was actually able to find a picture of my type of plant:
http://www.oneinchpunch.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/bonsai-sweater.jpg
Mine does not currently have a sweater, but I can certainly knit one if you think it will help.
FWIW, it seems more like a well groomed house plant, rather than a ‘tree in a pot’; however, I’m about as far from an expert as you can get.
There are no glued on pebbles. It’s in regular old soil and seems to prefer being watered about twice a week - it’s leaves get a little dull if I wait longer than that.
So - any more specific tips now that I’ve found a pic?
See if what you have is a Ficus (?). I forget the type of ficus, but I think that is what is pic’d in your link. May be F microcarpa? That is one of the more popular Ficus types, iirc. A great beginner’s species, and not meaning that in any demeaning way. Many folks can’t even keep these alive and healthy, so a fair way to ‘practice’ being patient. Without patience, plants usually suffer from the ‘too much love’ thing I mentioned earlier.
It is not unusual for a Ficus to not like being moved around much - changing the light-levels and/or rhythm of the daylight/temps it is accustomed to can easily lead to leaf drop, as well as overwatering. It is not a huge deal, and nothing to freak out over (if that happens shortly to yours from bringing it home). Some folks will move their plant around constantly, like from one room to another and back again the next week, etc…) and then ask “what is happening?” when leaves fall. Think constancy of environ with Ficus, IME.
They also prefer to not dry out totally (soil, per se) but soggy soil will lead to root-rot or anaerobic soil (which stinks when ‘inspected’). Higher humidity can also keep it happier in the long run - using a humidity tray can help there if you have low humidity from heaters or whatever. YMMV - lots of this info at bonsaisite, fwiw, hence me being a bit abbreviated here.
I only mentioned the pebble-gluing as it is pretty common with ‘mallsai’, as store-bonsai are popularly called. Many are grown in China in crappy clay soil and then pebbles are glued onto the top for shipping purposes. Really crappy way to do it, but folks keep buying them, so it continues (afaik).
Another thing is that Ficus are VERY easy to propagate by cuttings (cloning, per se), so you can make lots more plants whenever you want/need to prune the plant I’ve always had Ficus cuttings begin rooting in plain ol’ water within a week or two, then into soil for further growth. Rooting hormones can help as well, but not really needed, IME.
As far as ‘houseplant’ term goes, it is a tree in a pot and if you treat it as a tree instead of something like spathyphyllum (peace lilly) or whatever, you will see MUCH better health/growth, I promise.
Watering -> let the upper portion of soil dry (inch or two usually) before watering, and if the lower part stays soggy while the surface is dusty-dry, then you should think of getting better soil into the pot. As an example, I had two near-identical cuttings of a F benjamina, and for curiosity I used typical ‘potting soil’ for one and glass marbles only (regular marbles, that is) in the other. I got much better growth from the non-soil ‘soil’ than I did with the potting soil crud, and the roots were nice and healthy as well. Of course, it takes more effort (at watering, like daily, and fert’ing ~once/week) with ‘gritty’ soil, but the extra aeration/oxygen getting into root area helped tremendously. Pretty extreme example, but should give an idea of how true ‘bonsai-style’ soil mix(es) will give much better trees than soggy potting soils. I know I am leaving out a lot about soil(s), but lots more details are at that bonsaisite I mentioned (as well as those ‘articles’). Some of the stuff may sound crazy at first, but experience shows it works great.
So, just to veer back to the OP a bit, do you have tips on trimming/grooming the tree?
Apparently the dirt and whatnot is fine, because the thing is growing like a weed. I’m just not sure what the best method to get it more trimmed up is - scissors? pinching off leaves? If the latter, how do I do that?
Thanks!