Hobby Thread - Sept 27, 2025 [Arbor Rex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. A spin of the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) landed on bonsai trees.

Your host knows nothing about zen and the art of pruning small trees. In fact, I shouldn't be trusted to take care of house plants in general. Gonna need Horde help on this one.

If you are tempted to say "I don't prune small trees, so there is nothing here for me," let the thought pass. No Moron could possibly say such a thing. Stick around. You might be entertained or learn something. You might enjoy hearing from others and seeing what others are hobbying.

I have faith that you can find something in the content that resonates or contribute your own hobbying interests. Dig around in the content and soak in the comments. Be curious. Glad you're here.

[Top: Chinese Elm Bonsai, Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee, WI]

What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Pants are optional. Puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice. Don't be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

From last week. As you wish...

Do any among the Horde "relax" by pruning small trees and keeping them diminutive and restrained in their chosen pots?

Do you admire and respect the bonsai skills of others but know you have zero chance of doing that yourself? Do you buy or collect bonsai trees?

Do you find a zen element in staring at a small tree and deciding whether to prune it in very small ways? Over and over and over?

Seems like tree abuse but I'm just a dinosaur with a small brain and short arms. But Soothsayer and the interweb seem to believe that bonsai is a real hobby, so here we are. What do I need to know? and why haven't people realized that the juniper is God's punishment for human sin in plant form?

Good introduction:

This gent seems to know what he's doing:

Bonsai versus Penjing:

The main difference between Bonsai and Penjing is that Bonsai is a more refined, stylistic depiction of nature (often in single tree displays), whereas Penjing is more natural and wild (usually displayed in a landscape form). More here.

Who knew?

Bonsai is the pruning practice but is not specific to one species. Ficus, Juniper and Japanese Maple are the most common tree varieties, but some people impose bonsai on jade plants, azaleas, boxwood, olive, myrtle, bamboo, hibiscus, pine, spruce, redwood, cypress and many other varieties that I've never heard of.

Where can you go to see bonsai?

National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the National Arboretum in Washington DC is reportedly among the best in the world

The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum contains miniature masterpieces of horticultural art. The Chinese art of penjing and the Japanese art of bonsai use woody plants in containers as a medium to portray the natural growth habit of trees in the landscape. The living sculptures of bonsai and penjing are inspired by natural scenes, and they change with the seasons like their wild relatives. They require continual care and training to maintain their artistic designs. In addition to water and fertilization, the bonsai are pruned and their branches are shaped using wire to give the impression of ancient trees.

The museum's collection began in 1976 with a gift of 53 bonsai trees from Japan to commemorate the United States Bicentennial. The collection has grown steadily with the addition of pieces from North American bonsai masters and a penjing collection from China. Now, more than 300 specimens rotate through the display tables and pedestals of three pavilions and a special exhibits gallery.

A tour of the museum on a YouTube channel named "Classy Bonsai" has to be good, right?

These bonsai museums showed up with some interweb searching if you want to see lots of small carefully clipped pot-bound trees:

Pacific Bonsai Museum in Seattle -
just took home bronze for Best Museums in the Seattle Times survey of Best in the PNW 2025! Beware if you go: pretty plants but insufferably woke.

The Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino (Los Angeles area)

Thanks to the Huntington for this Q&A:

What is a bonsai tree? The Japanese word "bonsai" translates as "tree in a pot." Bonsai are living plants, typically a tree, shrub, or woody herb grown in a pot and trained to develop characteristics found in a very old tree.

How old are bonsai trees?
There are two ways to measure bonsai age: real age (the time the tree has been growing), and the age of training (the time the tree has been worked on). Some trees in The Huntington's collection were hundreds of years old when they were collected for training into bonsai. Others were under 20 years old. Both might have the same age of training. There are a few trees in the collection that have been in training since the 1950s, which is fairly old for an American bonsai.

How do bonsai trees stay alive in such small containers? The trees are grown in a mix of crushed and cleaned lava, pumice, and naturally compressed clay aggregate, including imported Japanese clay products. This mix provides a stable structure with a balance of aeration, water, and nutrient storage and a sharpness that promotes strong root development. Pots dry out as trees use up moisture, which is why trees must be watered daily.

I know some of you are saying "I've tried but seem to kill my bonsai." I hear your cry for help. Start by re-examining your life choices and why you want to punish a juniper or ficus tree rather than enjoying trees in the outdoors as God intended. If you still want to know how to keep a bonsai tree alive, Bonsai Empire has you covered.

Step one - identify your tree. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Apparently different species require different care.

Step two - learn how to care for you dwarf tree. Knowledge is good.

Step three - actually do the things needed to care for your tree. You probably need to learn how to water and fertilize it and where to place it.

Step four - if you've done everything else and your tree is still sick, it may be infected by a pest or disease.

Step five - there is no magic cure to help your tree recover. That doesn't seem like much of a step but maybe it is more about the "acceptance" part of the grieving process before your tree dies and gets shredded for mulch.

Sept six - have a long-term plan. Seems like a challenge to have a long term plan if you keep killing your trees in the short term, but I appreciate the optimism.

Bonsai Empire suggests that a big problem for beginners is an abundance of enthusiasm. Trees can't keep up with rapid change, so overpruning and redesigning doesn't work well for them. Is the zen part of bonsai ownership staring at the tree and not doing anything? Who am I to judge, but seems like you can do nothing without staring at a tiny tree just as well.

Did you know that World Bonsai Day is the second Saturday of May each year? Neither did I.

The Lone Cypress at Pebble Beach is not bonsai but it is a pretty part of the world.

This seems like a lot of work to undertake in the name of bonsai abuse. I thought bonsai was about pruning, but didn't realize there are committed branch benders out there. Beware!

I know what you're saying. "I'm crafty but keeping plants alive is not my strong suit. I like making miniatures. Is there anything in this thread for me?" Yes there is.

I couldn't find a video of Bob Ross painting bonsai trees, but here's a short clip of him showing how to paint happy trees.

Had to include Mr. Miyagi:

ICYMI last week, anyone have thoughts?

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a jewelry and casting theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Honorable mentions:

TMI LOL:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

Do not run with scissors. If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute something from your personal hobbying. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

posted by Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

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