Bonsai in general

[BonsaiPyro]

I just watched a video on youtube on Bonsai and the coments said you can turn any plant into a bonsai is this true and in that case can I go outside and dig something up and plant it and make it a bonsai I'm just wondering if this is true or not....

[rainbowgardener]

I'm not a bonsai grower, most of what I know about it I've learned by reading this forum .

My thought is that bonsai refers to an art/ technique, of creating ornamental artificially dwarfed plants by pruning the roots and stems and keeping them in a very small pot.

That can theoretically be done to almost any plant but of course some are better candidates than others. Usually it is done on woody plants (trees and shrubs), but I have seen pictures of geraniums (gerania?) and coleus done as bonsai.

In the woody plants, things like buckeye and chestnut are not good candidates because they have very large leaves that are difficult to scale down appropriately.

But trees from walnut to palm and lots of things in between have been done as bonsai.

[Andy D]

My personal opinion is that you should stick with trees when it comes to bonsai. and yes you can actually just go out into the wild and find a sapling. if you are looking at a deciduous tree, autumn is the time to transplant wild deciduous trees so now is a great time! if you do, just make sure not to damage much of the root system when you dig it up, trim the roots a bit before potting, and use a bit of the wild soil to ease the transition

[bewildered_nmsu]

I've always done transplanting and potting in the spring. Fall transplanting sounds like a no no. Also, if you are going to dig something up make sure you have permission of the land owner before you do. The same is true for collecting from the "wild".

[GardenerX]

lol I get plants from our yard BTW I'm BonsaiPyro's brother anyways I don't take from other's yards I either dig it or buy it.....

[bonsaiboy]

Any plant that is woody, long-lived, and has small or easily reduced leafs is bonsaiable.