Garden & Animals
Bonsai
Shaped by pruning and time, with progress measured in years
Its time scale is unlike anything else in gardening: one decision shows its result a whole growing season later, and the shape you want may be a decade away, so patience is a requirement rather than a virtue. Do not start with a finished tree; start with a cheap sapling, where killing one costs little.
First stepBuy a cheap nursery seedling rather than a finished bonsai, move it into a shallow pot, remove one unwanted branch, and keep it through a full growing season.
Barriers
Cost to start
Under $50
Going deep → $2k–10k
Alone or with people
On your own
Effort
Light
Without a teacher?
Self-taught
One session takes
Under 30 min
Where
At home
Why people take it up
Related guides
Keeping the spending in checkStarts at Under $50, going deep runs $2k–10kSkills
BuildsKeeping plants alive