Can You Make An “Instant” Bonsai?

The internet is full of videos about making an “instant” bonsai.  An overgrown shrub or a wild piece of nursery stock is magically trimmed, wired and repotted in about 20 minutes and taken from a total mess into a pretty cool bonsai. 

I know we have all seen these videos, they get some high views. The problem is that it’s not true …It’s basically clickbait.

There is no such thing as an instant bonsai.

Why I Don’t Like The Term “Instant Bonsai”

I don’t think you should take nursery stock material and prune, wire and repot it all within a 20 minute video and call it finished bonsai.  

However, I don’t want this article to just be an attack on such videos; people have the right to do this kind of thing and it looks pretty fun to be honest. I just need you all to understand that this technique isn’t ideal and should be avoided.

“Instant” Bonsai Ignore The Rules

You will often here it said that there are no rules in bonsai, but let’s be honest there is.

You can call them “guidelines” or “suggestions” or whatever you want, they are basically just proven techniques that get reliable and repeatable results if you copy them exactly …so they are like a set of rules, kind of.

I will be the first to admit I have ignored these “rules” many times. I do plenty of crazy stuff like put seedlings straight into bonsai pots, instead of growing them thick first.

The difference is I know I’m breaking the “rules”. I know what I’m doing is stupid. If I make a video where I am doing this, I try and say that it’s a stupid and a sub optimal technique.  I understand that there is better ways to grow a tree.     

I think you need to learn these “rules” and then when you have a basic understanding of how they work, feel free to experiment and break them as much as you want.

Beginners Get The Wrong Information

My problem with these “instant” videos is that it is very dangerous information to be giving to people who don’t understand the truth about how long it can take to develop a tree.

Especially for beginners, whose first contact with bonsai may be these videos.

I know that some trees can handle this level of work if done the right way, at the right time, but not always and a beginner isn’t likely to know that.

Instant Tress Usually Die

The rules I tend to break, such as putting young trees in small pots, isn’t going to kill a tree. It’s just going to take it 10 times longer to develop. Whereas, working on a tree, like in these videos, puts the tree at a very high risk of death.

I’ve tried it myself and the trees very quickly died afterwards. (and I’m sure this was partly due to being a beginner myself)

Instant Trees Discourage People

I just think some light needs to be shed on this topic so that beginners understand why it can be a bit dangerous to treats trees like this and they should be taking the more “traditional” route and follow the “rules” until they have a bit of practice and knowledge behind them.

Having hands on experience with trees is the best way to learn. It could be argued that doing all this work so quickly on a tree can quickly give a beginner a taste of what its like to do bonsai. Which I kind of agree with, but when the tree dies a week later, that is not the sort of encouragement people need when starting a new hobby.

Isn’t This How Bonsai Trees are Made?

I appreciate that trees have to start somewhere. You are always going to have to prune, wire and repot a nursery tree.

You’re never going to end up with a bonsai if you don’t give a tree some bonsai training.

There is usually nothing wrong with the techniques being used in these videos. It’s all fairly good bonsai practice.

For me, the problem is the speed at which these videos suggest the work can be done.

Bonsai is like running a marathon. You don’t just decide one day you are going to do it and then run 26 miles that afternoon. You have to take some smaller steps first. You slowly build up to reaching that level of running. The same is true with working a tree.

If you buy a new tree, any tree, you should first let it settle into your garden. Let it sit and acclimatise for a season. Watch how it grows, study it and work out what you want to do with it over time.

So, if you’ve owned a tree for a year before you even touch it… can you really call that “instant”?

This is the reality of bonsai. It’s slow.  Painfully slow, but with patience comes the reward.  You’ll develop your tree; it’s just not going to be in the next 20 minutes, its more likley going to be the next 20 years.

Too Much Work At Once Is Bad

The core problem for me is that you shouldn’t really be doing that much work all in one go.

Repotting and pruning can be extremely stressful for a tree. Removing too many roots or too much foliage can weaken the tree. Effectively attacking it from both ends can just weaken it beyond recovery. 

Take a few weeks in between the stages of work. Let the tree recover.

Cut it back hard in winter and then let it bud out in spring before repotting it. Come back later in the year and wire it.  

Work with the tree and work at its pace, not your own “instant” pace. Your tree will be better and healthier in the long run if you do this.

How I Would Change These Instant Bonsai Videos

I firstly think a lot of these videos need a follow up. Have you ever noticed that you see this extreme work and then the tree is never seen again? I wonder why… maybe it’s dead? Who knows.

I think these videos should also be slowed down and filmed over a few weeks or months to show how the work should actually be done.

I would also change what they are called, to something that reflects what is happening, like “A Trees First Steps To Bonsai” because, that is what is happening.

Bonsai is a journey of lots of little steps that all add up over time to make a tree.

You’ve always got to take the first steps and I think it is good there are videos showing these steps. It just annoys me that they cram them all into one short video so they have some sort of before and after result to show.

It’s just not good for the long term health of the tree and it doesn’t teach people the importance of patience in this art form. 

How I Make My Bonsai Videos

If you have seen any of my videos you will know I like to document my trees throughout the year. I do this mainly to show that bonsai is a long and slow process.

However, I know the “before and after” is popular.

There are plenty of excellent bonsai YouTube channels out there and I feel they miss out on this “before and after”.

Yes, they show a before and after of a repot for example, but it’s all on the same day, what happens in the following weeks after a repot? What about the next few months?

I think my channel shows this quite well. I will show the repot and then show how it grows in the following months.

I think this is even more important when I do extreme work. Especially with drastic root pruning. People are often shocked by this and I know they are thinking “you’ve killed the tree” but when I show the next 6 months of good healthy growth in the same video, they know it’s not dead.  

I think it’s important to show that bonsai operates on a bigger time scale than humans.

I try and do this with my videos where nothing happens. These videos are kind of short, and can be boring, but I feel they are equally important.  

I will show a tree throughout a year. It doesn’t get pruned. It doesn’t get repotted. It just sits there and slowly grows. I am fully aware that this is boring and trust me, I’d love to do work on it.

However, patience is more important. If the tree isn’t ready for work, the tree isn’t ready for work. You will just have to wait. I think this is one of the most important messages in bonsai and I feel this “instant” videos completely disregards this aspect.   

What About Professional Demonstrations/ Transformations?

I will quickly touch on this, as I know this can overlap with the above “instant” bonsai videos and the two can be easily confused, but they are actually totally different.

If you have seen any professional demonstration they use high quality raw material that has usually been worked on over a number of years.

What I mean by this is, the branches have been allowed to grow and are pruned back a few times over the years. It’s very basic work that has been done, but very important work. The same goes for the yamadori they work on. It’s always been collected a few years prior to their work and it has been given a few growing seasons to establish.

The trees they work on have reached the point in their development where they are ready to be given their first styling.

The demonstrations are effectively just “first styling” videos and they are often called that. They do not try and claim they are making an instant bonsai.

The confusion comes from seeing the drastic bends and wiring that can really transform a tree from looking like an ugly overgrown bush to a beautiful “instant” bonsai tree.

You will see they also pretty much always use coniferous material, meaning they can clean up the trunk and make deadwood and exciting things like this. This doesn’t really cause any ill effects to the tree, but it does change its look quite drastically. Again, this transforms it from a crazy bush to a bonsai, almost “instantly”.

The important thing to realise is that these trees are very rarely repotted at the same time as the styling.

The professionals understand that you cannot do a drastic styling and repot at the same time.  I know in the past they done this at club meeting demonstrations, but they have admitted that most of those trees actually die.

They have said they wanted to give a better demonstration, but it was always at the cost of the tree. Now they will be more open and explain that the tree should be left to recover after large operation like a first styling.   

Some will repot, or maybe change the angle, but if you look carefully they do not disturb the roots too much. They try to keep the stress that is put on the tree to minimum level.

You must also remember these people are professional. They have a lot of experience with these trees and know how far they can push them. They also have the knowledge and the infrastructure to provide the correct aftercare to these trees. They can push a tree dangerously to the edge and know they can baby it back to health afterwards in their greenhouses.

So what I’m saying is, professional bonsai videos are awesome. They are so good at what they do, they can make it seem like they have made an “instant” bonsai.

The truth is there is a bit more work and skill that goes into it compared to the more “instant” bonsai videos that are out there.

Conclusion

Hopefully now you will have a better understanding as to why you shouldn’t be making an “instant” bonsai. Take your time and have some patience and your trees will thank you. 

If you want to still give it a try, it’s not impossible. You may still have some success. If you manage to get one to survive I’d love to hear about it.

In the meantime, just watch bonsai videos where you can trust the bonsai artists work and their credentials.

I’m not saying I am an expert, but I clearly show when I do my work and how my trees react to it over time. So maybe give my YouTube Channel a watch 😉

(You can read more about How Long Does It Take For A Bonsai Tree To Grow?)