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Greetings from an increasingly cold Manchester in the UK. Firstly I hope everyone is as well as they can be in these grim times. Over lockdown I’ve been trying to find something to focus on, and I’ve become increasingly hooked on bonsai. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of you tube videos , bought books and been out collecting (with all the right permissions) a selection of native saplings with a view to nurturing them in the months and years ahead. I’ve bought a couple of outdoor bonsai from reputable nurseries and they’re in the greenhouse waiting for spring. I’ve planted some crab apple seeds from a UK nursery, and taken some heel cuttings from an oak tree which was planted in memory of my dad (I believe these are highly unlikely to take).
Anyway, my daughter chipped in and turned up with 2 Portulacaria Arfa from the local garden centre . One thing I have learned thus far, is that these are probably not the best starter material !
Anyway , I have them , and they don’t look like any of the lovely specimens I’ve seen on various YT channels , and so I guess the question is can they be transformed ? I’ve read that they are probably the easiest and most forgiving tree to start with, I’m sure I can test that principle! :dry:
As with most garden centre “bonsai”, I’m guessing they will need repotting into a better growing medium.
It’s how to go about pruning and training them . They both have straight 12cm trunks about 1.5 / 2 cm wide, with a straight cut where it’s been cut back. Each has about 12 matchstick branches about 8 cm long coming out at all angles,
As a total newbie, I’ve watched many videos , but still can’t seem to work out where I should start or what I should do
Apologies if this is too simplistic a start topic, but I don’t want to make a total hash of them . Any ideas or hints and tips would be most welcome. How do I thicken the trunk / branches etc , where to prune and how hard? Wiring or not ?

Many thanks .

I have tried editing the spelling error in the title ! It is of course Portulacaria Afra.

Hi,

welcome to the forum.
Do you have some pictures to show?

To be honest, these succulents are nice, but I have only seen very few bonsai created from them. In your climate you might be better off looking at pine, larch, juniper etc.

Hi, and thank you for the kind welcome.
I will try and post some up later today.

Here are two pictures of each of the two plants I had bought for me as a present. I am guessing lots of time and effort to thicken the trunk and branches? Should I repot them into a better growing medium, and into larger standard plant pots and fertilise well to promote faster growth? I’m guessing they won’t grow much in the bonsai pots? Or is it just a case of wiring and pruning what’s there now? I really don’t know !