Beginner’s Guide: Selecting Nursery Material and Creating a Honeysuckle Bonsai

I share what I look for when selecting nursery material for bonsai, and style a honeysuckle shrub (Lonicera nitida 'Baggesen's Gold’) as a miniature tree. Some of my bonsai material selection criteria include: 1) choosing a species that others have successfully used for bonsai, 2) choosing a tree with a good nebari (the base of tree where the trunk meets the roots), 3) choosing a tree with an interesting trunk and good primary branch structure, and 4) choosing a species with small leaves (especially for small bonsai). And I of course choose plants that appeal to me; in the case of this honeysuckle, I have enjoyed creating small bonsai from other shrubs (potentilla and cotoneaster), and want to try honeysuckle, which is a new species to me. I show and describe the process of pruning a honeysuckle shrub so that it looks like a miniature tree. It’s not a perfect ‘instant bonsai’ but it is beginning to take shape as a bonsai; the miniature tree image will improve as I continue to allow this shrub to grow out, and selectively prune new growth. I plan to reduce the roots in the spring and put it in a smaller pot.