How to Make Cotoneaster Bonsai *EASY* 🌳Pruning and Shaping Ideas

Hi Everyone! In this video I show you how to create Bonsai from some Cotoneasters. Some of the trees we repot and others we are primarily working on the basic styling. There is quite a variation of material shown, therefore I will be showing my way of approaching trees like this in order to develop them for great Bonsai.
This video is relatively EASY to follow and if you're new to Bonsai, this is a great introductory video that explains branch structure, taper and ramification. Instead of creating a tree that is somewhat presentable, I show styling techniques that considers the future growth of a tree rather than an "Instant Bonsai".
Cotoneaster as a species is an excellent choice for Bonsai as it has a small leaf profile, grows small white flowers that then turn into little red berries. It is a fast growing species where you can achieve results over a shorter period of time. This species can be found in many gardens accross the UK as it is also very common in garden centres. I think the most suitable of cotoneasters is the Cotoneaster Horizontalis (Herringbone Cotoneaster).
TIMECODES:
00:00 - Intro
01:05 - Cotoneaster No.1
01:40 - What is Ramification?
02:27 - Pruning the Foliage
03:43 - Directional Pruning
05:32 - Cotoneaster No.2
06:02 - Wiring & Styling Options
08:10 - Cotoneaster No.3
09:14 - Refining the Trunkline
10:13 - Repotting
12:52 - Pruning and Styling
14:09 - Cotoneaster No.4

[@dennaharmon4840]

Wonderful vid and I enjoy your teaching style!Subscribed!

[@mandyhernon2238]

Just got one, soon to do its first styling. Great content in your video learned a couple of things. As an oldie, great to see a young person coming along in this great art. You will go far.

[@notionbonsai]

Hey! Welcome to the channel! There will be lots more videos to come!

[@susanbigler3014]

This is the first time I've heard Ramification explained! Thank You!!!!

[@notionbonsai]

You are very welcome Susan! 🤗

[@firemouse666]

I have so many cotoneaster at the foot of my hedge and was thinking about throwing them out since they are not native here and I want to support the wild bees in my garden... But now I'm going to dig them all out and make them into Bonsai!

[@notionbonsai]

Ohh nice! I've found that old unwanted hedges make great Bonsai material!

[@annevb6987]

Great video, thanks! Really compact in information, but with enough background information on why you make decisions. This is great for me as a starter. Same holds for your other videos I've watched up till now. I stumbled upon your channel by getting recomended your shorts, they are very nice to watch as well. Also: love your vibe! I hope the videos keep on coming 😀

[@notionbonsai]

Hey Anne! Welcome to the channel! 🤗 Thank you very much! There will be lots more videos to come! 🙂

[@davidstokes925]

Really liked this video. Old man just now trying my hand at bonsai and I like the cotoneaster. If I give bonsai a try probably don’t have years to give to a tree, not meaning to be morbid. Here in FL they have an oak called a Live Oak. Thought I would cut a limb to the size I want (maybe 5” tall) and try to root it. BTW you can’t get evergreens or cotoneasters here in FL, everything is tropical.

[@notionbonsai]

Hey thanks David! I believe anyone can start Bonsai and learn about trees nomatter their age! That Live Oak looks like an interesting species to work on!

[@plumpy53]

Informative video. Thank you. I do pretty well with perennials in my garden and annual pots. My wife bought me a cotoneaster bonsai a couple years ago to try my hand at something different, and I managed to kill it in about 5 months. I want to try again and this video gave me some hope that I won't kill a second cotoneaster! I will certainly come back and watch your other videos.

[@bonsaibywally]

interesting video. I just got a cotoneaster and was searching for info. Thanks for sharing

[@azoreiro]

Thank you, very helpful!!!

[@elementalbonsai]

Nice work ! Those Cotoneaster's are nice specimens for bonsai ! 👍

[@notionbonsai]

Hey thanks Angry Bonsai! I love cotoneaster as a species 😍

[@JeffWellington-mu3zp]

Great techniques. Best video on shaping and styling. I'm relatively new to Bonsai. I learned a lot from this video. Keep making them. Grew a ctoneaster from seed. It's doing well. I grew a larch from seed as well and could use some styling suggestions. Thanks

[@bonsaigardenwithmarksander968]

Great video thank you it’s been most helpful 🙏🏻🎋

[@notionbonsai]

Glad it was able to help you with your Bonsai! 😇🤗

[@raymondplodzien7459]

Excellent video!!

[@notionbonsai]

Thank you very much Raymond 🤗 Lots more videos to come!

[@joycefleming4986]

Great videos Adam, excellent information. And awesome hair dude!

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks Joyce! 😀 I'm so excited for spring!

[@janethowell9048]

I have a garden full of self sown seedlings and young trees. Lots of bonsai practice 😁

[@notionbonsai]

Aw nice! You will have lots of nice bonsai in years to come!

[@user-cz8ym9zu9e]

Makes sense

[@davidstokes925]

Thanks for this video, my friend. Really interested in cotoneasters. Here in FL garden centers carry mostly tropical trees. So unless I buy something online or have a nursery order a tree, I’m outta luck. Buying a tree, I would really want to see it first!

[@notionbonsai]

Hey no problem David! I love how the berries look on them! Tropical trees are also great to work on!

[@andysoars8139]

Good video thank you, Keep up the good work :o)

[@notionbonsai]

Hey thanks Andy! 😊There will be lots more videos to come!

[@carnel7326]

hello from France ! your enthousiasm is contagious. If I grow cotoneaster near juniper itoigawa, can it develop rust disease ?

[@scotthogbin613]

I also have a cotoneaster in development stage, however its the larger leaf not the horizontals as they are getting hard to buy here in Australia due to being labled a invasive pest..or some silly reason! I like their growth habit and the way the branches zigzag naturally. Best of luck with yours Adam. I'm nearly caught up with all your video's as a new subscriber im enjoying watching your happy face and youthfull enthusiasm.. you and Nigel are my favorites.. i must have a hair fetish...💆‍♀️

[@notionbonsai]

Aw it's a shame that they are hard to get for you! You can still make a great bonsai with the larger leafed ones also! I love Nigel's videos also! 😊

[@lorigraham2496]

My cotoneasters and other trees and shrubs put out seedlings all the time. See if a neighbor has something to share. I use these freebies for little forests and clumps.

[@notionbonsai]

Aw thats brilliant! Nothing better than being able to make Bonsai for free! 🤗

[@sharicochems6299]

Thanks so much for your videos. I just watched your cotoneaster video where you explained the development of bonsai by far the best explanation I have heard. I just bought a cotoneaster and will be looking at it soon. It is too late to repot but could I style it? Also, you talked about moss on the trunk. I just bought a Holly at a nursery and noticed the trunk looks like it is split from the roots. Do you have a suggestion for fixing this? I really enjoyed your ideas on the bonsai at Tony’s extravaganza. Thanks in advance from Colorado, USA.

[@notionbonsai]

Hey thank you! It is best to repot in spring 🙂 You can style it now for sure yeah! Message me on instagram and I can have a look at your tree!

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌👌

[@notionbonsai]

😄

[@bernieone1]

I have Cotoneaster Franchetii Bois growing in the yard. I would ideally like to leave it growing intje yard for another while to thicken up the trunk. Is there anything toud recommend doing now inorder to help thicken it? Can i wire it now to give the trunk a twist? Its very straight at the moment.

[@jorgennilsson3245]

Hello from Sweden nice videos . Do you ever try a portuculara afra as a Inddor Bonsai !

[@notionbonsai]

Hello from Ireland! Thank you for your kind words! 😊Portulacaria afra can make a great indoor Bonsai! I have yet to try one though!!🌿🌱

[@random40s]

Very nice. Hopefully they all develop well. Do you work on any thyme plants? It's so hard to find many people who work with the herb, and I am not sure why.. They make beautiful bonsai. Thanks for the video! 👍 👍

[@notionbonsai]

Hey! Welcome to the channel! 😀 I currently do not but that does sound like a lovely species to work on 😌 Can use the cut off foliage in the kitchen then!

[@random40s]

@@notionbonsai Yeah, for sure. I have been trying to work on many woody herbs as bonsai, and just haven't seen a lot of information out there about it. Unfortunately I've only had luck with my thyme plants. I think I have 15 or so underway currently. I have tried rosemary, sage, basil (even tho it only lives one year), lavender, margiram, and oragano. My problem was soil drainage with most plants. I live very close to a rain forest, so we get a LOT of rain. 😂 Thanks for the reply though, and I do hope you try more herbs as bonsai. Many can look absolutely stunning, and of course useful in the kitchen. 👍👍

[@russellmitchell9438]

@@random40s I have a lavender I've been working on for five or so years. It's been a very compliant specimen. I also have a sage of similar age, but it has a rod-straight trunk, so I've just been breaking off and rooting interesting branches as they develop. I've found both to be quite brittle, and largely treat them as clip-and-grow.

[@nahdiabunga1506]

Setiap kali saya melihat video anda saya pastikan akan menontonya sampai selesai dan saya pastikan jempol ku selalu menempel di videomu karene penjelasan anda sangat berguna dan mudah untuk saya pahami Terima kasih kawan

[@notionbonsai]

Hei terima kasih banyak! Ini sangat berarti bagi saya. Selamat datang di channel Notion Bonsai :)

[@NoQuarter01]

I bought 2 cotoneaster from an online nursery, on 2 different occasions. Both were very root bound when I received them. So like all my other pre bonsai I let it acclimate for a few days. Then pruned the roots and transferred to bonsai soil. For some reason they both died and I can’t figure out why. :/ I have about 25 other plants/trees and they have all recovered and transitioned nicely. If anyone has tips for these I would appreciate it and thanks for the video! They were Cooperi Cotoneaster.

[@JustJane1972]

Found this really helpful thank you. Turns out I have a cottoneaster in my garden. I'll need to work on it. It has an interning thicker stem. Would this work as a single stem? With leaves at the top?

[@notionbonsai]

Ah nice one! You never know what you might find for Bonsai! Yes It would work for Bonsai for sure! It may even produce back buds lower down in the future!

[@natrjack965]

Please can you tell me what tools you use your pruning shears look great quality..

[@notionbonsai]

I will have a video on tools soon! 😊Welcome to the channel!

[@qwbo]

Do you have a cotoneaster franchetii at all? I found one at the front of my house but I dont know if its good..

[@Juan_Mattos]

A mix of 10 parts of water to 1 part of 3% peroxide works great to keep algae and fungus away from the branches (I also use it to regenerate the main trunk when necessary). 🙂

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks for this tip! I will keep this in mind for the future 🤗

[@kimrichardson8376]

I used a cotoneaster last year as bonsai but it died over the winter. Here in New Brunswick Canada, the temperature can drop down to -25 or more. I had it in my greenhouse over the winter but it died along. with a lot of other plants. Kim🇨🇦

[@notionbonsai]

Aw I'm sorry to hear that! Have you tried to Bonsai any Japanese Larch? They're quite tolerant to lower temperatures. (Not -25 tho! so it's still good to protect them)

[@shankill178]

I’m starting out in bonsai and live in Northern Ireland. Can you tell me where I can pick up some akadama? Closer to Belfast the better but anywhere in NI would be good.

[@notionbonsai]

Hey welcome to the channel! I'm not sure if there's anywhere close that does Akadama here. I order mine online. Please let me know if you find a source nearby though!

[@howardmckeown7187]

kittyfriend pink cat litter is 100% molar clay, better than akadama n much cheaper, search online

[@aseemgilhotra]

His face reminds me NEWTON UNCLE😂

[@notionbonsai]

😂😅

[@waterlover]

I been wanting a cotoneaster but can’t find one

[@notionbonsai]

There is lots of varietys of cotoneasters out there! I hope you can find one 😊

[@elcin1qrqtgccsguaea]

Is this cotoneaster indoor bonsai?

[@notionbonsai]

A cotoneaster bonsai ideally should remain outdoors. It is possible to keep them alive indoors, but you will need to provide it with a suitable environment. 😃

[@zubairakhtar3879]

India

[@bluekettle9060]

Giddy up brother another good vid ,but cut ur hair lol,I don't av a cotton Easter yet but I'm seriously thinking bout it , cheers

[@notionbonsai]

Thanks for watching 😀 It's a lovely species to work on! No I will not cut my hair, I like it how it is 🤪