Nice article.

One thing about bonsai is, if you haven't yet become proficient at patience, you will, before you become proficient at bonsai. Frustration thwarts most would be practitioners of the art because they so often lack the ability to keep their trees alive and healthy. If I had one piece of advice to offer to every budding bonsai enthusiast, it would be to focus first on gaining a good understanding of soils and at least a basic understanding of how plants work (physiology). It's imperative that the grower understands what it takes to maintain a healthy root system, because w/o a healthy root system, a healthy plant isn't possible.

When I first realized I had to learn (not just 'wanted' to learn) how to produce the beautiful little trees I happened on at a hotel where I was staying, I started the bonsai journey and failed in my first year for the reasons outlined above. I've guided a lot of people who gravitated toward the art, but most were soon discouraged because they hadn't the determination it takes to learn about soils and about what makes plants tick. Therein lies the key that opens the door to a level of proficiency where the frustration of buying a tree and taking it home to kill it before buying another to kill no longer exists, except as the rare exception. That's where the joy of building nurturing relationships with your trees rises to a level you really can't appreciate until you get there. My hope is always that I can convince the budding artist the reward is well worth the time it takes to learn to keep your trees alive.

Al