We can obtain mini bonsai by collecting trees from the wild, by growing them from off-shoots, by cultivating them from seeds and cuttings, or by buying them from bonsai nurseries.
Mame bonsai trees and shohin bonsai trees need to be grown for between three and five years to shape the tree sufficiently to be called as bonsai. We can start with seedlings of 3-5 cm tall. These seedlings can be found in woods and parks at the foot of some large trees, and many of these little off-shoots are already in an interesting shape at this early stage. Nevertheless, mini bonsai should be miniature versions of the original tree in the nature, but not some weird looking, deformed trees.
When we go to the mountainous areas to collect trees for our mini bonsai, we should take shovels, picks, newspaper to wrap our collection in and rope to secure the soil until we get home. We want to make sure the tree that we bring home is kept fresh in the best condition it can be.
Our local nursery is another place where we can find good shohin potentials. We do not need to start off with anything expensive or fancy. What we are looking for is a tree that has potential for shohin bonsai. It must be well balanced a miniature in size, or at least, capable of being trained miniature. We may not find what we want right away, but take several trips to different nurseries. With some patience and luck, we may find some excellent potential of mini bonsai tree at our nursery.
As for starting time, spring is the best time of the year to go looking for suitable bonsai tree material. We should dig the little tree out carefully without damaging the roots. We then remove the taproot, leave some earth on the roots, and wrap the plant in damp moss or moistened newspaper to avoid the mini bonsai tree from drying out.