IntroductiontoBonsai

ByKeithWarren

Bonsai(pronouncedbone-sigh)istheJapanesetermmeaningsomethingbeinggrowninashallowcontainer-atreeinapot.ItisalivingartformtracingitsancestrybackoverfourthousandyearswhenancientChineseandPersiansfirstdevelopedandgrewdwarfedplantsincontainers.TheartofdwarfingtreeswasintroducedintoJapaninthetwelfthcentury.TheJapanesehaverefinedanddevelopedtheartandscienceofBonsaiovertheyears.AlthoughtheJapanesestylesarebestknownintheWest,theChineseartisknownas“Penjing”.Bonsaididn’tbecomepopularintheUnitedStatesuntilafterthe1940’s.

Whatspeciesoftreesareusedforbonsai?Anyspeciesoftreecanbemadeintoabonsaibutthebestselectionisthosespecieswithsmallordwarfleaves.Traditionally,mostbonsaitreesarehardyspeciesthatrequireacolddormantperiodandaregrownoutdoorsyearroundandbroughtindoorsonlyforafewdaysatatimetobedisplayed.Buthalf-hardyandtenderspeciesaregainingpopularitysothattheycanbegrownandenjoyedindoorsyearround.

Howarebonsaitreescultivated?Thereisnospecial“bonsaiseed”.Thoughyoucangrowabonsaifromseed,itisaslowprocess.Youcanstartwitharootedcuttingbutmosthobbyistscollectnurserystockthathasseveralyears’growththathasanicetrunkandgoodbranching.Itthenonlytakesafewyearstodefineitsshapewithtoppruningandadaptedintoabonsaipotwithrootpruning.Youcanalsopurchase“pre-bonsai”plantsfromabonsainurseryforareasonablepricethathasbeentopprunedforseveralyears.Finishedbonsai,alreadyadaptedintoabonsaipot,aremuchmoreexpensivebutverytemptingtopurchase!

Whatarethehallmarksofagoodbonsai?Thegoalistomakethetreelooklikeamaturetreefoundinnature.Thereshouldbemajorrootsvisibleandthetransitionintothetrunkgivestheimpressionthatthetreeisfirmandsecure,wellrootedintothesoil.Theshapeandappearanceofthetrunkisofparticularimportanceinminiaturetrees.Itisusuallyvisiblefromtherootstohighupintothecrownofthetreewhilelookingatthefrontsideofthetree.Thebaseofthetrunkshouldbethethickestandtapersasitreachesthecrownofthetree.Pruneoutminorbranchesandkeeponlythosebranchesthatarewellspacedandextendfromthetrunkontheleft,rightandbacksides.Pruneoutbranchesgrowingstraightoutfromthefrontofthetreeinordertoshowoffthetrunk.Branches,likethetrunk,shouldbethickestnearestthegroundandtaperinthicknessastheyreachthetop.Thetreeshouldnotbeprunedtolooklikeasolidhedgebutratheroneshouldseespacebetweenthebranchedleafmasseswhichsimulatesage.Thegeneraloverallshapeofthefoliageshouldbeanisoscelestriangle.

Whatarethepopularstylesareusedtoshapeabonsai?Thethirdpageofthishandoutshowsthesixmajorstylesusedforasingletreebonsai.“Informalupright”isprobablythemostpopular.Thereareotherstylesthatarepopularalsosuchassemi-cascade,fullcascade,clumps(3trees),groves(5or7)or

forests(morethan7trees).Ifaforestisdesignedwellwithdifferentsizedtreesandtheyareplacedinsuchawaythatcreatestheillusionofdepthitisaparticularlybeautifulbonsaitosee.

BasicGeneralCareofBonsai

WhenandhowmuchshouldIrootprune?Rootsshouldbeprunedwheneveraplantispottedforthefirsttimeandeverytimeitisrepotted.Thebesttimetodothisisearlyspringtominimizeshock.DeciduousareusuallythefirsttobedoneinFebruarythruMarchjustastheleafbudsarebeginningtoswell.Oncetheyleafoutyouruntheriskoflosingthenewleaves.Youcancutbacktherootsbyhalfondeciduousspeciesandevenbareroot.Oncepottedandleafedoutyoumustkeepitfromfreezinguntiltheendofthegrowingseason.Evergreenandbroad-leafspeciesareprunedafterthedeciduoustreesbutcutbacktherootsbyonlyathirdanddonotremovemorethanhalfthesoiloftherootball.Oldermaturetreesrequireevenlessamountofrootremoval.Deciduoustreesusuallyneedtoberootprunedevery1-2years,evergreensevery2-3yearsandpinesonceevery4-5years.Youknowitistimetorepotandrootprunewhenafterremovingthetreefromthepotyouonlyseeamassofrootsandseeverylittlesoil.Afterrootpruning,keepinmorningsunandoutofwindforamonth.

WhatkindofsoilshouldIuse?Aswithanycontainergrownplantdrainageisveryimportant,especiallywithbonsai!!!Inhotsummerweneedtowaterourbonsaidailysothesoilcannotcompact.Everyhobbyisthastheirownformulafortheirbonsaisoilbut1/3to1/2ofthesoilshouldbenon-organicmaterialstosupplyexcellentdrainageandaeration.Therestcanbealoosepottingsoilorfinepinebarkmixbutneverusesoilfromyourgarden.

Whataboutfertilizing?Afterrootpruningandrepottingwaitamonthbeforeapplyfertilizer.Yesyouheardmeright–amonth!SomehobbyistsuseaslowreleasefertilizersuchasOsmocote.Unlesswehaveunusualamountsofraininspring,thisslowreleasewilllastthegrowingseason.Somepeoplethatuseitwillalsogivetheirbonsaiadoseofchemicalfertilizerinspringto“jumpstart”thefastgrowingconditionsofspring.Slowreleaseispopularofcoursebecauseyoudon’tneedtoremembertohand-feedonaregularbasis.Somegrowersliketousebalancedchemicalfertilizer.Ifdoingsoalwaysremembertodilutebyone-halfstrength.Thereisnoneedtoriskburningtherootsandnoneedtopushtopgrowth.Wearetalkingaboutbonsaihere!Wefertilizebonsaiforhealthnotsize.MostofusfertilizingbyhanddoittwiceamonthstartingamonthafterrepottinguptoSeptember15th.YoucanuseveryweaklownitrogenfertilizerpastSeptemberforevergreens.Tropicalbonsaicanbefertilizedinfallandwinterinthehomebutonlyonceamonthisenough.

HowoftenshouldIwater?That’saneasyanswer.NEVERLETTHEMDRYOUT.Inhotsummer,wateronceaday.Inspringandfallwatermaybeevery2-3days.Justlookatthemdaily.

Howmuchlightdotheyneed?Fullsun,exceptinHOTsummer,thenreducelightby1/3or1/2.

WhendoItrimthefoliage?Wheneveritstartslookingshaggy-perhaps2-3timesayear.Deciduousgrowfaster.(Ifyouwanttothickenabranch,leaveituntrimmedforawholeyear)

Wherearetheystoredinwinter?Youcansinkyourhardytreesinthegroundandmulchinorputintoanunheatedgarage.Bringtropicalbonsaibackintothehomewhentemperaturesdropto55degreesatnight.Don’tforgettocheckthesoilformoistureifoutsideorinthegarageduringwinter!