Revisiting the attractive art form of bonsai
WHEN we talk about bonsai, sometimes there is the misconception that it involves sculpting trees or shrubs. Actually bonsai can refer to any miniaturised plant including succulents and herbaceous plants.
The ancient art of bonsai actually began in China and was mainly associated with Zen Buddhism, although today most would feel that bonsai is a Japanese art form. It is true that the art of bonsai growing has been better developed in Japan over the last thousand years. Bonsai has been used for decor and led its practitioners to develop a true art of beauty. Bonsai guide
To begin with, we need to choose a plant suitable for bonsai by considering whether it is for display indoors or outdoors as the growing conditions would be very different. For indoors, try plants such as boxwood, ficus and gardenia, while for outdoors you can use juniper, cypress, cedar, ginkgo and pines.
We can start by sowing the seeds for seedlings to use later but this may take too much time before we can begin with the actual bonsai. However, the advantage of using younger seedlings is they can be trained to grow well-defined trunk shapes or according to the size we prefer. This would be a natural choice when we know the characteristics of the plants and understand their suitability for making bonsai locally.
I have found that ficus is an easy plant to use for the creation of bonsai and it can survive well even under stressed conditions. This plant can take pruning without injury and actually responds well to pruning.
Once the plant has been selected, we need to decide on the final size of the bonsai. The size of the plant would determine the size of the container to be used. It is important to use high quality pots, otherwise they would just break once the roots of the bonsai get stronger or larger.
Attend to the roots to ensure they are suitable for the new pot. New bonsai trees need plenty of care. When the plant is newly transferred into a new pot, it is often done with heavy pruning or severe shearing of the roots. Some roots would be exposed to show the ageing process and for their beauty. Much of the soil originally used for the plant to grow in would need to be discarded and replaced with new bonsai soil. A suitable medium can be readily found at garden centres.
For ficus trees, the root system is massive and we would have to expose the underground roots. This would reduce the food intake and restrict the future growth rate of the bonsai tree.
Newly-transferred plants need to be kept in semi-shaded areas and protected from wind or direct sunlight.
We will also need to wire the branches to open up tightly twisted ones to the light. Next prune all the unwanted branches and then finally trim down the extra length or number of side branches.
Water the plant but do not use any fertiliser until the roots have re-established themselves.
Try to focus on basic styles of bonsai such as vertical, informal and cascade growth. To allow the trunk to grow in size, we need to plant the tree in a larger container for better health. Essential tools for success
Important tools for pruning the tree would be shears or scissors with different cutting blades. These tools can be purchased from the blacksmith or nursery stockists.
Next wire made of copper or aluminium in several sizes is need to tie the stem or branches into the formation that we desire. Fertilisers and additives
Slow release fertilisers seem to be the best inorganic fertiliser for bonsai as they avoid overdosing or underfeeding the plant.
Other additives would be hormones that are specially formulated for bonsai as they can be a dwarfing agent or booster dose to allow the growth to be hastened for a large size.
Fertiliser that induces flowering or fruits may be needed too. The important element of this action is to achieve the ideal bonsai according to our personal preference and style.
The job of creating a bonsai needs real patience and time to spend on the plant before getting it into the shape or style desired. This is an aspect that requires real commitment and is not just for a season. We cannot just get tired of growing bonsai and leave the plant unattended as this would undo everything we attempted to achieve.
Send me an email if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. Happy gardening.