Bon~ (A tray or Container) Sai~ (Noun- To grow)

   The art of Bonsai does not merely decrease the size of a tree to fit and be planted in a pot, but rather attempts to increase and enhance the potted tree, expanding it’s natural beauty, to capture nature itself.

   A small group planting can represent an island, or an entire forest. A single tree can represent a huge, lonely, old tree the moss covered dirt beneath, a vast meadow or the vegetation of a forest floor.   

Although a lack of fertilizer, crowded roots and poor placement will cause a plant to become feeble and perhaps even die over a long period of neglect, watering is the most important factor in keeping a bonsai healthy. Allowing a bonsai to dry out can cause irreversible damage and will almost always kill the tree. However, too much water can water log the roots causing root rot or deplete oxygen levels in the soil and suffocate the roots. Bonsai soil is made up of coarse materials to help prevent this and so should be watered more often than most potting soil. Mist spraying the entire plant regularly is beneficial and if brought indoors, necessary. Try to keep the soil moist and not soggy. In the winter months you won’t need to water nearly as much but should still be closely monitored and not forgotten. The best way to keep a bonsai from becoming too dry or too wet is simply careful observation and proper placement.

Repotting should only be attempted during the dormant season. The cut roots will heal over when the tree wakes up in the spring time so the closer to spring it is the less time the open cuts will sit in the dirt unhealed, reducing the risk of root disease. Also using a sharp root cutting tool  will make clean cuts and speed the healing process. Trimmed roots are not able to absorb nutrition immediately after repotting. If you repot just before the tree wakes in the spring, wait one month before applying fertilizer. Some signs that a tree needs to be repotted are:

A: Roots appear near the edges of the pot.

B: Roots growing from the bottom drain hole.

C: Poor drainage or slow absorption of water.

1: Use a wire cutter to snip the wire on the bottom of the pot that secures the tree to the soil. Being careful not to cut the screen clip.

2: Cut the soil loose from the pot and carefully remove.

3: Carefully rake out and untangle the roots with a root hook. Do not disturb the soil right near the base of the trunk.

Water is good at his point as it is critical the root’s do not begin to dry out and it also loosens up the old root ball and soil.

4: Use a root cutter to remove the large woody searcher roots leaving the small delicate feeder roots. The tree at this point can be moved up to a larger pot if you would like to increase the overall size of the bonsai tree.

5: If you want to keep the overall size of the tree the same only increasing the trunk and branch thickness, cut off the feeder roots so there is about ½ “ to 1” (depending on the pot size) of space between the pot sides and the root ball.

6: Make sure the screen is clipped over the bottom drain hole and put a thin layer of fine gravel in the bottom of the pot (drainage) followed by a small mound of new bonsai soil. Set the tree into place and adjust into position. Usually a little off center and toward the rear.

7: Cut a length of copper wire and insert one end up through the drainage hole until it reaches the surface of the root ball. If you cut the wire at a sharp angle it will easily poke through the drain screen. Now bend the other end up through the other hole or on the opposite side of the screen clip wire if there is only one hole and do the same. Twist the two ends of wire together with a pair of pliers until it clamps down (not too tight) and secures the tree in the pot.

8: Add bonsai soil to the top and work it into the pot using a chop stick or pencil until you are sure there are no air pockets. Firm the soil in with your thumb until it reaches the desired height.

9: A newly potted tree should be dunked rather than watered from above as it keeps the soil from washing away. Place in a well protected area and do not fertilize for one month.

PRUNING BONSAI

If your bonsai tree has wires on it, they will need to be carefully watched during the growing season. When they become tight they need to be removed before they begin cutting in to the bark. Use a wire cutter and cut them away rather than trying to unwind them.

Clip to shape at any time, however, large branches should be cut during the dormant season when sap is down to prevent bleeding. If you must cut a larger branch during the growing season, cut paste should be applied to the cut. Using the propper bonsai tool for the job will not only promote faster healing but also prevent ugly scars where they are not wanted. To shape foliage pads, hold the branch between your fingers with one hand and pinch off unwanted tips with the other. On deciduous trees, pinch off new shoots leaving only the first two leaves, this will cause a new shoots to grow between the leaves and the process can be repeated to increase a branches density.

Fertilizer is essential in growing your bonsai into a true work of art. The small amount of bonsai soil is quickly depleted and needs to be replenish regularly during the growing season. Also because of the small amount of soil fertilizers should be diluted to ½ strength. Apply as by the directions or every two weeks from spring until late fall for most liquid fertilizers.

With proper care and some common sense a bonsai tree can provide many years of enjoyment for generations to come.

A living sculpture. A work of art.

Always improving, always changing, always increasing,

Never finished.

by Aaron Lynn Jones (c)

Penjing adds another dimension to bonsai, Man Lung Penjing has some incredible galleries.