how to grow a BONSAI plant?what are the various steps and precautions we should take?
Posted on May 21st, 2009 in bonsai |
hard asked:
i know that we have to cut the tap root but how to do it ..anyone who is expert in growing bonsai ?
for decorating in drawing room .
for decorating in drawing room .
please also tell which trees are the best for bonsai,and is there any particular season to cultivate them?
aquarium plants
i know that we have to cut the tap root but how to do it ..anyone who is expert in growing bonsai ?
for decorating in drawing room .
for decorating in drawing room .
please also tell which trees are the best for bonsai,and is there any particular season to cultivate them?
aquarium plants
3 Responses
Growing bonsai successfully is difficult, especially for a beginner. Get a book about it and read it all. Then go buy a bonsai and practice on it.
Evergreens tend to be hardy and make good first choices. Plus they are inexpensive which is good because almost everyone kills their first bonsai, usually by under or overwatering.
Cultivating “bonsai” is not something one would do in any kind of a hurry. My advice is to go buy a book translated into English, written by a Japanese master. Then read it carefully.
I have grown “bonsai” for over 40 years — the key word is patience.
There are two main ways to start:
1. From a seed (requiring many years to get anywhere with it).
2. From a plant taken from nature (putting it aside for about two years
and giving it loving care just to make sure it survives).
Of course, nowadays, you can simply buy one! But you have to know what to do with it!
In any case, care and attention are mandatory. All the information about when to cut off the leaves (to get smaller ones and thus enhance the “illusion”) and when to cut away excess roots (to be able to grown the plant in a tiny container) and how to bend the branches etc. is far too complex to write about here.
A good book is a must. Believe me.
Oh, yeah, what’s a could plant to start with? My choice would be
any of the “box trees”: Any of several small evergreen trees and shrubs, with small, leathery leaves. Some species are used as hedging plants and for shaping into garden ornaments. (Genus Buxus, family Buxaceae.
Being an evergreen, you will have leaves all year round.
Oh man, bonsai is all about patience. You can’t ‘keep’ them inside, only bring them in for viewing. The ‘bonsai’ you will buy in a store is usually a sprig of juniper glued into a pot that will die on you very quickly.
There is no ‘quick and easy’ bonsai method. Generally, a specimen can’t even be counted as a bonsai until it is over 10 years old, and even then, many purists will discount it unless it has been carefully cultivated into one of the formal styles, following many specific rules about placement and number of branchings, etc etc etc.
Junipers, specifically sargent juniper is best for a first bonsai, as they are hardy and can tolerate most of your mistakes. These are also the type of tree commonly thought of when one thinks of a ‘bonsai.’
Like most things, there is so much you don’t know, nobody here can really give you a complete answer. Like others have said, get a well-translated book and get reading.