Growing A Bonsai Tree For Beginners – If you, like me, are always looking for fun new plants to add to your home collection, chances are a bonsai tree has caught your eye at some point. These little trees are magical – there’s no other word for it – but they’re also very intimidating for beginners. Bonsai require special care and are not very forgiving. However, if you are willing to make the effort to shape and grow one of these small trees, you will be rewarded with a beautiful plant that can be passed on to future generations.
Before you decide if bonsai is right for you, here’s everything you need to know about these cool plants, including where to find one and how to care for it.
Growing A Bonsai Tree For Beginners
For the longest time I thought bonsai trees were a special kind of tree! As I found out, I am not alone in thinking that.
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Eric Schrader, who teaches the basics of bonsai at the Bonsai Society of San Francisco, says: “Bonsai is a set of techniques used to shape trees artistically. The work involves a lot of pruning and stringing to help shape the young tree, and bonsai trees also need to be kept in special pots to prevent growth. of it.
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Well, my next question was, “What type of tree is best for a beginner?” Like many questions in the world of plants, there is no clear answer here – experts say it depends on the climate where you live and where you plan to place your tree.
In particular, you need to decide whether you want a bonsai outdoors or indoors. Schrader explains that there are few types of bonsai that grow well indoors, as “the temperature doesn’t change much indoors and it’s very dry. Like a normal, full-grown tree, most bonsai do best when exposed to four seasons, as this allows them to get through the winter dormancy phase (we feel you, bonsai).
Bonsai For Beginners
Some examples of bonsai that are easy to care for indoors are: Ficus species, such as Ficus Retusa and Ficus Nerifolia, Jade tree and Dwarf umbrella tree.
If you are lucky enough to have an outdoor space where your plant can live, your options are even more interesting. Schrader recommends Cotoneaster, saying “if you’re careful about watering, it’s a good plant to start with.”
Some easy outdoor bonsai for beginners include: Juniper, boxwood, and deciduous species (especially if you live in the Northeast).
Remember that different trees have different needs, so be sure to check out Bonsai Empire’s list of bonsai tree species to identify and optimize your plant’s care.
The 6 Best Indoor Bonsai Tree Types & How To Care For Them
If you are new to bonsai, you may want to start from scratch, growing your tree from seed or sapling. This option is definitely attractive from a financial point of view, as you can get a small tree in your garden – I know my gardens are full of seedlings in the summer! However, if you go this route, Bonsai Empire explains that it usually takes between three and five years before the young tree is ready to be recorded. It’s a big commitment, especially if you’re not sure if you like working with bonsai.
The best option for beginners is to get pre-bonsai, which are often sold online and at some garden centers – you can find them on Etsy. Pre-bonsai trees are small, small plants that can turn into bonsai. Usually the prices are low and you will be able to grow and shape the tree into a beautiful bonsai without waiting years for it to be perfect.
Of course, you can also buy a real bonsai tree, which is usually old and already established. The downside to this method is that established bonsai trees can be very expensive – we’re talking hundreds or thousands of dollars.
As it turns out, taking an ordinary tree and turning it into a miniature version of art itself is not much more difficult than I first thought! It just needs careful maintenance, regular maintenance – and a lot of patience.
Growing A Bonsai Tree Is Easier Than You Think
What sounds like the easiest job is not. You don’t want to put your tree on a ‘watering schedule’ – instead, take it into account so you can properly measure when it needs water. “The most common cause of death is dehydration, followed by dehydration,” says Schrader.
Your tree’s watering needs depend on its species, climate, pot, and general health, but in general, you don’t want to let your bonsai soil completely dry out between waterings. Bonsai Tonight explains that because these plants have small roots, allowing the soil to dry out too much can cause the roots to die. Therefore, it is best to water while the soil is still slightly moist.
Also, because bonsai trees are in deep pots, their soil will dry out faster than other house plants. Keep a close eye on your tree, especially when you first bring it home, to make sure you don’t go too long without watering.
Cutting “If you get a few inches of growth, you can be sure you’re healthy enough to cut back,” says Schrader. With outdoor bonsai, you generally only want to do any nutritional pruning during the growing season – like spring and summer.
How To Care For A Bonsai Tree
When pruning, you must remove broken and crossed branches and cut branches with more than three or four nodes (parts where the leaves grow). You can also use pruning to shape your bonsai tree and improve its beauty, removing branches that are too close to the base of the tree, and those that grow in an inappropriate way.
You can delete or use small shears to remove the leaves, but you will probably need concave cutters for large branches, which leave a cool, compact area where the tree can heal easily. A general rule of thumb is to cut no more than a third of a tree’s healthy leaves at a time – taking more will damage the plant.
If your bonsai tree is not yet the size you want, you should put it on a regular feeding schedule. A fully grown bonsai also needs fertilizer, but not as often.
Schrader explains that you can use organic or mineral fertilizers—or a combination of the two. (Organic fertilizers tend to smell, so think twice before using them internally.) He recommends using a tablespoon of organic fertilizer or a “dose” of liquid fertilizer every two weeks.
Bonsai Tree Complete Guide: How To Grow And Care For Bonsais
As a beginner, you may be happy to let your bonsai do its own thing, training it by pruning. Once you’ve become a master bonsai artist, you’ll want to use wire.
“There are a lot of tools for shaping,” explains Schrader. “You can move things and you can move things. Wire is used to create shapes and move branches from one place to another.”
Basically, you wrap the branches with wire, then bend and reposition them, encouraging them to grow in certain directions. Electrode aluminum wire is recommended for beginners because it is easy to work with and you can wrap branches in raffia fiber soaked in water before you worry about damaging them.
Finally, the restoration schedule – this will not only give the tree a healthy, new soil, it will allow you to restore the root system of the plant.
Types Of Bonsai Trees That Are Best For Beginners
A growing bonsai should be pruned every two years, while a mature tree can go three years or more without being pruned. You can tell if your bonsai needs repotting by looking at the root system – if it twists the pot, it needs to be pruned.
Generally, you want to prune your bonsai tree in the spring before it really starts to grow. During the process, remove the old soil from the roots using a stick and cut off the overgrown roots. Be careful not to remove more than a third of the root system.
Once you’ve done this, you can add new bonsai soil – usually a mixture of akadama, pumice, lava rock, organic potting mix and fine gravel.
Feeling defeated? So do i! There’s a lot to learn, but once you get the hang of it, growing bonsai can seem like a no-brainer.
Steps To Good Bonsai
Many experts recommend finding a bonsai workshop, class, or community in your area to connect with like-minded people and give you an outlet. Alternatively, there are tons of great bonsai resources online, including tons of videos that cover everything we’ve talked about here.
So, are you ready to try your hand at growing your own bonsai? I know I am—I’m signing up for my first workshop today! Bonsai is said to be an art form, but you still need to know some basic things about caring for bonsai trees to be successful.
“The first thing to know about bonsai is that it’s not a type of tree. That’s a common misconception,” said Justin Hancock, horticulturist at Costa Farms. “Bonsai is a way of growing a tree – especially a pruned tree that has been grown young. Regular pruning of the roots and top growth helps to keep the plant the size you want, no matter how old the tree or shrub is.”
The Chinese made the first small worlds,
A Beginner’s Guide To Bonsai Trees
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