Bonsai Tree Care | How to Take Care of a Bonsai Tree

How to Choose Bonsai Pottery for Your Tree

January 15, 2015 by Bonsai Tree Care Leave a Comment

Whether you’re new to Bonsai, or have cared for a Bonsai tree for years, there are many factors that should be considered when selecting pottery for your Bonsai tree.

Bonsai are typically planted in small pots, often imported from Japan or China. The pot you choose, however, should be considered from a variety of aspects. Here are a few tips to get you started on finding the right Bonsai pottery for your tree, environment, and budget.

General Guidelines

As mentioned above, Bonsai are generally potted in small, Japanese or Chinese pots. Japanese pottery is known for its high quality, but they can often be quite pricey. They can be quite elegant however, with a variety of options for glazed and natural pots. Chinese pots are generally cheaper, though quality has been increasing over the last few years. Chinese antique pots can also be attained, though they are very expensive and incredibly rare.

Old Bonsai trees can be potted in much smaller pots since they are no longer being trained. Old trees have had their roots pruned and transferred from larger to smaller pots many times, and should be adapted to thriving in a small pot. If you own an aged tree, a smaller pot could be a good option for you.

Younger trees, however, need more room to grow, as their roots are still undergoing the training process. They should be planted in larger pots, and will need to be placed in smaller and smaller pots as the training process progresses. These pots can be found quite inexpensively online.

Pot Sizes and Styles

Bonsai pots are available in a variety of styles, sizes, and colors. What you choose is partly aesthetical and monetary preference, and partly depending on the age and climate of the tree.

Larger pots should be selected for younger trees, and they should be potted in the less expensive pots as they will need to be changed frequently during the training process. Once the tree has matured, a nicer, and more permanent pot can be selected.

The pot for an aged Bonsai tree should be approximately 2/3 the height of the tree in width. The depth should be approximately the width of the base of the trunk, though if you own a young tree, or one with a very small trunk, you may want to purchase one deeper than the trunk.

Whatever size and style you choose, be sure that it is large enough to maintain the health of the tree.

Price Range

The price range for a bonsai pot can vary greatly. As previously stated, if your tree is still in the training process, you will want to purchase an inexpensive pot for your tree until it reaches a matured state. If your pot has reached this stage of maturation, congratulations! Now would be an excellent time to invest in a quality pot that can last you for years to come!

Depending on the size and style of the tree, as well as your own preference, the pot you choose can range in price from around $10 to several hundred or more. High-quality and reasonably priced pots can be easily obtained for $40 or less.

If you are desiring a more extravagant pot to stand out, however, those can add an element of luxury and refinement to whichever area you choose to house your tree. A high-end Japanese pot or antique Chinese pot may serve you well.

Aesthetics

Beyond the price and circumstantial needs for your selected pot, the pottery you select is a very individual choice. Certain types of trees are better suited for certain pots, but here are a few aesthetical considerations you might want to look at:

· Shape: Bonsai pottery comes in a variety of shapes. Before you select a certain one, it is important to note that “masculine” trees fare better in angular pots, whereas the “feminine” variety, which are more gentle in shape will do better in a round or oval pot.

· Color: Bonsai pottery comes in many different colors as well. You should consider the style of your tree as well as the space in which you plan to keep your tree.

· Glazed vs. Unglazed (natural) Pots: In most cases, the preference for an unglazed or a glazed pot is purely individual preference, but certain trees – such as conifers and pine trees – may fare better in a more natural (or unglazed) pot. You should never use a bright glazed pot unless your tree has fruits or flowers. Before you select one over the other, be sure to consider the type of tree you have and if your particular breed would fare better in one over the other.

· Matters of Design: As far as the design of your Bonsai pot goes, the pot is simply the means by which you maintain your tree. It is the tree, after all, you want to stand out. Don’t pick a pot that will outshine your tree. The tree itself should stand out in magnificence above the casing you choose to put it in.

Where to Buy

Now that you’ve considered your options, you’re probably wondering where to start looking for your Bonsai pottery.

Pots can be obtained from a variety of sources all over the world. You can import very high-end pots direct from China and Japan. You can find specialty stores both online and in certain areas. You may be able to find decent quality pots through the nursery or company where you purchased your tree. However, if you purchased locally, the selection may be limited.

The easiest way to buy and find your perfect Bonsai pot is online. There are a variety of places you can find them and doing so online simplifies the process by letting you compare hundreds – possibly thousands – of pots within a matter of minutes. If you know exactly what you want, you can compare several merchants to find the best price for the pot for your tree, lifestyle, and preferences.

How to prepare a bonsai for winter

May 21, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care Leave a Comment

Outdoor bonsai must live outside because they need a dormant period in order to survive. These trees have a pigment, called phytochrome, which resides in the leaves and bark of the tree. It works as a timer, sensing the amount of light it receives during the day, to get the tree ready to shut down. As a tree prepares for winter, it absorbs the nutrients from the dying leaves and stockpiles them for spring growth. The trees sit and wait, counting the days until spring arrives.

It is important to note that you MUST KEEP THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BONSAI POT IN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND ALL WINTER. If you keep your bonsai on a display stand all winter, the wind hitting the pot will drop the soil temperature drastically. This can lead to the roots getting too cold and they will die. Another note is to keep the dirt moist at all times. Most beginners hold back watering during the winter because they are afraid of the dirt freezing. When the dirt is wet, it can freeze, and it takes a lot to get ice below 32 degrees. Ice acts as insulation and helps keep the roots warmer than it is outside if temperatures drop below freezing.

Common practice is to bury your bonsai in the pot in a hole for the winter. Bury the pot all the way into the dirt and place mulch up to the first branch of your tree. Being below the ground will help keep the bonsai warm throughout the winter. The mulch will act as insulation and also help trap moisture. We do a trench every year and line the pots up side by side down the trench. After placing the pots in the trench, we fill in around the pots with the soil that we removed. We then place an inch of mulch over the top of the soil. Using this method, we have never lost a bonsai to the hard Boston winters.

Once spring arrives, the phytochrome sends the signal that it is time to get growing again. The tree uses the stockpiled nutrients to form and open new buds. Once the buds are open and the tree begins to produce energy on its own, you will see the new growth begin to form.

“Indoor Bonsai for Beginners: Selection – Care – Training” Review

May 8, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care Leave a Comment

This is the perfect book for beginners looking to learn how to grow a bonsai tree. Whether you are looking to buy a bonsai tree or one just fell into your lap, this can be your handbook. It covers selecting a bonsai, caring for a bonsai, and training a bonsai. The book also quickly covers plant location, soil type, watering, and basic pest control. The added bonus of such amazing bonsai photos took this book over the top in my opinion

I think the key to this book is the amount of detail is perfect for a beginner. While they show you how to keep your bonsai well trained, they do not throw beginners off with advanced techniques. From my experiences many people get turned off by bonsai training because they try to take too big of a bight from the start. I think this book does a great job of teaching the owner what they need to do and leave it at that. This is true for all sections of the book, not just the training part that I mentioned.

I wasn’t expecting this book to include too much information on individual species, but I was completely wrong. This book covers a lot of information on a large list of common species. For each species, the book provides background on the plant, care tips for the plant, suggestions on the best way to propagate or acquire the plant, and offers the best recommendations for training styles. This is great information for beginners that receive a bonsai as a gift and don’t know what to do from there.

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to any beginner to use as a handy guide. When sending someone a bonsai as a gift, this might also be a good book to include for the sake of the tree as well. You can’t beat this handy guide for the price!

How To Kill Spider Mites

March 30, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care 1 Comment

Spider mites are a type of spider that can wreak havoc on your bonsai if you are not careful. These pest survive by sucking at the cells of their pray. They are very common when growing Juniper bonsai trees outdoors. These mites are also common pests to turf grass in many locations. Be sure to check newly purchased trees for pests before placing the tree near other bonsai. This is the most common way that these pests are spread.

These pests reproduce at a rapid rate with many overlapping generations in a single season. An egg can hatch and become a productive member of the family in less than a week under good conditions. From there, a female can lay several dozen eggs in its lifespan. If not treated, the minute spiders are able to take over the plant and easily killing it within weeks.

Signs of Spider Mites

You will notice while spots on the trees foliage from where the mites sucked out the cell contents. These spots will start to turn yellow or bronze over time. When highly effected, you will notice webbing within the foliage. They use this webbing to protect themselves and their eggs from natural predators.

How to remove Spider Mites

Spider Mites are one of the most common pests for bonsai growers because regular insecticide does not kill them. Instead, insecticide kills their natural predators and leaves them with an open breeding ground. Kill spider Mites with mitocide, as nothing else will effectively remove them. For immediate results, spray the tree foliage with a high pressure hose. This will remove the protective webbing that keeps the predators out. This will also remove many of the mites and eggs, damaging the life cycle. If you continue to experience breakouts, you can purchase predatory mites online. These mites will stick around without damaging your trees, eating only the spider mites and other pests.

Step by step guide how to pick a pre-bonsai or nursery plant

March 20, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care Leave a Comment

One of the fastest ways to jump into bonsai training it to purchase a pre-bonsai tree or a nursery stock plant. You can find pre-bonsai online at the link at the bottom of this page, while nursery stock can be purchased at your local plant nursery store. We do this a few times a year to create a bonsai in a very short time. You purchase the tree or shrub, trim it to the style you desire, and let it recover. This is as easy as it gets, as long as you select the right plant to begin with. This step-by-step guide will show you how to pick the perfect bonsai candidate.

The first thing to look for in creating a bonsai from a stock tree is the plant species. You want to make sure that the plant is suitable for bonsai training. Most trees and shrubs are suitable, but it is important do some research first.
Look at the size of the tree. You can’t walk into a nursery and purchase a 10’ Japanese maple with the goal of making it a bonsai; it’s just not going to work.
Now start looking at the characteristics of the plant, starting with the trunk. Pick a plant that has a truck that can be styled into a bonsai style. You will need to envision the finished result at this point.
Next, look at the tapering of the trunk. Almost all bonsai styles require the trunk to taper from thick on the bottom to thin at the top. You do not want the plant to stay one thickness to a point that was cut off. This will make the finished result look unnatural and rushed.
Observe the branching structure of the tree next. Look at where the branches lie, what direction they are going, and if they are tapered. You will most likely be trimming some branches so they don’t all need to be perfect. Just make sure that you have a few that you can work with.
The last thing to look at is “nabari”, or the root flare and surface roots. The point where the trunk meets the dirt is essential in making the bonsai look natural. You want this to look very natural, with surface roots appearing at the base if possible.

Tips:

Purchase these plants in early spring. This will allow you to trim and repot them right away. After trimming, let them recover all year until next spring and you will have a great bonsai.

Try to envision the finished result. This will make it much easier to decide what is going to work and what won’t.

Another good time to do this is in the fall, when nurseries are trying to sell off the leftover plants for cheap. Purchase them then and let them be until spring.

Bonsai Soil

March 19, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care Leave a Comment

You can grow a tree in mostly any soil and it will do fine, but that doesn’t mean it is the best bonsai soil for the tree. Growing trees in a small amount of soil increases the need to make sure you have the best soil conditions possible. Some trees enjoy sitting in large amounts of water and are not affected by their roots always being wet. Other species are known to experience root rot if the trees are not allowed to dry out a little between watering. Another aspect of biology that is commonly ignored is oxygen. Trees absorb oxygen from their roots, so roots sitting in water block this ingredient to success. Every type of tree prefers a different level of moisture in the soil, but I will discuss ingredients commonly used in bonsai soil in this post.

Compost – Compost is great to add to the soil mixture because it is high in nutrients. Using such a small amount of soil makes the need for it to be nutrient rich much more important.

Peat and bark – These are both used to add grit to the soil and increase drainage. These add some nutritional value to the soil while allowing the water to flow through the soil faster.

Akadama – This is one of the most used ingredients in bonsai soil mixtures. These fire-hardened clay pebbles allow the water to flow through the soil mixture very easily. Akadama can be easily obtained online for a relatively low price.

Charcoal – Charcoal is traditionally used as a soil additive because it increases the drainage of the soil and helps fight bad bacteria.

Sand – Sand is another commonly used ingredient to making good bonsai soil. You can find sand everywhere, but you want large grit well-draining sand for bonsai applications. This helps increase the drainage of the soil.

Moss is also very helpful in retaining moisture in bonsai pots. If you notice that your bonsai soil is drying out faster than desired, growing moss on the surface can help trap the moisture in. You can find “bonsai moss” online, or collect it from outdoors in sunny areas. Moss can also make a bonsai tree look older and more mature.

Shohin Bonsai

March 18, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care Leave a Comment

Shohin bonsai is the art of tiny bonsai tree training. We take the same trees we use for normal bonsai and make then even smaller. The term “shohin” means “tiny thing” in Japanese. These trees usually grow to be six to eight inches tall. They are perfect for those who are interested in growing bonsai but do not have much room. You can fit a dozen or more of these on a windowsill with no problem. Apartment renters are the perfect customers for shohin bonsai trees.

The challenge and art of shohin bonsai is creating a smaller version of a tree that looks well matured. This is difficult when the amount of soil it is growing in can fit into the palm of your hand. The bonsai trainer must have a good knowledge of how the tree is going to react to every cut. This will allow them to masterfully design a tiny tree that looks aged and mature.

As you can imagine, bonsai training takes a lot of patience to do correctly. Imagine trying to do bonsai training with a tree one fifth the size. Shohin bonsai are trained using the same procedures, just on a smaller scale. Typically, you will only have a few branches and leaves to work with. This leaves very little room for error, as you can’t just cut something off if you don’t like it. These trees are also grown in a pot even smaller than a typical bonsai pot. The pots used are sometimes smaller that a shot glass.

Being in such small pots requires even more attention than the normal bonsai trees. They need to be watered often, typically more than once a day, to ensure that the small amount of soil stays moist. They also need to be repotted more often since the tree will become rootbound very quickly. Maintenance pruning will need to be conducted weekly, or the tree will get too large very quickly. New growth needs to be pinched back so that the limbs do not become too large.

Step by Step Guide to Growing Bonsai from Cuttings in Dirt

March 17, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care 2 Comments

Plants have the amazing ability to recover from almost anything under the right conditions. One of the easiest ways to reproduce a bonsai for FREE is to grow it from cuttings. In this process, you place a small limb that you cut off into the dirt, and over time it will grow its own roots. This is very common in plant nurseries because you can mass produce plants for very little cost. They also use this technique to reproduce certain strands of plants. The cuttings will have the exact same DNA as the plant they were taken from, which is different from a plant grown from seed which takes DNA traits from two plants like a human. Growing bonsai from cuttings is very simple and anyone can achieve great results.

1.) Trim your bonsai tree as you would normally, placing the trimmings into a bowl of water as they fall. Only keep the cuttings that are at least 3 leaf nodes long, or have at least 3 sets of leaves. The optimal size for most trees is five or six nodes long. The roots will come from those leaf nodes, so it is important to ensure at least 2 nodes are in the ground.

2.) Remove the leaves from the bottom two leaf nodes of the cutting. Just lightly pinch the branch and slide your fingers down. The leaves should separate easily and can be discarded.

3.) Dip the cuttings in some rooting hormone if available, up to the second leaf node. This is not absolutely necessary to achieve good results, but it will increase the chance of survival. This product will help provide the nutrients the cutting needs faster. Let the cutting soak for three to five seconds before removing.

4.) Stick the cutting straight into the dirt, 2 nodes deep if possible. Press down on the dirt around the cutting to ensure that it will stay standing.

5.) Place a plastic barrier around the pot to trap in moisture. If you are using a pot, plastic bags work well for this. Just place the pot in the bag and tie it tight. If you are using a tray, then a humidity dome will work well.

6.) Place your trees in a shady area so they can root. Water them regularly, and mist the leaves if you notice that they are wilting.

7.) Check your cuttings after about a month, depending on the species, to see if they have rooted. The best way to do this is by giving them a little tug to feel for resistance. Once all cuttings in your container are rooted, remove the humidity dome and continue to water as normal.

8.) Repot the cuttings into separate pots next spring. It is possible to repot them after they have rooted but the roots are very delicate and you will inevitably lose some.

Tips:

Humidity is the key! Your trees will not have roots to absorb water, so they will absorb water through their leaves during this process. I mist my cuttings every day, ensuring I see water droplets on the leaves so they are moist enough.

Once the cuttings have rooted, the large amount of humidity can cause mold issues quickly. Remove the humidity dome as soon as cuttings are rooted.

Use a sharp knife or sheers to cut the bottom of the cuttings at an angle before sticking in the dirt. This will make it easier to push them into the dirt.

This is best done with softwood cuttings. These are cuttings taken while they are still green and haven’t hardened yet. It will work with hardwood cuttings, but results may vary from softwood results.

How to Water a Bonsai The Right Way

March 16, 2014 by Bonsai Tree Care 2 Comments

Watering a bonsai may not seem like a big deal, it’s just a plant after all, right? This is true, they are just miniature trees that have been placed in pots for display. It is also true that you can just grab a watering can and water it if you know what you doing. The key to take from this article is to ensure that ALL of the dirt has the opportunity to absorb some water. If you take a watering can and pour a little water on one side of the pot and walk away, the roots on the other side will die. This will leave you with a dead plant and not a clue why it happened. For this reason, I am posting this blog about the two most common methods of how to water a bonsai.

Soaking Method

This is the preferred method of most bonsai trainers. It takes a little more time and effort, but your trees will truly appreciate it. In this method, you fill a large container with water to just above the height of your pot(s). You then place the pot in the water so that the entire pot is submerged in the water. Let your tree sit there for three to five minutes before you remove it and let the excess water run out. Then return the tree to its original location after it has stopped dripping to avoid a mess.

We prefer this method because it is a dummy-proof way to ensure the whole pot gets wet. By letting it soak, we know that all the dirt in that pot has had ample time to absorb water.

Watering Can

If you do not have the means or time to let the tree soak, you can use a watering can if you know what you are doing. With a watering can, water the entire surface of the soil and let it soak in. After a few seconds, pour in some more to ensure that everything is soaked. Repeat this until you see water dripping from the bottom of the pot. If you do not see water, then the soil is not completely soaked.

The most common mistake is the owner splashing some water on the tree and walking away. This prevents the tree from being able to expand the root mass because of dry areas. Dry roots will die off quickly as the tree attempts to focus all its energy on the area that does have moist soil.