training | 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.

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.

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.

Bonsai Training

Bonsai training and shaping is a great way to practice your patience and creative skills. Bonsai training can be a complex technique, however with enough practice, and carefully pruning, wiring, and repotting your bonsai tree you can truly produce a beautiful result, and a more rewarding experience than buying the final product in the store.

Begin with a young, small plant and a bonsai pot. You will also need some wire and some good quality soil.

How to trim a bonsai tree

There are two types of pruning: maintenance and shaping pruning. The best time to do your shaping pruning is during the early spring or autumn. Although with some trees you can prune them at any time.

When creating your bonsai tree, you can begin by tidying up your plant. You will need to decide what shape you would like to create with your bonsai. It can take some time for branches on your tree to grow back, so be careful of which ones you are pruning. When you are pruning, work your way upwards, and use concave pruners for any larger branches. Begin with the larger branches, and decide which ones you would like to keep, and which ones you would like to prune back. Your tree needs to remain balanced, so take this into account. For the most effective bonsai trees, retain any curved branches, and ones which are easily malleable with wire. If you have any unusually thick branches at the top of the tree, these could be effective too.

Once you have your general shape in order, begin pruning the smaller branches. You can also prune back some of the leaves to promote growth, so that you have lush small green leaves growing later on

Wiring

When you have finished pruning your tree, you can begin the wiring process. Carefully wind the wire around the larger branches of the tree, at no more than a 45 degree angle so you don’t cause the tree too much stress.

The wire should be approximately one third of the thickness of the branch, and if two branches of the tree are approximately the same size, then try to use the same piece of wire. Another good rule of thumb is to try and move the branch by pressing the wire against it – if it’s the wire that bends, then you will need a slightly stronger wire.

Begin by pressing the wire into the soil – if it runs into a root, just try to insert the wire into another spot where there is no root in the way. Bend the wire, so it wraps around the tree, however it is important to leave a small space for some small movement. When you are finished with the larger branches of the bonsai, you can begin wiring the smaller branches.

Ensure that all of your branches have wires around them, before you begin styling the position of the bonsai plant. When you bend the branches, make sure that you wrap your hands around the branch, along with your thumbs positioned over the top – try to cover as much space as possible so you can provide as much support as possible. Don’t use quick movements, you want to position the tree into place slowly so that no branches are broken.

Once you have finished moving one of the branches, hold it in place for a few seconds, and then if you need to move it further then try again. Once you have moved a few branches, let it rest, and then you can make some more movements. It’s also important to step back after a few movements to make sure you are achieving the shape that you wanted, and no unnecessary movements are made. You may find that you need to add more wire to your plant if you can’t get the shape you desire.

Repotting

You will need to have a special bonsai pot for your tree. Attach two wires to the pot, so that they are sticking up – these will be used to attach the bonsai tree to the pot. You can cover the two holes of the pot with some plastic mesh so that the soil stays in place.

For the bonsai soil mix, you can buy prepackaged soil mixes which are specially designed for bonsai trees, otherwise you can mix your own. The purpose of the soil is for the water to drain very quickly, about twice as fast as natural soils. Your soil should provide nutrients via organic matter, as well as a soil filler such as course sand or finer aquarium gravel. The soil should also be able to hold water, so you can also mix in some compost. As you become more advanced in your bonsai training, you can experiment with different soil mixtures.

Remove your bonsai tree from its container and massage the base to remove any loose soil. Use a root hook to tidy the roots, and to expose the trunk of the tree. You may need to use a pair of gardening scissors to prune the roots of the tree so that it can fit into the special bonsai pot which you have already prepared. Don’t prune away more than a third of the roots of the tree, or you could cause the plant to go into shock.

Add some soil into your bonsai pot, and you can now place the tree into the pot, after deciding which way that you would like it to face. You can use the wires which you attached earlier to fix the bonsai tree firmly to the pot and it is unable to shift around. Use some pliers to twist the wires together so they also stay firmly in place. Cover the rest of the tree with the prepared soil, and use a stick or a pen to ensure that the rest of the roots are all covered with bits of soil. Give the tree a water.

After about two months, you can remove the wire from the tree so that the branches don’t get damaged.

Bonsai Styles

Trunk Styles

Formal Upright (chokkan)

This tree style is the typical upright, straight tree style that you imagine when you picture a tree. This style has a tapering trunk, meaning it is larger on the bottom and gradually reduces in size from bottom to top. Surface roots in all directs are traditionally seen in this style to show the root strength it takes to hold an upright tree in place. Braches should protrude naturally from large to small as you progress up the tree. This is one of the most common bonsai styles that users choose when styling there bonsai.

Informal Upright (moyogi)

Informal Upright trees include visible curves in the trunk, but eventually the apex (or tip) ends directly above the base. Much like the formal upright style, braches protrude naturally from large to small as you progress up the tree, but placement of the branch on a bend me require adjustment.

Slanting (Shakan)

This bonsai style requires a tree that is straight and tapered just like a formal upright. The difference is that the trunk emerges from the soil at a slight angle, resulting in an apex to the left of right of the base. Though the tree is slanting, the branches of these trees will still be parallel with the soil. This style requires a strong root system to ensure that tree stays in place.

Cascade (Kengai)

Cascade bonsai are modeled after the trees that grow sideways off of a ledge, like the side of a mountain. The apex of the tree falls below the base of the pot, requiring extremely strong roots to keep in place. This style is typically planted in a taller pot to allow deeper roots and a sturdier plant.

Semi-Cascade (Kan-Kengai)

For a semi-cascade bonsai, the tree is much like the cascade style but the apex does not fall below the base of the pot. The apex typically falls just below, or up to halfway down from, the top of the pot.

Multi-Trunk Cascade (Taken-Kengai)

This style is the same as cascade style, but includes multiple turns on the tree cascading downwards.