This post was written by Fred Meyer

Fred Meyer is the owner of Dallas Bonsai Garden. Dallas Bonsai Garden is the world's largest bonsai supply superstore. See 'Guest Writers' page and business directory.

If you would like to create your own bonsai you must first decide on a method. Growing from seed is rewarding but painfully slow with some species but naturally fast growing tree’s seed might give you a good looking bonsai in a shorter period of time. My own success rate with tree seeds was not good at first but I have learnt from my failures and now germinating seeds is much easier.

Another option is to create a bonsai from nursery stock. This can be a very quick transition from a bush to a bonsai and it is much quicker than waiting for a seedling to grow. Most of my own bonsai were created from nursery stock. Many garden centres have potensai (POTential+bonSAI = potensai) in abundance and only the trained eye can spot them. Things you should look for are thick trunks, a good root spread and thicker branches towards the base of the tree and general health and vigour. I will go into pruning and wiring of potensai in a latter article.

“The cultivation of trees is the cultivation of the good, the beautiful and the ennobling in man.”-

J. Sterling Morton

The last option that I offer to you, although there are other ways is to collect a tree from the wild. This is called ‘Yamadori in Japan and the end result can be quite beautiful. The wild of coarse could be your garden, the face of a mountain or a nearby wood. You want to look for a tree that looks very old but has not grown vertically very much. Stunted trees are nature’s rejects but as bonsai they are top of the class. An old beech hedge can sometimes have many potensai to offer and if you know of someone that is clearing such a hedge it would be well worth a look.

Air-layering is another method but time consuming and sometimes not practical if you do not own the tree. You can buy ready made bonsai and there are many good quality trees’ out there but they can be expensive. There are many ways that you can grow bonsai and it is not as difficult as it may seem but you should always take your time and not rush into it if you are not ready. You should also have no fear as the worst thing you could do is kill a tree or two which you will be forgiven for.

This post was written by Wayne Cosgrove

I love to be in my garden doing something new to improve it and bonsai has become a great passion of mine in recent years. I am always looking for potential trees to shape into great works, especially Yamadori.

“A tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food, warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to those who wield an axe to cut it down” – Buddha.

We as Bonsai lovers give the shelter, food, warmth and protection to the tree and a wonderful living organism it sure is. So many people miss or ignore the beauty of things around them in the natural world and bonsai to many people are just little tree’s in pots. I believe that many people are blind to this beauty and I myself up until a few years ago did not see anything special about bonsai. As an art form bonsai is up there with the best and is never static or finished.

As you begin your journey into the world of bonsai you may come across what is termed by many as mallsai. These are just little tree’s in pots and not in most cases bonsai. To be called bonsai a tree must have certain attributes that the vast majority of mallsai sold in hardware stores and supermarkets up and down the country are lacking. Bonsai should represent fully grown mature tree’s in nature and yet mallsai are often sold in plastic gift bags. Avoid growing malsai if you wish to expand your knowledge of bonsai and appreciation of nature and all living things.

What is bonsai you may ask? Bonsai is a tree planted in a pot but not just that as it must on a much smaller scale look like a fully grown tree and be pruned in different ways to achieve the illusion of age even on a relatively young tree. The pot also plays a big part and it must not distract from the tree and it also has to be the right size for the tree.

I have only started my journey into the world of bonsai but I already know that it is a road that I will never turn back on and as far as this road leads me I will follow it. I have a small collection of bonsai and yamadori which are tree’s collected from the wild and I hope to learn and pass on knowledge as many great bonsai masters have passed on to me through their books and videos. I guess though we all must learn the hard way at some point so what are you waiting for.

This post was written by Wayne Cosgrove

I love to be in my garden doing something new to improve it and bonsai has become a great passion of mine in recent years. I am always looking for potential trees to shape into great works, especially Yamadori.

I would like to go into this with a little more depth, as it is very important. One of the big killers of bonsai in incorrect watering. I am sometimes weary of people that still wish to immerse pots into buckets of water in every case or do not think it’s necessary to mist the foliage.  After nearly thirty years I probably manage the watering side fairly well – or at least my wife does these days, if I am  away teaching somewhere in the world.

The roots may become either dried or rotten because of too little water or too much water.

A free draining soil will assist in the transition of water through the pot. A compacted soil is obvious as water will collect on the surface. Ideally, when you water the Bonsai the water will flow freely through the soil.

Keep the soil moist in the summer but water less in winter. In winter just keep the soil damp and do not let it dry out.  Bonsai is not a cactus and needs a damp soil to keep the roots alive through its dormant period.

In most cool to temperate climates, watering once a day during the growing period is enough, but just check your soil. In hotter months watering will need to be done up to three times a day. If in a hot country, leave the trees in some shade for part of the day to keep the tree cooler. In some countries hot winds can also damage the tree by drying it out very quickly.

If your soils surface is looking a bit on the light coloured side it’s probably dry. However check just under the surface.

How to water your Bonsai.

Automatic watering systems are very popular and reasonably easy to set up.  Use a sequenced automatic time switch, sometimes called a ‘Computer Watering System’ but are really simple timers that start and shut off the water in a desired sequence.  This is good when you want to water some of the trees at a certain time and more than once a day in hot weather. You can rig up the hoses to a gadget sometimes called an octopus that has around six to eight hose attachment nipples and these can then be set to go off in a sequence that allows a different hose to water a different section, the next time the timer starts. It’s quite easy, as the timer can be set to go on and off six times through the day and if one section needs watering twice, then you attach a Y piece to two shorter hoses at different sides of the octopus.  Here is what I set up in my own place.

One and six waters the deciduous trees for 10 minutes each. The timer is set to 7am and 5pm.

Two comes on after one and waters the pines and conifers for six minutes in hot weather. Set for 4pm.

Three comes on after that and waters the Ficus and Willows etc –water loving plants, for 12 minutes. Set for 4.30pm

Four then comes on and waters the trees growing in beds, Yamadori etc. Set for 5pm

Five waters the rest of the garden plants and borders. Set for 5.30pm

If I need to water during the day in exceptional heat I can do so by hose without touching the Computer as the water faucet is rigged with a split tap to allow a separate hose connector.

The kit comprises a Water computer timer, a multiple hose distributor unit for six hoses and a water reducer that changes the flow from the hose into the narrower hose for the drip feeder nipples. I also use different nipples that allow different rates of water to travel through the feeder nipples from one litre an hour to ten litres an hour.

The one thing that is not good about auto systems is their reliability. The drip feeds can clog or stop working, battery powered ones are less reliable than mains powered, junctions in the piping may come apart when pressured up suddenly after softening in the sun on a warm day. They still water when the tree does not need any during rainy spells. Some systems I have looked at have a ‘cloudy day ‘ feature but it can be very warm on a cloudy day and the soil may still need water. Therefore, you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. You turn that feature off and the tree will be watered if it needs or does not need it.  Now all that is not too bad some of the time in a hot climate as the temperature is more than likely to be constant and so the trees will need watering anyway as rain would be rare in the warmer seasons. In humid climates the system is not so good of course. In any case the soil should be free draining and the water should run through fast of course. Use wooden wedges to tilt the Bonsai that need less water and will benefit from free runoff such as conifers.  Just ensure that the pot and wedge are secure and unlikely to topple of the bench. Alternatively, remove the drips from the pots every other day.

More expensive systems are available that have a sensor to determine moisture levels in the soil. Even these aren’t completely satisfactory, as one trees water needs may be radically different from another’s.

Automatic watering systems are not a great problem though and can be a benefit if you are off on vacation. The only thing you need to ask your neighbour is to just check that all the pots are being watered and that the soil is damp. Point out the potential weaknesses in the system and a good neighbour should manage.

Using a hose:

I still need to use a hose in other locations and I always attach an adjustable trigger spray or multi-spray unit to the hose. Water pressure is crucial here and if you have a lot of trees you will need to have a powerful spray that is still fine enough not to wash the soil out or damage the buds.

Hose spraying is most growers normal method of watering as this can be a more controlled way of making sure the right trees get what they need. Use the adjustable trigger spray to control intensity of water delivery. Feeder units that are supplied by most of the major plant food companies can also be added easily.  Just make sure that you do not overfeed. I prefer using pellet feed such as Biogold. This is a rather expensive Japanese food but is excellent at developing fine feeder roots.

Winter and summer watering.

This depends on the climate requirements.. Essentially you may water anywhere from once to three times in any one day. I would suggest that it may be better to water twice on a hot day and mist once or twice damping down the benching and ground to create some humidity around the Bonsai or Penjing. Not essential in cooler months. Essential for species that have fine needles like Junipers

Misting the foliage

Misting is giving the foliage a fine spray. While part of the general watering, spraying the foliage acts like rain. If you have warm days the foliage may dry up through dehydration. Misting will replenish the moisture in most cases. Extra misting can be very important in warmer climates, in hot weather and under shade net. Pine – Pinus need more misting that deciduous. Species outside India that are dense such as Cryptomeria and Sequoia need daily misting while others need misting every two or three days. Misting will clean the leaves, reduce pests and, as Chase Rosade the famous master once said, highlights the small webs of spider mite. Deciduous trees can trap water between the leaves and it’s therefore best to spray deciduous trees once a week or three times in hot weather. Water droplets will not act as magnifying glasses and burn the leaves. That is a myth. In colder climates, misting is rarely done in winter. In these cooler climates, the soil is kept just barely damp through the winter months. Many deciduous trees need very little light and water when under winter storage, though there is the danger of a tendency to forget all about them. Just remind yourself to check them at least once a week. I will reiterate that while misting is not the only watering given, it forms part of the general overall watering programme and if you grow tropical trees then you will need to mist two or three times a day.

Sub Tropical

This climate is more humid and while experiencing little colder weather, some cold days can still occur. The rainy season is generally more prevalent and the summers can be extremely hot. However, in many places the humidity levels can also be a factor in this climate.

Tropical. Mountains and lowlands

This climate does not experience cooler weather unless there are mountains where the cooler air can get to these peaks. I find that Bonsai and Penjing growers have seen changes in weather conditions recently that can be partially attributed to what is happening in warmer climates. I would like to discuss the general climatic changes that the globe is experiencing and comment on the results of these changes . I teach Bonsai  in many countries and I live in Scotland. We have seen a marked change in temperatures, humidity levels and rainfall over the most recent years. I am an avid photographer of landscapes and have been very fortunate to travel to many countries both as a Bonsai teacher and as a photographer. The reduction of natural habitat is in, my opinion, a very serious issue and we should be aware of the changes caused by deforestation around the world.

Deforestation is causing climate changes as is other factors. This means that temperate and cooler areas are having warmer, and sometimes wetter, weather than they had in previous years. Many very hot countries have high mountains such as Nepal with its vast mountainous terrain and deep jungles in the lowlands. In Africa, where the plains can be very dry in the summer months, Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, celebrated by Ernest Hemingway in “The Snows of the Kilimanjaro” have inspired many writers is, due to its altitude, permanently covered in snow. Climate is changing all the time but this particular ice cap will probably disappear by 2020 due to the deforestation of the lower slopes for pasture. This causes a change in the microclimate of the mountain. That indicator will mean that other mountains from across the globe with glacial ice caps will lose their ice caps if similar deforestation to create grazing areas at the mountains base happens elsewhere.
Using this analogy I remember my own Bonsai teacher talking about microclimates nearly thirty years ago and teaching us that each area, each bench and each pot can have its own microclimate. What you do to that tree can affect the trees microclimate. Understand the trees microclimate and you will understand what it is telling you. Short of talking to the trees, I suppose that learning everything about what affects us in climate and conditions is the only way that we will understand what the Bonsai are saying.

In the case of worldwide deforestation, this apparently could create higher temperatures in some parts of the world causing loss of ice caps, rising waters and in some cases more rain. We can do very little about these changes but we should be aware of the climate changes that may affect us in the short term. Recently we have seen some countries with exceptional storms, high winds, freezing winters, excessive rain and unusual weather patterns. Farmers in some temperate countries have lost crops through excessive rainfall.

Anything that I suggest in caring for your trees should therefore be read with the understanding that the weather really is beyond my control.

Article written by Craig Coussins©

This post was written by Craig Coussins

Craig Coussins has been a Bonsai grower for nearly 40 years and a teacher of Bonsai for nearly 35 years. He is not a commercial grower. Although Bonsai has always been a hobby it has also been a very important part of his life. Read more in the 'Guest Writers' page.

This post was written by Paul Masterson

Paul is a collector of Bonsai, tropical plants and owner of Bonsai.ie.

Remember “Gulliver’s Travels?” Do you ever wonder what it felt like to tower over your surroundings? Ok, forget about the little men with their arrows and ropes and uppity attitudes. Let’s just concentrate on the trees. Wander down the pathways of a Japanese garden and sooner or later you will come across tiny trees known as bonsai. Delicately sculptured, elegantly poised, they are perfect replicas of their larger cousins and yes, you do tower over them rather than the reverse.

Take advantage of the situation. This is your opportunity to see a tree the way a bird sees it, from the top down. We humans normally study the branches of a tree from ground level, or perhaps for the more daring or agile among us, from a perch within those branches that we’ve managed to climb to without breaking a limb of our own. But a bonsai tree lets us look down and study the symmetry of branches in a whole new fashion.

Though bonsai is normally associated with Japan, it is actually the Chinese that created this living art form. Thought to have come about in the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) there are, as in many things Chinese, legends that surround the beginning of bonsai. A favourite is the tale of the emperor that created his entire empire in miniature inside of his courtyard so that he could gaze upon it at will.

Eventually Buddhist monks brought bonsai to Japan during the Heian period (794 to 1191). At first the art form was only practiced by the rich but the invasion of Japan by the Chinese in the 14th century changed all that. All classes began to take up the art of tending the tiny trees and plants and the art was refined and perfected into the bonsai tradition of today.

What makes a great bonsai? Many types of trees have been used to create bonsai. Two popular favourites are the Japanese Red Maple and the Chinese Elm. Both are fairly easy to care for and train. The Japanese Red Maple is known for its vibrant reds and greens, both in the leaves and the trunk and branches. The Chinese Elm adapts well to growing indoors. Its leaves decrease in size year after year which helps them keep in proportion to the trimmed branches. A full grown Chinese Elm bonsai is usually less than ten inches tall, perfect for taking an appreciative look from Gulliver’s point of view.

This post was written by Moni

Monica Wachman of Butterfly Mountain Press (Aka: Moni) is a wanderer, an explorer, an artist and a writer. Since her first madcap journey across the United States at the age of 16 Moni has never been able to stay in one place very long. There was always another town or mountain or lake to explore. These explorations were sometimes just visits of days, weeks or perhaps a month or two. Other times she started life over in another city, another state and most recently, in another country. Currently this transplanted Californian is living on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Serissas make excellent bonsai with the right care and shaping. They are an evergreen shrub native to China, Japan, and Indochina (Southeast Asia) where it may be found growing in the woods and wet fields.

The serissa foetida has small oval leaves which are slightly larger than the serissa japonica’s. It may erupt with small white flowers several times per year giving it the nickname the “thousand star” serissa. Additionally, it naturally grows surface roots and an interesting bark pattern on the trunk which give them the desirable appearance of age.

Along with junipers this is one of the most common bonsai trees for beginners. Unfortunately this has also led to them getting a bad reputation for being easy to picky and easy to kill. With the right care this is not the case.

Serissa care

The most important thing learn about serissa bonsai is that they do not like change. They also do not like extremes. If a serissa bonsai is unhappy it lets you know by dropping its leaves and flowers.

Watering

Keeping your serissa watered properly is the most important part of its care. If you over or underwater your serissa it will lose its leaves. Serissas do not tolerate drying out and the shock may kill them. You should keep the soil moist but not wet or soggy. They also like a humid environment. We recommend that you place a humidity tray under its pot to create an area of humidity around the tree. Occasionally misting the leaves when the tree is not in bloom will also help. If you purchased the bonsai tree from a store that does not specialize in bonsai it may not be potted in the correct soil. Repotting your serissa in a well draining bonsai soil bonsai soil will help make it harder to overwater your serissa bonsai.

Light

Serissa can be grown indoors or outdoors. (Outdoor in warmer climates) If kept outdoors a mix of full and partial sun in most zones will be fine. If kept indoors it can do well under fluorescent lighting, but keeping it in a room where it can get indirect light from an open window and supplementary fluorescent lighting tends to work best. If the serissa does not get enough light its growth may not be compact enough to give it a nice bonsai appearance.

Special care should be taken when bringing the plant indoors after it has been living outside or outside if it has been growing indoors. As noted earlier, serissa do not like change. If it had been growing in a sunny area try gradually moving it into a shadier location before bringing it indoors. Additionally, make sure the indoor location receives a good amount of light. If you use a grow light it may need to be left on for 12 hours per day. If the tree was indoors move it into a shadier outdoor area before moving it to a very sunny spot.

Repotting

Serissa should be repotted during their growing season which is in spring. You should do this every 1-2 years when the tree is younger. Use a bonsai soil that holds moisture, but drains easily without remaining soggy. The leaves and roots tend to smell pretty bad when you prune them. This is normal.

Styling

Serissa tend to be pretty flexible on styles they can be trained into. They can be grown into informal upright, informal broom, oak style, and semi-cascade. They do not work very well as formal upright and formal broom. You can use the clip and grow method or wire on these trees. Wiring allows for more intricate designs. Serissa are often used in Chinese Penjing landscapes.

This post was written by Paul Masterson

Paul is a collector of Bonsai, tropical plants and owner of Bonsai.ie.

This post was written by Paul Masterson

Paul is a collector of Bonsai, tropical plants and owner of Bonsai.ie.

Winter is a dormant time for your trees, but not for yourself.   Their is plenty of planning and maintenance work to be completed.

Planning.

You will have an exciting year ahead with your trees. So to get this moving you should start by planning how you would like your tree to be styled.

Take a photograph of your tree and sketch over it with tracing  paper and modify what changes you plan to make. Visualise the end result. Any pruning or wiring you intend to do must be done in late winter.

Prepare your soil mixtures and pots for repotting. Best to clean your pots with vegetable oil, if you have a tree living in it.

Inspect your tree seeds, especially those that are being stratified.

Maintaining your Indoor (Tropical) Bonsai in the winter.

Light for your tree.

Winter as we all know is a time of low light and giving your tree adequte lighting is a challenge. Their is a temptation to place your tree at a South facing window for good light. This is not a good option as the strong mid-day Sun could scorch the leaves. The best solution is to place your tree on a North or East facing window. Sometimes I use day light bulbs to help give extra light.

Watering you tree.

Less watering is required in the winter months, your indoor tree also has a dormant period. Still use the scratch test.

Humidity for your tree.

Okay it’s -5 outside and the eco heating is on full blast.

Although your plants are tropical they can dry out fairly quickly and being tropical they do need a good rainforest effect. Use a humidity tray as previously mentioned. Get a large flat tray place small pebbles in it, even decorative stones and keep a reservoir of water. Through normal evaporation (and precipitation) this will help keep the moisture level up. You can still mist your leaves. (Great therapy)

Something to try out…

For the Indoor Bonsai novice why not pay a visit to your local garden center and pick out a suitable Indoor tree that could shaped as a Bonsai. The best one to start with is the Ficus microcarpa also known as the ‘Banyan Tree’.

Other suitable trees would be the ‘Dwarf Myrtle’, ‘Jade Plant’ or ‘Heavenly Bamboo’.

This post was written by Paul Masterson

Paul is a collector of Bonsai, tropical plants and owner of Bonsai.ie.

Once you have mastered the basic bonsai styles such as the formal upright style of chokkan, the informal upright style of shakan and the cascade style of kengai, you may want to try some more advanced bonsai styles for a better challenge.

Image courtesy of  Jacques Graulus

Intermediate Bonsai artists may try some of the more common advanced styles such as the Bankan (Twisted), the Fukinagashi (Windswept), or the Bunjin (Literati). Here’s a brief explanation of each.

Bankan (Twisted)

Thought to have originated in China, this style features trunks that are twisted and gnarled. Some expert artists can even form them Into animal shapes, the dragon being the most popular in Japan.

There are some styles to the Bankan which include the Nejikan with a trunk is only partially turned. Another style, the Takzukuri, is also called the octopus and in this style the trunk is quite twisted with the branches following it in the shape of a vortex. This style emulates the natural wind which shapes the full-size species of the tree.

Fukinagashi (Windswept)

This style is an attempt to emulate nature’s effects on the tree but in miniature.

In the Fukinagashi style, the trunk is slanted as if it has been blown by a strong wind coming from one direction. The branches follow suit in that direction as a result of the bent growth.

This can be seen in areas near a class or a hill such as coastal regions. In these areas Fukinagashi is formed by nature.

of course, the bonsai artist cannot emulate a forceful wind and must use different means to cause the plant to grow in one direction. One could use wire, although this is most often used for the branches, and use a cord tied to a stake to force the tree to grow in the direction you want.

Often times, the bonsai artist who makes sure the foliage is sparse to emulate the natural conditions where leaves would’ve been blown away by the strong winds.

Bunjin (Literati)

This is one of the most popular bonsai styles and no it is simple, it is deceptively difficult. The style consists of a thin trunk with very few branches and is inspired by Chinese paintings that show trees growing in a harsh climate. While this might sound sparse it produces rather dramatic results.

The trunk has frequent twists and branches come out at sharp upward angles giving the tree a different view from every angle. A popular species for the Bunjin style is the Japanese Red Pine but it can be done using many other types of trees.

These advanced styles require a lot of skill and patience so they would be quite frustrating for the novice bonsai artists. However, once you are bored with the basics you might want to try your hand at these styles which will reward your skill and patience with beauty.

Article by Lee Dobbins

This post was written by Paul Masterson

Paul is a collector of Bonsai, tropical plants and owner of Bonsai.ie.