What is Bonsai Bonsai Gift Tree ?

Bonsai is Japanese for 'tray gardening' . Bonsai trees are miniature trees; they keep their small shape and size because of being grown in a small pot or tray and through very careful pruning. The art of pruning a bonsai tree can take a very short time to learn but many people can go an entire lifetime without actually mastering the art. Since its beginnings in China during the Han Dynasty over two thousand years ago the art of growing miniature trees in containers bonsai has had an interesting history. Initially penjing – as it is called in China was considered too spiritual for the common folk and only nobles were permitted to own one. During the 14th century the Chinese invaded Japan and brought with them many aspects of Chinese culture including religion, calligraphy, and penjing. The art of bonsai involves the bringing together of tree and pot in visual harmony.

Bonsai Bonsai Gift Tree Potting Tips

Make sure the pot you are considering has very good drainage and is entirely frost proof this will help keep your Bonsai safe and healthy all year round whether it is kept indoors or outdoors. If you are selecting a glazed pot be sure that only the outside of the pot is actually glazed because the Bonsai will need the rough surface on the inside for the roots to grab onto and establish themselves.

Every bonsai pot is equipped with drainage holes to enable the excess water to drain out.

You will want to select a pot that looks nice with the foliage of your bonsai.

Bonsai Bonsai Gift Tree Pruning Tips

You should remove surface soil from the roots either by hand or using a nylon scrubbing brush. Brush away from the trunk and be careful not to damage any of the roots. Removing the loose soil will give the Bonsai tree a healthier look and feel. Once you’ve removed most of the soil in this way you can use a small fine bristled brush to remove the soil stuck in the roots or that has collected in the roots.

It sounds simple but finger pruning takes some practice to do correctly. The first tree you grow should be considered your practice tree. Don't attempt to build your skills on a valuable bonsai. You can learn by practicing on an ordinary small bush. You will know that you have mastered the technique when you can remove growth cleanly without tugging on the plant.

The root part of the plant is also pruned. This process is a must because new root parts must be allowed to grow, and the bonsai has limited space for its roots as it is grown in small pots or containers. Growing new roots are vital as it promotes the better absorption by the bonsai of the nutrients and water present in the soil.

Bonsai Bonsai Gift Tree Soil Tips

Last thing to consider when bonsai gardening is the type of soil to use. Ready to use bonsai soil mixture is readily available in plant nurseries. However one can opt to make his own soil mixture as well. As a general rule a soil mixture should contain one part loam two parts sphagnum peat moss and two parts granite grit. These soil materials are available in the market and can be easily obtained.

Bonsai trees are planted in limited amounts of unique bonsai soil. This combination necessitates that bonsai care include a frequency in the number of times watered. There are two methods that can be used to determine the dampness of the soil; one method uses a water meter that will indicate the dampness of the soil and will help to determine whether water needs to be added.

Watering should be done when you see the soil below the surface is dry. You need to do a simple check to ensure that the soil below is dry. Very simple! Use your finger to poke into the soil to about 3 to 4 cm if you find the soil dry then watering is necessary. The rule of the thumb is to water the plant when the soil becomes dry.

Bonsai Bonsai Gift Tree Techniques

There are no simple instructions for developing and training a bonsai plant. Generally, it just requires hard selective pruning and the thinning out of new growths. You can wrap a stiff copper or steel wire around the trunk and branches to help control the direction of growth to provide some interesting warped lines.

Once you are confident your seed or sapling is becoming more established by growing foliage and small branches, its time to think about moving your Bonsai to its permanent home. A Bonsai pot should be chosen carefully as your miniature tree will be spending the rest of its life housed in it. As a general rule, your Bonsai pot should be as wide as the longest branch and as deep as the trunk is wide. Obviously, your Bonsai is likely to be still growing so it’s important to allow for additional growth when choosing a pot.

When it comes to planting your seed or sapling you can either plant it outside in the garden or try to pot-it-up inside. It really depends on the time of year and how quickly you want your Bosai to become established. Obviously trees grow outside, so logically the best place initially for your Bonsai seed or sapling would be in the garden. However, if you are planting during the winter months nothing is going to grow until spring when the soil is warmer and your seed or saplings breaks from dormancy. Therefore, you may prefer to artificially stimulate warmer conditions by growing your seed or sapling indoors.

Bonsai Bonsai Gift Tree Tidbits

Growing dwarf plants in containers was also popular, but by modern bonsai standards the container plants of this period were inappropriately large. The art of bonsai, as developed in America, is much freer in concept and style than Japanese bonsai. In fact, most bonsai plants that die or go into permanent dormancy are those that had dehydration issues, that is, those that were not given enough water or those that were placed in areas with low humidity for a long time.

Making Bonsai gardening a hobby needs some preparation which includes reading literature about Bonsai gardening, learning the tools and materials needed, finding the different Bonsai trees that can be grown and cultivated, and searching for stores and establishments which sell Bonsai trees. Traditionally all these tools and materials can be found in different nurseries and gardening stores. Raft style bonsai mimic a natural phenomenon that occurs when a tree that has been toppled (typically due to erosion or another natural force) and branches along the exposed side of the trunk form a group of new trunks. Another piece of advice for the Bonsai beginner is to check that you have adequate space. These trees do not grow very fast, so unless you live in a shoe box, you more than likely have space for one.. If you want to keep your trees outside, then make sure there are some cool and shady spots to move your trees into during periods of intense sun or hot dry weather. You may also want a covered area for periods of heavy rain.

It not only take’s much patience to properly raise a bonsai but also a good amount of artistic skill as well. It’s time-consuming and there is a lot more to it than one might think. You could say that a bonsai is the marriage between plant and container and is the bond to create a distinct and lovely picture of nature in miniature form. Bonsais are rarely easy and nearly always very expensive - and profitable! Unlike many bonsais, a Jade can survive as a houseplant. Trees with a shallow or partially exposed root system are ideal candidates for extraction.

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