What is Chinese Elm Bonsai ?

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. Contrary to belief Bonsai trees do not originate from Japan but there are records dating back more than 2000 years that show Bonsai being grown in China. These Bonsai weren’t as small as the Bonsai that people often envisage and were grown on an individual basis outdoors in pots. It was though the Japanese that took this art form and progressed it to the level it is at now. This has led to quite different styles in Japanese and Chinese Bonsai; the Chinese Bonsai being much more freestyle and more lightly pruned than the Japanese miniature Bonsai that are very heavily groomed and pruned and look much more like miniature natural versions of the full sized versions. The art of bonsai involves the bringing together of tree and pot in visual harmony.

Chinese Elm Bonsai Potting Tips

Bonsai pots are produced all over the world, some are higher quality than others and some are highly collectable such as ancient Chinese or Japanese pots made in highly touted regions with experienced pot makers such as Tokoname, Japan.

Bonsai are generally repotted and root-pruned around springtime just before they break dormancy.

Highly collectable pots are not just confined to Asia. European Artists such as Byran Albright and Gordon Duffett produce unique pots which Bonsai artists collect.

Chinese Elm Bonsai Pruning Tips

When miniaturizing the bonsai tree it is important that know how to prune your tree. The major parts of the bonsai that you need to prune well, are the foliage or the leaf part of the bonsai, and the root part of the plant. Pruning the bonsai is really not just a skill, but more of a special kind of art.

Only remove branches that are affecting the way your Bonsai is growing. If a branch is causing the tree to drastically differ from your design it may be appropriate to heavily prune that branch.

The growth of the roots is affected by your pruning of the branches and leaves. Heavy branch pruning slows the growth of the root system. In this case there are fewer leaves and branches so the roots need to supply fewer nutrients and less moisture to the tree.

Chinese Elm Bonsai Soil Tips

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

The soil should not be allowed to become "bone dry" even for brief periods.

Some promote the use of organic fertilizers to augment an essentially inorganic soil mix, while others will use chemical fertilizers freely.

Chinese Elm Bonsai Techniques

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.

With the informal upright style the branches’ position is the same as the formal, except that the top of the plant is bending a bit forward. The container best used in informal style should be oval with the bonsai to be planted slightly near one end of the container.

The trunk needs to have character and not look like a stick in a pot. This is why as previously mentioned exposed roots are important. At the very bottom of the trunk are the roots and when they are wide the trunk will usually start wide and will taper as it goes up. On a mature tree a great trunk is not a cylinder going up but you can see some taper from bottom to top. Trunks can also have many forms depending on the bonsai form you wish to give your tree.

Chinese Elm Bonsai Tidbits

If you are growing your outdoor Bonsai in a pot which is the most common and sensible way to do it, then you should never bring it indoors. No matter how ill it looks it will undoubtedly not enjoy the sudden change in conditions and even the most healthy and hardy of Bonsai can only withstand a day possibly two at the very most indoors as a center piece. It is very important to remember this... do not bring an outdoor Bonsai indoors for longer than one day every season. Bringing your Bonsai in during the winter and putting it next to the blazing hot heater is undoubtedly going to scorch the leaves and the roots and your plant will probably die from dehydration. The reverse is also true bringing a Bonsai in from the heat and leaving it next to the Air Conditioning unit is the equivalent of a shock frost in summer and will also kill your Bonsai. Bonsai seed germination is the official term for the fine art of multiplying your bonsai plant. It is where like most plants seeds sprout after a short period of being dormant or stagnant. A lot of factors influence the dynamics of germinating bonsai seeds. This includes but is not limited to: time, water, temperature, oxygen, and light. As a bonsai owner you should know the vitality of each of these factors in order to make your bonsai seed germination as profitable and productive as possible. Some trees require protection from the elements in winter and the techniques used will depend on how well the tree is adapted to the climate.

A set of bonsai tools: leaf trimmer; rake with spatula; root hook; coir brush; concave cutter; knob cutter; wire cutter; small, medium, and large shears are used for the maintenance of bonsai. If you want to grow your own Bonsai tree then you need to be on the lookout for a young sapling from a slow growing tree. Ideally you are looking for a tree with small leaves too; these tend to make better Bonsai trees. Something like a maple, pine, or hawthorn are good Bonsai choices. Bonsai trees are very small and the height can vary anywhere between 2 inches to 3 feet.

The bonsai is not a genetically modified plant or a hybrid tree. Many different trees found in nature can be made into bonsai and master growers are always looking for new specimens. The bonsai tree is kept miniature by pruning its roots and keeping it in a small pot. The size of the tree is just one aspect of the bonsai. It's shape and style is the real way to tell the difference between a bonsai and just a small potted tree. The bonsai's trunk and branches are shaped sometimes over many years to get the perfect style. Trunks can also have many forms, depending on the bonsai form you wish to give your tree. As for the Chinese, bonsai is a great way of capturing nature’s beauty in contrast. This is an influence of Taoism a philosophy that became so popular in China hundreds of years ago. Such double-sided metaphors are related to legends on the yin and the yang. More than the art of growing the bonsai itself the Chinese also pay much attention to the pots they use. There you will see calligraphic designs dragons and other stylized paintings that spell common passion for this race.

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