Bonsai for Beginners
Bonsai gardening is a timeless art form of literally miniaturizing trees. The art itself is well over 2000 years old, and started during China’s Han dynasty. The Chinese word meaning bonsai gardening, pen’jing, means “tray scenery” or “tree or shrub planted in a shallow tray”. It was called bonsai by the Japanese, who adopted the practice around the ninth century.
Bonsai gardening is certainly one of the most unique and beautiful forms of art in the area of gardening. Since its early beginning in ancient China through to the present day, it has developed into many interesting individual styles. Once miniaturized, however, maintaining the look and well-being of the bonsai requires a bit of care and attention by the gardener.
There are a variety of styles that are common to the art form of bonsai gardening. These styles include:
– formal upright
– cascade
– forest
– slant
– literati
– root-over-rock
Bonsai done in the more formal upright style are trained to have upright trunks which are straight and tapering. Cascade style bonsai are intentionally groomed to resemble trees that can be found on the sides of mountains. Forest style bonsai are relatively self explanatory. They comprise a number of trees planted together in odd numbers. This type of bonsai gardening is intended to copy the diversity of age and height commonly found in nature.
Slant style bonsai are aptly named. Their trunks are straight, as in the formal upright style, but lean at a slant from the garden’s surface. Literati bonsai were inspired by ancient brush paintings of trees that grew in inhospitable climates. They therefore have few branches. What branches they do have are generally concentrated at the top of the trunk, which is usually contorted. In the root-over-rock style, the roots of the bonsai are wrapped around a rock at the base of the tree.
An important element of bonsai gardening is learning how to care for your bonsai. Bonsai require a warm location with plenty of light in order to thrive. Don’t place them near window sills, due to the variable temperatures that can be present as a result of drafts.
The process of watering is different to how you would typically water a standard houseplant. Bonsai trees require immersion of the whole pot or tray in water for several minutes. Once taken out of the water, allow the bonsai to drain. During the summer, bonsai need to be watered daily, and every second day during the cooler months.
Bonsai also require a lot of fertilizer. Fertilizer should be given to the bonsai only after it has been watered. A typical feeding schedule would be once every two weeks during the summer months, reducing that to once a month for the rest of year.
Bonsai are living trees, and therefore will grow and sprout new branches and limbs over time. When it comes time to prune this new growth, stay true to the original theme of your bonsai. Remember, you just want to preserve the look of your bonsai, so don’t prune too much – only enough to remove the new sprouts and shoots.
When you’re just starting out, there’s a lot to learn. So it’s worthwhile to have some bonsai information on hand, such as Bonsai Gardening Secrets. If you want to create and own beautiful Bonsai Trees, then this quick and simple step by step guide to creating your very own Bonsai Trees is invaluable.
To find out more about bonsai gardening, check out http://www.gardeningzoneonline.com
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