Bonsai Tree General Information

If you have just acquired your first bonsai, you must learn how to care for it. It is impossible to give care instructions for every type of bonsai and for every climate in a short brochure like this, but this will help you to get started. In general, your bonsai will grow best if it experiences the same or similar environmental conditions as it would experience had it been growing “wild”. This means that almost all bonsai must be grown OUTDOORS. (A few varieties of tropical plants can be grown as indoor bonsai, but even these will do best if they are grown outside during the summer). Bonsai can be brought indoors for display for a day or two without suffering, but they really prefer being Sunlight Sunlight is critical for a tree”s good health, but how much is best” For most conifers – spruces, pines, junipers, tamarack, etc. – full sun is best.

For many broadleaf, deciduous trees full morning sun and partial afternoon sun is best. In general trees with thick coarse leaves will tolerate more sun than those with thin, delicate leaves. As an example of the later, the Japanese maple, full sun can desiccate the leaf margins, so these grow best in filtered sunlight. Watering Watering is the single most important factor in keeping your trees alive. It is also the hardest skill to learn. This is because various species of trees have different water demands. Some trees tolerate dry conditions better than others. Some trees will “tell you” they are thirsty when their leaves look limp. For other trees limp leaves mean the tree has already died. So where do we start” All bonsai trees are grown in special bonsai potting mix – not dirt, not potting soil, and not garden soil. This special bonsai soil is coarse and granular, and should allow for water to freely run through it. All bonsai pots have holes for drainage. When bonsai are watered, most of the water runs out the bottom of the pot, and only a small amount is retained in the pot.

If a bonsai is growing in a free draining soil mix, during the active growing period (spring to fall) they are usually watered once a day. Water your bonsai with a watering can, or with an attachment to your garden hose that will deliver a gentle spray of water. Be careful you do not blast the soil from the pot with too strong a spray. Water until water runs from the bottom of the pot. Watering is best done in the
morning so the tree and soil are fully hydrated during the hottest part of the day. It is often said that it is impossible to over-water a bonsai if it is in a good potting mix. However, outside. Bonsai need the daily temperature variations, the intensity of the sun, and seasonal variations in temperature to remain strong and vigorous. The surest way to kill a bonsai is to keep it on top of the television, or on the coffee table.

Bonsai are not houseplants. One of the great pleasures of growing bonsai is to watch them go through all the seasonal changes that they would go through in the “wild”. Deciduous trees will have their leaves turn colors in the fall, and then lose their leaves, just as their full sized cousins do. These same trees will sprout a new crop of leaves the following spring. Most bonsai owners display their trees in their backyards on benches that are three or four feet high. Bonsai should be viewed at, or near, eye level. Placing your trees on a bench or table will allow you to see and appreciate your bonsai more fully. Apartment dwellers can keep their trees on a balcony, taking extra care that they don”t fall off or get blown off. Do not place your trees directly on the ground. Doing so makes them more likely to be attacked by slugs, insects, chipmunks, and the neighbor”s dog. Join your local bonsai club. Experienced growers of bonsai in your area are your best source of information on which trees grow best in your region. Caring for your bonsai involves careful watering, pruning, re-potting, insect and pest control, pinching, winter storage, fertilizing, and perhaps wiring. With proper care most bonsai should outlive their owners.

Fertilizing

Fertilizer is important for your tree”s health and vigor, and its ability to withstand stress. During the active growing year – spring to fall – your tree should be fertilized. You may either use time release fertilizer applied properly in the spring, or use water-soluble fertilizer and water with your watering can. During the growing year, if you do not use time-release fertilizer, fertilize “weekly weakly”. A fertilizer such as 10,10,10 applied at half or quarter strength once a week works well. Too much fertilizer creates rapid growth with large leaves – a phenomenon we want to avoid. Trees that are dormant should not be fertilized.

Pruning and Trimming

As your tree grows it will be necessary to trim and prune it to maintain its bonsai shape and size. Severe pruning is generally done in the spring. Lesser pruning is done throughout the growing year. Pruning is also done to equalize the vigor in different portions of the tree. The “strong” areas – usually the top of the tree and the ends of the branches, are pruned more than “weak” areas of the tree – the inner branches and the lower branches.

Wiring

Your bonsai may have wire applied to the trunk and branches. This wire is to hold the branches in a particular position and is not meant to remain on the tree forever. Typically the wire remains on the tree anywhere from a few months up to a year. Do not let the wire cut into the bark of the tree as this will permanently scar your tree. Any wire that needs to be removed can be cut off with a special wire cutter designed for bonsai. Cutting the wire is preferable to unwrapping it. If when the wire is removed the branch springs back to its original position, wire will need to be re-applied.

Repotting

Repotting must be done periodically to keep your bonsai healthy. Trimming the roots prevents the tree from becoming pot bound and also stimulates new root growth. For almost all varieties of bonsai, repotting is best done in the spring just as the plant is awaking from dormancy. Most bonsai need to have this done every two or three or four years. Older trees require less frequent potting than younger trees; conifers require repotting less often than broadleaf deciduous trees. To repot a bonsai the tree is carefully removed from its pot (there may be a wire anchoring it in place. Cut this wire and remove it.). The roots are then carefully combed out with a root hook. Trim off the root ends enough so that it will fit back into the same pot. Replace the soil with new bonsai potting mix. Secure the tree in its pot with wire to
anchor it in place. A tree that wiggles in its pot will have difficulty growing new roots. Newly repotted trees should not be exposed to full sun and drying winds until the roots are actively taking up water.

Insects and Diseases

Many, if not most, insects are not harmful to your bonsai. Some are beneficial in that they prey on insects that will do damage to your trees. If you find that harmful insects have taken up residence on your bonsai, you need to take action. Many of these can be washed or picked off. Many are small and difficult to see. Red spider mites are frequently a problem with junipers, and can be discerned by holding a white
piece of paper below a branch and tapping on the branch. If you see what looks like moving red paprika, you have a spider mite problem. Treat with an appropriate insecticide. Be sure to read all labels and application instructions for any pesticide. To do otherwise is a violation of federal law.

Winter Care – Temperate Trees

A dormant period is necessary for all temperate trees, and trees that are not given this period of rest will die. This does not apply to tropical or sub-tropical varieties, which are described on the next page. The type of winter protection needed by your trees depends on the type of tree that you have and the severity of winter in your area. If you live in an area where the coldest night temperatures in the winter
are no colder than about mid twenties Fahrenheit – typically the deep south – your trees will not need any special protection, and can remain on their benches all winter. But for most regions of the United States your trees will require winter protection of some sort.

This can be accomplished by placing your tree in an unheated garage; an unheated shed; a cold frame; a window well on the north facing side
of your house; a root cellar; by healing them into a flower bed; by carefully burying them in light snow. Wherever you store your bonsai, they should not be subjected to repeated cycles of freeze-thaw. A sun porch that gets warm during the day and freezing at night would not be a favorable location. Also check periodically during the winter months to see if the tree needs to be watered. Other bonsai growers
in your area are a good source of information regarding winter care.

Indoor Bonsai

Tropical and sub-tropical trees can be grown as indoor bonsai. A few hobbyists grow these indoors all year long with supplemental lighting. But even these trees will do best if they are grown outdoors during the normal growing season. When night temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, these trees need to be brought indoors. Tropical environments receive about 12 hours of daylight all year long. Indoors, give your bonsai as much light as possible, perhaps supplemented with grow lights set on a timer to mimic natural conditions. Most of our homes have a low relative humidity during the winter. Misting the foliage, or grouping your plants together, or placing pans of gravel and water under, or near, your bonsai will help raise the humidity. Remember, however, your bonsai pot must never be sitting in water deeper than the feet on the pot. The water level must never be above the bottom of the pot.

During the winter months your indoor trees will need to be watered less often. Whether this is every other day, or once a week depends entirely on your specific conditions. The rule-of-thumb is, if the soil is still wet – don’t water.

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Basic Bonsai Tree Care Year Round

This is a brief informal guide of the 100’s of recognized bonsai styles and their Japanese names. Print this page out and use it as a reference when shopping for your own bonsai tree.

1. 

   Formal Upright Chokkan

   Formal Upright / Chokkan
   The Formal Upright / Chokkan Bonsai is the first of seven of the most well-known Bonsai tree styles that follows the perfect ideal of an upright tree where the trunk is straight and gently tapered to the top, and the branches and leaves tend to be well balanced over the trunk.
2. Informal Upright / Moyogi
   The Informal Upright / Moyogi is similar to the first Bonsai tree style, but differs by having a slight curve in the trunk. Even with the slight curve in the trunk, this particular Bonsai design still requires that there be a balance with the trunk and branches of the tree.
3. Slanting or leaning / Shakkan
   The Slanting or Leaning / Shakkan is a Bonsai tree style where the tree will sit at a slant, or where the trunk will lean to one side.
4. Cascade / Kengai
   The Cascade / Kengai Bonsai tree style is where the tree appears to be over water or on the side of a mountain. A perfect Cascade / Kengai Bonsai will have a trunk that turns downward, falling below the pot that it is in. The branches and foliage will then flow with the downward angle of the trunk. In an imperfect or semi-Cascade, the tree will only reach just below the edge of the pot.
5. Raft / Ikadabuki
   The Raft / Ikadabukit tree is one that will be formed to appear as a tree would that had fallen in the forest without breaking at the trunk. When done right, this style of Bonsai will often appear as if there is more than one tree, but it is really a tree that has branches growing from its side.
6. Windswept / Fukinagashi
   The Windswept / Fukinagashi tree will be styled in such a way that it will appear it has been bent in the direction of the prevailing winds, such as would happen with trees near the ocean or on the prairie.
7. Literati / Bunjin
   The Literati / Bunjin style has a trunk that is mostly bare and contorted in an artistic way. The number of branches the tree has is minimal and are found higher up on the trunk of the tree. This Bonsai design is based on the suggestion or idea that the tree is found in a harsh climate where it has to struggle to survive.

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Do You Recognize All These Basic Styles of Bonsai Trees?

From the very beginning a first time indoor Bonsai tree grower may find it inevitable that they experience one or more failures. The challenge, of course, is to try and try again. Once you find a tree that is thriving, you need to apply the knowledge that you learned by working with your Bonsai tree growing plan. Indoor Bonsai trees need to be re-potted on a one to three year basis, depending on growth of the tree. This is important in helping to maintain the Bonsai tree root system. The ball root system of the tree must never completely dry up. This, in itself, can be a challenge to people who are not normally plant enthusiasts. Over time, as your indoor Bonsai tree grows you will need to learn how to properly prune roots and branches.

You will also need to learn different techniques to change the direction of the trunk and branches, and shaping the growing Bonsai tree into your special work of art. Applying the right fertilizer to the soil at the right time is necessary for optimal nutrition during growth and patience is needed to let every tree go through a period of dormancy, which is nature’s rest period. This can be difficult for some people who find waiting an unpleasant experience. Another challenge that may be encountered by the indoor Bonsai tree grower is having an indoor environment that has enough humidity for your Bonsai. One can go all out and purchase all the equipment found at professional nurseries, which will no doubt be a challenge to anyone’s wallet, but here are other ways for the new enthusiast to meet this challenge. For instance, a solution might be to put your indoor Bonsai tree and pot in a larger tray that has a level of water and rocks in it. This helps increase humidity for the plant.

Other options might be to keep your indoor Bonsai tree away from heat registers and air conditioners that dry the air. The challenges of growing an indoor Bonsai tree are many and varied, but like all Bonsai tree growing the effort is well worth the enjoyment and satisfaction.

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The Challenges Of Growing Your Bonsai Tree Indoors

With careful planning, you can have outdoor Bonsai trees blooming throughout your yard during the summer that will display colorful foliage in the fall. The evergreens, of course, will continue to add their color to the yard throughout the year. As with planting all trees, it is important that you purchase trees that will thrive well in the environment that you will be planting them in. Now, most outdoor Bonsai trees that are purchased have already been shaped so growing outdoor Bonsai trees is more about maintenance. You might think that outdoor Bonsai trees would not require as much maintenance, but this is not true. Growing outdoor Bonsai trees need to be watered like the indoor Bonsai trees do. The soil should never be allowed to completely dry out; instead, it needs to be kept moist.

Rain water is fine for the outdoor Bonsai tree, but you should always check the soil for moisture content as rain showers by themselves might not provide enough water, or they might flood the tree out.

It will be necessary to fertilize your outdoor Bonsai tree to make sure that the nutrients the tree needs are replenished. Some fertilizers need only be used at half strength once a month, but not during the outdoor Bonsai trees dormant period in the winter. When growing your outdoor Bonsai tree you will occasionally need to prune or trim back new growth to keep the lines of your tree within its design parameters. It is important when trimming to never take away all the new growth. Depending on what kind of outdoor Bonsai tree you are growing, you will also need to re-pot your tree in order to give it new soil and room to grow. This happens when the root system fills the pot.

Deciduous trees are, on average, done every two to three years as they are faster growers then evergreens, re-potted approximately every four to five years. You will need to check on this, however, since every growing outdoor Bonsai tree is an individual and its growth rate cannot always be measured by averages. When re-potting the outside layer of the roots (the bottom fourth) are removed. Once this is done, a thin layer of gravel has to be put in the bottom of the pot to help with drainage. New soil is put on top of that layer and pressed down just enough to leave out any air pockets.

The last issue when growing outdoor Bonsai trees is to make sure they are properly prepared for their dormancy during the winter months. Some trees can be put in the ground and will survive the winter season if properly mulched. Many outdoor Bonsai tree owners find putting their tree in an unheated garage works well for them. This is not to say that the Bonsai can be ignored during its dormant period as the tree will need to be watered about every two weeks.

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Should You Raise Your Bonsai Tree Outside And How To Do It

This process is called “cold stratification”.

At this point, you might be wondering where you can purchase a bonsai seed. If you really want to start a Bonsai tree from a seed, there are many stores that will sell bonsai tree seed, they can be ordered through horticultural stores or they can be ordered and purchases online. It should be noted, however, that while many bonsai trees are started by seeds many are also started by cuttings, or by finding a tree that you like, digging it up and using it for your own. As for seeds, pine seeds are most commonly used.

When planning to grow a Bonsai tree from a seed, the best way to go about it is to purchase a bonsai tree starter kit. These starter kits will come in two types of kits. The first one contains a tree that is already three to four years old. The bonsai tree starter kit contains all the things you need to get started, such as ceramic container, the appropriate soil for your individual tree, drainage cover holes, instructions, humidity tray, textured rock and annealed copper wire that are used to form your tree. The other type of bonsai tree starter kit is a seed kit. These ones are often quite inexpensive and will, on average, give you seeds for three to eight saplings. Sometimes you can order kits with different varieties of seeds. Now, the bonsai tree seed kits can differ, so shopping around is usually a good idea. The bonsai tree starter kit also comes with the proper growing medium that your bonsai tree seed will need for a healthy start. You will also receive several terracotta or organic seed pots, a propagating cover and instructions for the growth of your bonsai tree from seed to mature bonsai tree.

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Giving Life To Your Tree – Growing Your Bonsai From A Seed

The other extreme is under-watering your tree, which sends it into a drought. Bonsai tree expansion depends on a soil that will hold moisture but will also drain well. The root ball should never be allowed to completely dry out. On average, Bonsai tree expansion requires watering once a week until fall when the tree enters dormancy, and then should only be watered once every two weeks. Both indoor and outdoor Bonsai tree maintenance can benefit from a water gauge that will help you measure the water content in the soil so that you can be sure to water the tree whenever it needs it. Good Bonsai tree maintenance will also mean that the soil is fertilized on occasion to ensure that the tree is receiving all the nutrients and vitamins it needs, to help with Bonsai tree expansion.

There are a variety of fertilizers on the market to choose from, such as liquid, dry, organic and chemical fertilizers. Whichever one you choose in the end, it needs to be the right type of fertilizer that is right for your type of tree. Generally, Bonsai trees do not need to be fertilized more than once a month, with the exception of their dormant period where you will not need to fertilize it at all. Many people starting out prefer to use a liquid fertilizer because it can be easily mixed with water that makes it easier to apply. Some fertilizers only need to be used at half strength to maintain healthy Bonsai tree expansion. Whatever is used, it needs to be well distributed throughout the soil. Over time with Bonsai tree expansion the Bonsai tree will need to be re-potted. The time for this is when the dense root system has filled the pot. Re-potting is often done in the spring when the dormant period of the tree has ended, particularly with deciduous trees.

As the tree matures, re-potting becomes less frequent. It is important to remember that re-potting or transplanting a tree is not natural and can be quite stressful for your tree. When choosing a pot for proper Bonsai tree maintenance, the pot must not be too small or too large. A pot is usually measured according to the proportions of the tree, meaning that the pot should only be as wide by two thirds by two thirds of the height of the tree. Also, the pot should only be approximately half as deep as the tree’s height.

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When To Water, Fertalize And Re-pot Your Precious Bonzai

You might be wondering why it is necessary to prune a Bonsai tree. There are two reasons for pruning; the first is to trim the roots and the second is to trim the branches and foliage. It is very important to ensure that you are using the right Bonsai tree tools for the job. Taking away branches and foliage that the tree doesn’t really need, it means that the root system of the Bonsai tree does not have to work as hard, or be as large, to support the top of the Bonsai tree. Pruning of the roots of the Bonsai tree goes hand in hand with re-potting your tree. Normally for the first five years of average tree growth, you will need to prune the roots and re-pot once a year, but this may vary with different species of Bonsai trees. Once the tree has been removed from the pot, about one fourth to one third of the new roots are trimmed off.

Once the roots have been trimmed, a new layer of gravel is put into the pot and then soil is lightly packed in around the roots. It is very important to make sure that there are no air pockets left in the soil when doing this. When it comes to pruning the top of the tree, you need to keep in mind the three different reasons for upper Bonsai tree pruning. First, you remove any branches that are not going to fit with the basic Bonsai tree design you have chosen. The second is to balance your tree and direct its growth. When Bonsai tree pruning the growth of the tree takes place in the area that is not pruned as often, and the third is leaf pruning and bud pinching, which are meant to help encourage fine branching. In Bonsai tree pruning, the branches that are most frequently pruned are those that cross, branches that turn back to the trunk and branches that are pointing directly down or growing off of other branches.

Once you have started your Bonsai tree pruning, it does not have to be completed in one day. Take your time. Sit back and look at your tree from an artistic point of view. Don’t be afraid to use some pictures for reference or to get some new ideas. You can easily take anywhere from several days to a few weeks to fully prune the way you want. Once your tree has reached the desired height, you use secateurs to cut off the top of the Bonsai tree. This Bonsai tree pruning makes the tree fuller and also prevents it from growing any taller.

Regardless of what you start out with or what you eventually need, all Bonsai tree tools can be purchased easily from most horticultural stores from your area or online.

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How To Prune A Bonsai Tree And The Tools You’ll Need

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Welcome to Basic Bonsai