Care of Bonsai Trees Can Be Therapeutic

There is something therapeutic about the growing and care of bonsai trees

. A quiet sense of accomplishment can be obtained in watching nature and your skill join to slowly create a living work of art.

In growing a bonsai, you are in essence coaxing the forces of nature to bend to your will. You are creating a work of art that lives, grows and changes, providing a sense of wonder and accomplishment. Indeed many believe that growing bonsais is a spiritual undertaking and I personally find it a great stress-buster.

The growing and care of bonsai trees is also a hobby that can be undertaken by young and old alike.This means it is something you can enjoy with your children, nieces and nephews, or perhaps even with your grandchildren.

A bonsai should have the appearance of great age but also a sense of timeless endurance and vitality. This can be achieved by having a tree with a weathered looking trunk but vigorous branches and leaves. When deciding how much of your tree to prune, bear in mind the trunk and canopy should remain roughly in the same proportion as those you would find in a fully grown tree of the same variety. Achieving this effect requires pruning of branches and leaves.

Pruning of branches can be done with a good, strong set of scissors or clippers, although older branches may require the use of a pruning saw. The tools should always be clean and sharp and it pays to sterilize the blades with a flame to minimize the risk of spreading disease.

Before deciding which branch, or branches to remove, consider carefully the overall shape you are trying to create. The tree is yours to shape as you will, but you do not want to end up with something that is not pleasing to the eye and therefore detracts from your joy in the care of bonsai trees.

Major prunes are generally carried out every winter but it is important to regularly cut back or pinch off shoots growing from the bottom or already pruned parts of your tree. This will encourage the plant to concentrate growth at the top.

The proper care of bonsai trees also involves pruning the roots every one to three years. Leaving the roots untouched for too long can be dangerous as your plant may become root bound and perhaps die. Generally you remove around one third of the roots, leaving a tightly packed root ball along with enough room in your tree's small container for fresh soil to be added. This will encourage the growth of new roots.

Pruning and nipping is not always enough to achieve the desired effect, so bonsai growers use copper wire to hold the tree into the shape they want. Once the tree begins growing in the desired direction the wire can be removed. With some trees, such as conifers, you may need to leave the wire on for up to a year. This is something you may want to look into a little more as you research your care of bonsai trees.

Your bonsai requires regular attention to keep it healthy. Many people believe bonsais must be kept indoors, however most actually prefer being outside where conditions are similar to those they would find if they were growing wild. However this does depend on where you are living and whether your tree is a native to your area. It may be that you need to bring your tree indoors for winter, but if so you will need to check regularly whether you are providing it with the right amount of moisture and sunlight.

One of the most critical elements in the care of bonsai trees is watering. Unfortunately there are no set rules here. So much depends on the weather in the area where you live, and whether it is suited to your particular type of tree. You need to keep a constant watch on the soil. When it begins to dry out, water

your plant and keep watering until the water runs out of the holes in the bottom of its container. It is a good idea to repeat this process a second time, around ten minutes later. Check the moisture level of the soil in your pot as you should not water again until it is beginning to dry out. Over-watering can be as harmful as under-watering and is one of the most common mistakes first-time bonsai growers make.

The growing and care of bonsai trees is a relatively inexpensive but extremely rewarding hobby, one that you can take a quiet pleasure in and also one that can provide an interesting and aesthetic focal point for your home and garden. It requires little in the way of specialist equipment and is easily done once you have mastered a few simple techniques.

5 Important Secrets for Your Bonsai Trees Now

If you are the owner of a bonsai plant, it's important to remember that caring for them is like caring for a baby. Loving and caring is important but it's not sufficient; you also have to show some "parenting" skills to ensure that your bonsai plant will have a long and healthy life.

The Chinese were the first to grow miniature-size trees in containers. They started doing so around 200 BC. This is how herbal healers transported medicinal plants.

Japanese, Chinese and Korean practice this art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees that are grown in the containers.

For the Korean ?bunjae?, whereas for the Japanese, the term is ?bonsai.?

Bonsai are often found in the center of a garden when set alongside an urban or wild landscape. Bonsai collectors put great value on the bonsai because of the plant?s ability to exhibit age as they mature.

Tip #1 The source of life for all creatures is water but it's particularly so for bonsai plants. Although they require to be watered more frequently than other sorts of plants, they also require a precise quantity of watering. Anything that's less or beyond the ideal amount of water can lead to your bonsai plant's death so it's important that you ask for professional advice.

There are many factors that affect the quantity of water necessary to a bonsai plant like the type of tree you're taking care of, what season it is at present, if the tree's grown outdoors or indoors, and so forth.

Tip #2 Another source of energy for your bonsai plant is light. Just like any other plant, your bonsai plant will benefit from exposure to sunlight. You'll have to arrange for artificial lighting however, if you're growing it in an indoor garden. In such cases, it's important to use a timer in order to avoid risking overexposure for your plants.

Tip #3 Humidity remains unfortunately one of the most important but overlooked factors when taking care of bonsai plants; the best way to ensure that perfect humidity levels are constant is by utilizing a humidity tray. You may use decorative stones to make your bonsai plant appear more beautiful.

Tip #4 If you have decided to keep your bonsai plant indoors, you have to choose the pot for your bonsai plant very causiously. To be safe, be certain that you get pots that are specifically designed for bonsai plants. These pots have pre-made holes for drainage and training wires.

Tip #5 Many persons are confused as to exactly what function fertilizer plays in taking care of bonsai plants. Firstly, fertilizer is needed when you are keeping your bonsai plant indoors because this provides the added nutrition that your indoor soil is missing. Secondly, fertilizer isn't medicine so do not use it as treatment for sick or dying trees. Lastly, make sure that you thoroughly water your bonsai plant prior to fertilizing.

There are many kinds of bonsai. These are the slant, formal upright, informal upright, raft, cascade, semi-cascade, literati and the forest/group.

Lastly, do not risk your bonsai plant's health on the basis of any assumption. If you're not sure, always ask a specialist!

Bonsai Tree Care Tips - Pruning

Pruning serves two purposes in bonsai tree care. Firstly, pruning removes branches that clutter and hinder the aesthetic design of the tree. Secondly, pruning directs and controls the growth of the tree. There are pruning forms such as Branch pruning which include pinching (finger pruning) and leaf pruning to help encourage branching. There is also root pruning where roots are pruned.

Here are some Bonsai tree care tips on pruning:

Branch Pruning
o   Pick the branches that you wish to keep and carefully remove the others.

o   For new plants, allow the trunk to develop before pruning. Pruning branches from a developed trunk will increase the chances of survival of the tree.

o   Always have a hand-sketch or image of what you want your tree to look like, at your disposal. This will help you to identify and remove branches that clutter the chosen style and obstruct the basic design.

o   You should start with a light pruning then give it two or three weeks and wait for the bounce back to decide if you need to do more.

o   If you need to redirect growth, then prune one area heavily and another much less. Thus, growth will be directed to the less pruned area.

o   Always remember when you are pruning your bonsai that you can always remove something later but it is very difficult to put it back after you have cut it. So if in doubt leave it for now.

Root Pruning
o   Select the roots you want to keep and get rid of the bad ones.

o   When pruning you need to keep the branches and roots balanced for optimum results.

Bonsai trees for beginners

Tips And Tricks For Bonsai Beginners The art of bonsai is a fulfilling and enjoyable hobby. People who engage in it are provided the satisfaction of producing special, one of a kind and elegant bonsai plants that always bring joy and light to the home. Bonsai is the art and hobby of growing miniature plants that are either small trees or tiny woody plants that are shaped as trees.
Most bonsai beginners confuse this hobby with dwarfing. However, dwarfing is a different type of pastime. It involves a more scientific process of research and using plant materials in order to produce small genetic counterparts of existing plant species. Bonsai, on the other hand, does not entail genetically dwarfed plants. It is based on growing tiny tree species from regular seeds.
When you are starting in this hobby, you will learn a lot of cultivation techniques that will make producing small trees more effective and efficient. The different cultivation techniques that are used include root reduction, defoliation, pruning, potting and grafting. They are combined in order to create miniature trees that closely resemble the look of full-sized adult trees.
A lot of people often wonder what the purpose of engaging into bonsai is. Bonsai trees, unlike other plant-related production, are not intended for the production of any usable materials. A lot of planting is usually done in order to produce medicine, food or for landscape purposes. Though beautiful, bonsai trees are not enough to create a yard-sized landscape. They are also not used to generate food nor medicine.
Like most hobbies, bonsai is done by most people primarily for enjoyment and as an object for contemplation. You do not have to have a practical use for a hobby in order to do it. Sometimes, you just engage in it because it makes you feel happy and fulfilled. Growing bonsai is also a lovely and pleasing exercise of ingenuity and effort especially for those who grow them.
The history of bonsai is long and rich. Growing small plants in containers can be traced back to the early years of Egyptian civilization, but it was popularized in China and spread into Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan. The term itself is a variant of the earlier Chinese word penzai. It is the Japanese pronunciation and is often used to refer to all miniature plants, from shrubs to trees that are grown in pots and containers.
This hobby can be pretty expensive. There are many tools that you have to acquire in order to produce special bonsais. It is often compared to photography because of the many tools that most growers buy in order to bring the art of growing small trees to a higher level. If photographers rush to buy the latest lens, bonsai growers rush to buy new tools and learn new techniques in order to produce more kinds of plants.
These are many tree species that are used in bonsai. Whether you are a collector or a grower, you will certainly enjoy the hobby with the many trees that you can collect or grow.