Bonsai is an ancient art form of creating miniaturized trees. The practice itself is over 2000 years old, and was developed 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 given the name bonsai by the Japanese, who embraced the style around the ninth century.
Bonsai gardening is definitely one of the most unique and beautiful forms of art in the area of gardening. Since it began in ancient China to the present day, it has developed into many attractive individual styles. Once miniaturized, however, maintaining the look and well-being of the bonsai requires some care and attention on the part of the gardener.
There are a mixture of styles that comprise the art form of bonsai gardening. These styles include:
- formal upright
- cascade
- forest
- slant
- literati
- root-over-rock
Bonsai grown in the more formal upright style have upright trunks which are straight and tapering. Cascade style bonsai are intentionally grown to resemble trees that grow on the sides of mountains. Forest style bonsai are relatively self explanatory. They comprise a number of trees planted together in odd numbers. This style of bonsai gardening has the intention of duplicating the diversity of age and height that you would find 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 surface of the soil. Literati bonsai were inspired by ancient brush paintings of trees that grew in inhospitable climates. They therefore don’t have many branches. What branches they do have are generally clustered at the top of the trunk, which is generally 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 knowing how to care for your bonsai. Bonsai require a warm location with lots of light in order to thrive. Don’t place them near window sills, because of the wide ranging temperatures that can be present as a result of drafts.
It’s not necessary to water bonsai as 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 should 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 will therefore grow and produce new branches and limbs over time. When it’s time to prune this new growth, follow the original pattern of your bonsai. Remember, you just want to maintain the look of your bonsai, so don’t trim too much – only enough to remove the new sprouts and shoots.
When you’re just beginning, 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 easy step by step guide to creating your very own Bonsai Trees is invaluable.
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