Indoor and Outdoor Bonsai Gardening
A Bonsai tree is more than a beautiful ornamental plant - it's a reflection of centuries old tradition of Japanese gardening. These tiny trees are not genetically altered miniatures. The bonsai tree that sits in a dish on your tabletop can be the same kind of tree that grows twenty feet tall in your yard.
The timing and method of pruning depends on the type of tree and the timing of its budding. Some trees have a dormant period when there is no additional growth or replacement of leaves. It's important not to prune a tree during the dormancy or risk permanent damage to the tree.
Thin aluminum or copper wire can be used to nudge branches into the desired shape. Once the branch is stable in the new position, the wires are removed. Bonsai trees may be kept indoors or outdoors.
If the tree is not native to its environment, then remaining indoors is the best choice. For example, a deciduous tree does not grow in the tropics, so a Bonsai of this type needs to remain indoors.
When the bonsai lives indoors, you must consider the lighting, temperature and humidity of the room. Some types of trees can handle being outdoors during temperate weather and then be moved inside during extreme cold.
Bonsai Plants and Bonsai Trees - Which Are Better?
Since Bonsai are merely tiny versions of actual trees and plants, there are many choices. The type of tree and its fruits or flowers can be chosen to blend with the décor of your home or office.
If you enjoy seasons of color, then you'll like a flowering Bonsai. The Pomegranate Bonsai rewards you with both bright orange flowers and tiny red fruits in the respective seasons. A Drawf Banana Bonsai actually produces little bananas, perfectly formed and barely three inches long.
Technically, you could eat them, but there are almost too adorable to pick. The Drawf Banana gives you a summer surprise with a burst of pink flowers. The Bougainvillea Bonsai creates a breathtaking display of white, pine, red, lavender or yellow flowers that cover the tree canopy in winter and spring.
Some types of fruit producing bonsai trees are more productive when kept outdoors. Make certain that your climate matches that of the trees natural environment. After reaching a decade of growth, the Wine Grape Bonsai yields a crop of tiny grapes that hang in clusters from the tree. These pinhead size grapes are edible, but you'd need a forest full to produce a glass of juice.
The Secret Techniques of Bonsai:
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If you enjoy seasons of color, then you'll like a flowering Bonsai. The Pomegranate Bonsai rewards you with both bright orange flowers and tiny red fruits in the respective seasons. A Drawf Banana Bonsai actually produces little bananas, perfectly formed and barely three inches long.
Technically, you could eat them, but there are almost too adorable to pick. The Drawf Banana gives you a summer surprise with a burst of pink flowers. The Bougainvillea Bonsai creates a breathtaking display of white, pine, red, lavender or yellow flowers that cover the tree canopy in winter and spring.
Some types of fruit producing bonsai trees are more productive when kept outdoors. Make certain that your climate matches that of the trees natural environment. After reaching a decade of growth, the Wine Grape Bonsai yields a crop of tiny grapes that hang in clusters from the tree. These pinhead size grapes are edible, but you'd need a forest full to produce a glass of juice.
Choosing a Bonsai Style That Suits Your Tree
Bonsai is as much about art as horticulture. It's more that merely growing a tree - it's having a hand in shaping that tree quite literally by expert pruning to create something different that what nature had in mind for it.
A cypress is an example of a formal upright Bonsai. A juniper tree may have slight curvature in the trunk and branches but the overall look is straight. A cascade style looks like trees that lean over water, so this Bonsai almost drapes over the container.
A literati style has a bare trunk with sparse branches. Its name comes from brush stroke paintings of Chinese characters with single stroke base and few upward strokes. The root-over-rock bonsai has its roots wrapped around a rock base. Some of the roots are exposed.
A broom style has an upright trunk with a canopy of fine branches. The crown-like effect of the broom style is elegant during the blooming season. With the multi-trunk style, several smaller trunks emerge from one tree.
The leaf crown is so lush that it appears as if there is one top covering several smaller trees. The growing styles don't work on every type of bonsai. So if you like a certain visual image, make certain to choose a tree that can hold that style.
Bonsai School:
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A cypress is an example of a formal upright Bonsai. A juniper tree may have slight curvature in the trunk and branches but the overall look is straight. A cascade style looks like trees that lean over water, so this Bonsai almost drapes over the container.
A literati style has a bare trunk with sparse branches. Its name comes from brush stroke paintings of Chinese characters with single stroke base and few upward strokes. The root-over-rock bonsai has its roots wrapped around a rock base. Some of the roots are exposed.
A broom style has an upright trunk with a canopy of fine branches. The crown-like effect of the broom style is elegant during the blooming season. With the multi-trunk style, several smaller trunks emerge from one tree.
The leaf crown is so lush that it appears as if there is one top covering several smaller trees. The growing styles don't work on every type of bonsai. So if you like a certain visual image, make certain to choose a tree that can hold that style.
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