Some are sure that bonsai is a variety of dwarf tree plants that are grown in standard pots. Others believe that bonsai is a form of art or a movement in Eastern philosophy, which the tiny Japanese tree seems to complement. In fact, bonsai are really tiny trees, which are the most accurate copy of their tall relatives. They get them - having comprehended all the subtleties of a special kind of art, and have been successfully kept in their home for years - only after understanding all the subtleties of Eastern philosophy based on contemplation, love and reflection. Previously, a unique Japanese tree, the height of an ordinary indoor flower, could only be seen at exhibitions. Now bonsai has become incredibly popular and has spread throughout the world. Many Russians also began to master the technique of growing it. It is simple only at first glance, but it has many secrets and features.
Where to begin
If you have firmly decided that you need a tiny tree in a pot, the question arises of how to get it. To facilitate the task, you can buy ready-made bonsai in the store. Then the duration of his life in the apartment will depend on knowledge and compliance with the rules of care. But many adherents of oriental culture certainly want to independently grow an exotic plant from scratch.
There are different types of bonsai, depending on the variety of plants that will turn into a dwarf. Almost any tree from the garden or from the nearest forest belt can become a candidate. Bonsai art gained fame thanks to Japan, but was born in China during the Tang Dynasty, when one of its rulers wanted to create a miniature copy of his empire. It was then that smart ancient Chinese came up with the idea of making the same trees from ordinary trees, only reduced by tens of times. They called the new agricultural technology “cultivated on a tray” or bonsai. Thus, observing certain techniques, any plant can be turned into a dwarf. But in practice, success often comes with trees that can withstand extreme conditions of existence, namely, to develop in a miniature amount of soil, not to get sick from changing conditions of natural light, changing annual temperatures and watering. Therefore, no matter what type of bonsai you choose, it is important to consider the natural conditions of life of your pets and strive to get as close to them as possible.
Where to get planting material
As mentioned above, different plants, both coniferous and deciduous, are suitable for bonsai. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the size of their leaf blade. Since the plant in the pot will be miniature, it is desirable that the leaf blades of its prototype are not too large. Otherwise, the small trunk simply will not be able to keep them. The second condition is that the species of plants from which different types of bonsai are created has a genetic tendency to form a dense crown. Having decided on the candidate, it is necessary to take into account in what soil your future bonsai grows in the wild, with what kind of lighting, at what humidity. All this exactly will need to be recreated at home in a pot. In practice, success is achieved with fruit trees, citrus fruits, myrtle, maple, rhododendron, ficus, and many others.
Yamadori
There are not only various types of bonsai, but various technologies for its propagation, or, more correctly, the starting operation of growing. Yamadori is considered the simplest technology. It consists in the fact that in the natural habitat the necessary young tree is eyeing. It is dug round, too powerful roots (if any), truncate and leave alone for three months. Then it is removed with a lump of earth and placed in a selected flower pot (bonsaynik). For speedy adaptation, the plant is shaded, sprayed, and a temperature regime similar to a natural one is created.
Toriki
This technology in Russian means trivial cuttings. It is important to comply with the terms of this process. For example, in Russia it is desirable to cut hardwoods in late spring, and conifers, on the contrary, in its beginning. The plants from which the cuttings are harvested must be between five and ten years old. If you strictly follow the rules for the procurement of planting material for your bonsai, caring for it in the future will not bring disappointment. Cuttings need to be cut only in cloudy weather, cutting off not yet stiff shoots. Their length can vary, depending on the number of internodes. They should not be less than three and it is not desirable that there should be more than five. The upper edge of the handle is made even, and the lower one is beveled, placed in water, covered with a damp rag. Another practiced method of toriki is to carefully strip a strip of cortex no more than 2 cm wide on an attractive branch or make an incision in which a pebble is inserted. This place is abundantly wetted with epin, wrapped with sphagnum, polyethylene on top, fixed and wrapped on both sides to stop the air supply. Moisture is regularly injected into this compress with a syringe. The branch should take root in about 60 days.
Miso
This method is ideal for beginners and means seed propagation. Maples, oaks, myrtle, pomegranate, citrus fruits are suitable for this. You can collect ripe seeds from selected trees, the bonsai of which should be obtained without any problems. Only for this, the seeds must go through all phases of stratification. To facilitate the task, you can gently remove already sprouted seeds from the ground in the spring and place ready-made sprouts for future bonsai in prepared dishes.
Size classification
There are not only different types, but also bonsai styles that differ in size. It is amazing that in the world of miniature plants there are tiny giants and midgets. In the international classification distinguish:
1. Mame. This group consists of trees up to 20 cm high. Among them:
Kesi-tsubu (midgets in the land of midgets, only 2.5 cm high).
- Sieve (up to 7.5 cm high, maximum 8 cm).
-Gafu (up to 20 cm high).
2. Seokhin. This group consists of plants of intermediate sizes between very small and just small. There are also two subgroups here:
-Comono (about 20 cm tall).
-Mabi (up to 25 cm).
3. Kifu. The group is in the middle position. The sprout, entering it, can grow up to 40 cm.
4. Thu. The plants in this group are almost giants and reach meter height. Subgroups:
Tyukhin (up to 60 cm).
-Omono (up to 100 cm).
5. Bonju. In the world of midgets, these are giants that can stretch up to 120 cm and above.
Crown Shape Classification
It turns out that according to how the crown looks, there are also different styles of bonsai. The traditional ones include:
-Tekkan (upright trunk, thickening to the base).
-Moyogi (the base and top of the stem are perpendicular to the ground, and the middle is curved).
-Sokan (a tree has two trunks, each with its own crown, forming something whole).
-Syakan (trunk without distortions, but growing to the ground at an angle).
-Kangai (trees resemble classic weeping, that is, they grow with trunks tilted below the pot, as if falling down).
- Kengai Khan (the trunk of the tree is also falling, but the top is always in line with the soil of the bowl, and the outgoing branches resemble independent plants).
-Bundings (a tree grows with an upright trunk, but with a minimum number of branches).
-Seikijouju (there are stones in a small bowl on the ground, and the roots of the tree are like braiding them).
-Isitsuki (a composition of curly stones was created in the bowl, and the plants grow in their crevices).
-Hokidati (the stem of the plant is straight, and the branches form a beautiful spherical crown).
-Yose ue (several trees grow in the pot, not a multiple of 4, different in height and age).
-Ikadabuki (imitation of a tree, as if collapsed to the ground, from the trunk of which individual branches grow up).
Exclusive Styles
In addition to the classic, considered more simple, in the art of bonsai there are very complex, requiring high skill. It:
-Netsuranari (in a tree from a single root several stems grow, which are intricately intertwined).
-Fukinagashi (a complex composition in which a bonsai grows not just at an angle, but in such a way that its branches and leaves are arranged as if a tree were being tended by the wind).
-Sakey (in the bowl an imitation of a whole corner of nature is created - a forest or a mountainous area, and bonsai plants make this imitation more natural).
Growing rules
It is not very difficult to maintain a bonsai at home, the care of which is based on strict adherence to the rules. Those who believe that dwarf trees should grow only in the house, as an element of decor, are mistaken. Very often, bonsai compositions are placed in the fresh air, and they are brought into the house only with the onset of cold weather. If the winters are not severe, the bonsai can be left outside, but at the same time the plates should be placed in a container with a larger diameter, and covered with a dense layer of moss on top to the branches of the tree.
It is very important that deciduous bonsai in winter, as well as under natural conditions, dump foliage and stay dormant for some time. To do this, they are taken out to a cool room. The third condition for success is the strict observance of the lighting and humidity standards. If the bonsai does not have enough natural light, the lamps are additionally turned on, but the heat generated by them is taken into account. Optimum humidity can be maintained with an electric humidifier. If one is not available, the plant bowl can be installed in a pallet lined with pebbles and half filled with water. The simplest, but also the most ineffective way is spraying the crown of plants.
Landing
When the planting material is prepared - cuttings or seeds - a bonsai should be placed in his house. For this, the Japanese and Chinese use small bowls and low flower pots, glazed or matte, but with several drainage holes. So that the soil is not washed out of them, the holes are covered with a piece of tile. The shape of the pot can be any. It is best to take the soil for indoor bonsai the same as that of its street relative. Some masters prepare the soil separately. Each has his own recipes. Here are the most common ones:
- a mixture of equal parts of clay, fine gravel, humus, stone chips or sand;
-clay, humus and gravel in ratios (3: 5: 2);
- clay humus, gravel (1: 5: 3);
-leaf land, coke, sand, crust, volcanic soil.
In any case, the soil should easily pass water to avoid stagnation. In addition, experienced craftsmen advise disinfection of the pot and soil before planting. Stratified seeds are placed in the ground, covered with glass, the entire germination period is maintained at a warm temperature and moderate humidity. Hatching and reaching the stage of 2-4 leaves, the plant dives. In order for the root system to develop, the pick operation must be carried out several more times. Cuttings and seedlings are planted in the same soil as seeds. For better rooting, cuttings are covered with a film.
Transfer
Growing a bonsai is unthinkable without a transplant, which must be done every two, maximum three, years before the sap flow. This operation is also carried out in cases of suspected rotting of the root system. Before transplanting, the plant is left without watering for a couple of days. Remove from the pot with a knife. The soil is carefully removed from the roots, all suspicious roots, as well as large roots are removed. The pot is disinfected, filled a couple of centimeters with new soil, the roots remaining after trimming are straightened with a wooden stick, laid out on the ground, sprinkled with earth, compacted and watered. The plant can be fixed with a wire inserted into the drainage hole.
Bonsai (plant): how to care
The maintenance of small trees is not very complicated. They should be regularly watered with cold water, making sure that the soil in the pot does not remain dry or too waterlogged. During dormancy, plants are watered less often, during the growing season more often. Top dressing a bonsai is a must. Do this from the beginning of the growing season every week, adding sapropel or urea. You can also use mineral fertilizers in the form of granules or solutions. Fertilizers containing a lot of nitrogen are used after the end of the first growth wave. With the onset of the rest period, top dressing is stopped. In winter, coniferous bonsai are also not fed. Fertilizing sick and recently transplanted plants is not allowed.
Bonsai formation
How to make unusual out of ordinary wood is perhaps the main question. The technologies here are different. In our conditions, even for beginners, bonsai maple is not bad. Having chosen the desired variety, according to general rules, seeds or cuttings are planted, the first year the plant is allowed to grow stronger. In the future, change the appearance of the trunk, gently wrapping it with a soft (copper or aluminum) wire. But with maples, this does not always bring results. Most often they are formed by cropping. To stop the growth of the apex, new shoots are regularly removed on it. Maple has a rather large leaf blade. To reduce it, around the middle of summer, grown leaves are removed, leaving a petiole. A tree for this period is moved to a shaded place. To make a bonsai maple grow lush, when trimming it is possible to truncate an overstretched trunk (cover the wound with an antiseptic), remove skeletal branches, pinch young shoots. To give the trunk a tilt or bends, a weight can be tied to it during active growth or gently bent in the desired direction and fixed with a copper wire, placing fabric under it. Several methods can be used to achieve the desired barrel thickness. In some plants, young stems are spliced, planting them next to each other and bonding together. For maple, this method is not very successful. The thickness of the barrel in this case is achieved by its truncation.