Bonsai? well it's never too late to start growing a Bonsai tree!

Bonsai were first created in Ancient China and Japan. The life force of the plant, and the artists skills, work together to produce an article of great beauty. Bonsai plants are very old. It takes decades to grow a bonsai, but that’s not a good reason for not growing one. When you pass the plant on to your children, it will be a constant enjoyment for them, as well as being an object of great value.

You can purchase a tree from a specialist nursery. Japanese trees are popular, particularly small leafed pines. How ever, almost any quick growing tree is okay for bonsai. Many people favor the small-leafed trees, I think they look more natural, but native figs are widely used too.

It’s sometimes possible to carefully extract an already windblown native seedling tree from a nearby headland. The smaller the better, because they don’t like the roots to be too disturbed, and on rocky cliff faces, the roots usually go well into cracks in the rock. Please don’t fall off the cliff!

Bonsai’s grow best in conditions that it would grow in naturally. In the growing season, it will need to be fed with fertiliser. A diluted water based fertiliser is fine.

Every year the Bonsai should be repotted. The roots will have become larger, taking up more room in the pot. Step one is to loosen and untangle the roots, trimming off any long heavy roots with a pair of sterile secateurs. Clean and sterilise the container, or perhaps you will need to plant in a slightly larger one. Replant and water well.

Shaping the Bonsai is very simple. Try to imagine the way you want your plant to look, then decide which branches you will remove, and which ones you will reshape.

When wiring the branches into shape, use copper wire, quite fine if it is a small plant. Do not water the day before wiring, this will make the branches more supple. Always start from the bottom of the tree or trunk, and work upwards. Do not trap any leaves under the wire, and wire loosely. Bend the branch gently but firmly into shape. Move it a little further every few days until the shape in achieved. Do not leave the wire on for any longer than 4 months.

If you are serious about Bonsai, you need to acquire a good reference workbook, and join a bonsai club if there is one in your area. It is a fascinating gardening hobby, and gives great pleasure to many people.

Happy Bonsaing, Patrick