BONSAI
It's Possible to grow your own bonsai.
However, you will have to avoid some pitfalls and learn some tricks to keep your bonsai alive and beautiful.
If you just got a bonsai-tree as a gift, or you bought one at the florist you'll need to learn some basics if you want to avoid killing it!
Ok, here we go...
Bonsai Pitfalls
What are the most common Bonsai-Mistakes?
1. Lack of patience. Giving them "to much attention".
2. Learning more about design and less about plant health.
3. Growing to small bonsai.
4. Keeping outdoors bonsai indoors and vice versa.
5. Too much water.
6. Not enough water
7. Buying Mall-Sai(Crappy bonsai wanna-bees sold cheaply in the mall)
8. Keeping the wires on for too long
1. Lack of patience. Giving your bonsai too much attention. Yes that's right. Your tree will not thrive as long as you keep meddling with it. It will become stressed and its growth will get inhibited. That might be ok with an older tree that you just want to keep as it is but for a young tree, you want it to grow a thick trunk and nice dense clouds of foliage.
So leave the tree be from time to time and go flip through some good books on gardening, some books on plant pests and diseases and some picture books on bonsai for inspiration.
Furthermore, by not keeping an eye on your darling all the time you will notice its development even more.
So leave the tree be from time to time and go flip through some good books on gardening, some books on plant pests and diseases and some picture books on bonsai for inspiration.
Furthermore, by not keeping an eye on your darling all the time you will notice its development even more.
2. Learning more about design and less about plant health.That's a classic mistake and one of the main reasons bonsai beginners kill off their trees early on.
If you maintain your bonsai so that it stays vital and survives it will have a much better probability of getting to be a masterpiece;)
3. Growing to small bonsai. It's hard to tell how big the trees on photographs are and many have made the mistake of believing they are all as big as a mans hand. That's a very difficult sized bonsai to maintain. The pot will be too small for the soil to keep sufficient amounts of water and nutrients. You'll need to water it several times a day. So you cannot go on vacation very easily.
4. Keeping outdoors bonsai indoors and vice versa.
5. Too much water. This could actually be one of the symtoms of number 1. Lack of patience. Too much water will suffocate the roots, and they will rot and that's an ailment hard to battle.
6. Not enough water. To my amazement, I got the advice from a florist not to water my bonsai. She said that because of the wires on it, it will not need any. This is wrong. It's crazy even.
If you maintain your bonsai so that it stays vital and survives it will have a much better probability of getting to be a masterpiece;)
3. Growing to small bonsai. It's hard to tell how big the trees on photographs are and many have made the mistake of believing they are all as big as a mans hand. That's a very difficult sized bonsai to maintain. The pot will be too small for the soil to keep sufficient amounts of water and nutrients. You'll need to water it several times a day. So you cannot go on vacation very easily.
4. Keeping outdoors bonsai indoors and vice versa.
5. Too much water. This could actually be one of the symtoms of number 1. Lack of patience. Too much water will suffocate the roots, and they will rot and that's an ailment hard to battle.
6. Not enough water. To my amazement, I got the advice from a florist not to water my bonsai. She said that because of the wires on it, it will not need any. This is wrong. It's crazy even.
7. Buying "Mall-Sai". If you find a beautiful "bonzai" at the mall you must be sure the roots are healthy. Often, these trees are potted in very bad clay-rich soils that might have been good for them in China or Taiwan, but not in a north western climate. And also the designs of these cheap bonsai are often non-existing.
8. Keeping the wires on for too long. The wires are there to shape the tree, it should stay on only for the right amount of time for the branch to "set". Better is to "de-wire" and wire it all over again to avoid scars that may never go away. The wires could also jeopardize the health of the tree.
8. Keeping the wires on for too long. The wires are there to shape the tree, it should stay on only for the right amount of time for the branch to "set". Better is to "de-wire" and wire it all over again to avoid scars that may never go away. The wires could also jeopardize the health of the tree.
Photo used under Creative Commons from cliff1066
