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What You Need To Know About Pruning Bonsai Trees

Pruning bonsai trees is one of the most important things you will have to do as a bonsai enthusiast. Generally, you will be pruning two parts of your bonsai: the roots, which is the bottom part of the plant, and the foliage, which is the top part of the plant. Pruning your bonsais is one of the more interesting aspects of growing these interesting plants and is a way to let your creativity shine.

Root pruning is important because it allows the tree to grow new roots. Because of their small containers, the roots of bonsai trees are often stunted in growth. By pruning the root system of your bonsai regularly, you will ensure that the plant has the space needed to grow new roots, which in turn helps the plant absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil. As with any other plant, the root structure is critical to the growth and health of your bonsai.

On the other hand, pruning a bonsai tree’s foliage is also vital – if only for aesthetic purposes. If you are a bonsai owner, you probably have a specific design in mind for your tree. Pruning will help you achieve the results you desire. Pruning can help shape your tree into the form you want as well as removes any dead leaves to help keep it healthy and beautiful.

Also, don’t forget that the roots and the foliage of your bonsai tree are interconnected. When you reduce the foliage (or number of leaves) that your tree has, you are also reducing the strain on its roots. In other words, the less leaves there are, the less work the roots have to do to keep them alive.

The amount of pruning you will do will depend heavily on your plans for the tree. It is best for you to have a plan here before you begin. Remember that the changes that you make to your tree are permanent! If you cut a branch off, that branch is gone forever, and you will have to wait for a new one to take its place. Remember to prune your tree gently – if you are removing leaves pinch them off with your fingers and don’t use sharp or harsh tools.

Most people like to prune off branches that cross the trunk or each other. Why? Because it isn’t very pretty to look at. So unless you think you can rewire the branch and force it to grow in another direction, cut it off. Branches that stick out towards you are also common pruning targets. Of course, what you prune from your plant should be your personal decision. What is really important is that you find your bonsai tree beautiful; what others think of it is a secondary consideration. Trust your own good taste.

Remember: pruning your bonsai trees is supposed to be fun! Don’t get too worked up if your trees don’t turn out the way you want them at first. If you keep learning and practicing your botanical skills, the day will soon come when your bonsai will be the envy of your neighbors!

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What You Must Know Before You Plant A Bonsai

You’ve surely seen the beautiful Bonsai tree somewhere in your life, even if only watching Mr. Miagi on the Karate Kid. It’s probably likely that if there’s a Japanese restaurant in your town, then you’ve sent them there. The art and dedication that it takes to plant and do the necessary upkeep with a Bonsai Tree is enormous, and sometimes much too daunting for those with a green thumb.

Bonsai’s are dwarf-potted plants that have been cultivated for centuries by the Chinese and Japanese. Since the end of World War II this art has taken off as a great hobby and pastime in the United States.

It not only take’s much patience to properly raise a bonsai, but also a good amount of artistic skill as well. It’s time-consuming, and there is a lot more to it than one might think. You could say that a bonsai is the marriage between plant and container, and nurturer…al forming the bond to create a distinct and lovely picture of nature in miniature form.

It is true that the bonsai is actually a hardy tree or shrub that is grown outside within a pot; however other tropical woody plants such as dwarf pomegranate can be developed as bonsais too. It’s important to note that only fairly small-leaved species should be used for bonsai trees – otherwise, the leaves will be out of scale with the rest of the plant. Using Ginkgo, Zeikova, and some of the pines and maples can give you outstanding bonsai trees.

Your best bet, and the most interesting bonsais are created from already runty plants with considerable, narrowing trunks and naturally twisty or gnarled branches. Also using young but otherwise normal plants can be effective as well. You can find such trees in either the wild or in a nursery.

An important part of a bonsai, bonsai pots, come in an array of designs. They can range from two inches to around twenty-five inches in diameter, and from one to ten inches deep. You can get these in glazed styles, or more popular porous red clay style. Either way, your pot should have a hole for draining.

The mixture of soil varies, but in any case it should be able to hold moisture and food, while also allowing for good drainage and aeration. Bonsai experts usually will layer the soil, beginning with a quite coarse mixture at the bottom of the bonsai pot, and then working their way up to a finer mixture. Then, the soil is topped off with either small ground-cover plants, moss, or fine pebbles.

Many people steer clear of the thought of raising a bonsai tree because they have been conditioned to believe that it takes years and years to nurture a bonsai to beauty. This actually is far from the case. In fact a bonsai can be made quite beautiful in only a few hours if you’ve taken care in choosing the right tree, the best pot for you, and giving it a try to prune your tree into your very own creation.

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