Bonsai gardening is a very fine art and can prove to be very enjoyable. It will allow your creative skills to flow to their hearts content. Bonsai are generally grown in placed in pots, these pots should be able to be placed indoors during winter time and then when it comes to summer should be able to be placed outdoors during periods of mild weather.
Bonsai would be a great skill that you can add to your resume of gardening traits.
Bonsai gardening is an art where the gardener is able to create miniature plants and tress that look like aged, old outdoor tress. This art first began in Japan during the 12th century, a few of these plants can be grown outdoors but in general most bonsai are potted.
It is easy to purchase bonsai plants bit it provides much more fun and enjoyment when you create your own. For the very first bonsai you buy I would recommend the Japanese maple, this is because it is quite easy to work with and once you have learnt to skills required you will be able to move onto other plants.
The first bonsai gardening experience will require a few pieces of equipment. You are going to need a Japanese maple limb, sphagnum moss that has been soaked in water, a sharp knife, string, a mini sheet of heavy plastic and the rooting hormone which you should be able to purchase from most garden centers or hardware stores.
You can study the various traditional styles of bonsai gardening by reading a book on the subject or reviewing the styles online. However, you can have just as much fun by simply starting your bonsai garden and learning as you go.
To start of your bonsai gardening, first of all select a branch that has a nice structure and shape to it. The branch should be roughly about the diameter of your little finger. Begin to cut around the branch when you want the roots generated. Cut in a circle motion through the bark and into the wood that underneath, take extra care in making sure that you do not cut through the branch because you are going to air layer the branch.
Make another cut that is exactly like your first cut but about two inches below the initial cut. Then make a straight cut connecting the two cuts. Peel away the bark in this two inch area. It should come away easily but do not remove any of the green layer beneath the bark.
When you root your bonsai gardening specimen, dust the rooting with the hormone around the same area of the top cut and then wrap the bark around the area that has been removed with sphagnum moss. To do this you should wrap the moss is a thick piece of the heavy plastic and then you will be able to tie the plastic in place.
While rooting your bonsai specimen, keep the moss wet. It will take about two or three weeks before roots begin to appear and you’ll be able to see them through the plastic. As the roots thicken and begin to turn brown, separate your bonsai by cutting it from the main plant just below the new roots.
Now you are just about ready to begin creating your bonsai garden. First of all choose a container that is shallow and then place pebbles at the very bottom for drainage. The partially fill the pot with high quality top soil. Then place your bonsai into the container and fill it up with soil. When planting it is very important that you do not damage any of the newly developed roots.
You should always support the bonsai with a stake until it becomes stronger.
Begin shaping your bonsai garden specimen after it becomes firmly rooted in the pot. You can study fully grown trees and, using string, pull parts of the bonsai into the desired shape. After the plant has taken on the shape desired, remove the string.
All that there is left for you to do now is to prune your bonsai so that it will maintain the desired shape and will develop into the shape that you have desired. Bonsai gardening is a lot of fun but it does require a great deal of patience. When creating your bonsai it is always right to remember that it will not become great overnight.
It is going to take a lot of time and effort so that you can create a bonsai that will appear to look as though it is a fully grown tree. You can do this successfully as long as you apply you know how and gardening skills to your bonsai creation.