How can a bonsai plant be grow Correctly at Home?
Answers
Answer: Bonsai is an art that combines artistic skills with a keen eye for details and balance with a lot of patience. Growing a bonsai tree at home will take years of dedicated care and understanding of the principles involved. If you plan to take up this art, here’s all you need to know about it. Why Should You Grow Bonsai?
Bonsai brings together the best qualities of both a pet and a houseplant, it is a living entity that needs just enough of your care and attention without being demanding in your life. Here are five reasons for you to create bonsai plants
1. It Takes Up Very Little Space
There are breeds of bonsai trees that can be cultivated to fit any space. Whether you want them on your desk, living room on outdoors, there are different species that can be grown for the purpose. You can also carry them wherever you go.
Explanation:
* Preparation of Growing Medium
Bonsai pots are available in different sizes and shapes such as circular, triangular, square or rectangles. You will need the right kind of pot with adequate room for soil and a good drainage to remove excess water. Red soil commonly used in gardening has good aeration and nutrient retention properties which works well with manure when used in a 50-50 ratio. Aggregates also need to be used to ensure proper drainage of excess water.
* Planting the Bonsai
A nursery is your best bet to find trees or shrubs suited for bonsai. Flowering shrubs such as Jasmine, Azalea or Bougainvillea do well in all weather conditions. If you wish to grow a fruit the exotic way, lime, fig, peach, guava and cherry work well. You could also pick up saplings of Peepal or Banyan trees from parks, botanical gardens or rural areas. Extra caution should be taken while re-potting the bonsai and you need to ensure the soil has adequate moisture in it at all times.
* Watering the Bonsai
The watering needs of different trees vary according to the type and season. Ensure you water them every day just enough to keep the soil moist but not so much that they cause the roots to rot. The soil needs to hold enough moisture such that you can easily thrust a dowel into it and it doesn’t come out with wet mud stuck to it. Use fresh, clean water only and avoid using recycled water.
* Pruning the Bonsai
Pruning the branches and roots of the tree is part of the training techniques that are important in shaping it. Trimming encourages new growth so you can define the shape the way you need it. Trimming the roots helps keep it within the pot and eliminate diseased sections at the same time. It improves nutrition and water absorption characteristics of the root and helps in growth. Pruning requires skills, and you need the right tools such as scissors or pruning shears.
* Using Fertilizers to Aid Growth
Although you’ve added enough manure, bonsai trees need fertilisers to supplement for the elements they lack or draw more when they are flowering or bearing fruit. Different fertilisers are available for specific functions such as flowering, bearing fruit or growing mini bonsai tree faster. Choose the right type of fertiliser needed and use them during the growing season of your tree.
* Repotting the Bonsai
Re-potting is necessary to replenish the lost nutrients in the soil and also to accommodate the growth of your bonsai tree. Faster growing trees may need to be re-potted once a year while the slower growing ones do well when re-potted once every two or three years. Since it is a delicate operation, it’s best done under an expert’s guidance the first time.
* Wiring the Bonsai
Wiring is another important aspect of training the bonsai trees to develop into the shapes you envision for them. Aluminium or copper wires found with suppliers will suffice for the process, most bonsai enthusiasts use aluminium as it is softer and easy to work with. Wire training must be done on a tree that’s well adjusted to its life and is flexible. The right time to wire is after re-potting for all trees, however, seasons vary depending on the species of the tree. Deciduous trees are best wired in spring while coniferous trees are best wired later winter or early autumn.
* Controlling Pests and Diseases
Diseases and pests can turn out to be some of the worse enemies of your bonsai tree. You need to be on the lookout for common fungal and bacterial diseases that tend to destroy trees. Re-potting and organic pesticides are good ways to keep your little tree from getting sick. You also need to ensure that the tree receives a good balance of nutrients and nothing in excess, which can harm it.