Making a Bonsai
Bonsai is the art of dwarfing trees and growing them in containers. It’s often been referred to as a Japanese technique; however, it actually originated from an ancient Chinese horticultural practice more than a thousand years ago.
I am very fond of bonsai trees, and have nurtured many over the years. To make a bonsai, one can use cultivation techniques such as pruning, wiring, and repotting to shape a small tree to look like a miniature version of a full-sized specimen. Last week, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, selected a juniper for this technique.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Junipers are a popular choice for bonsai trees. They are hardy, resilient, easy to prune, long lived, versatile, and once established, easy to maintain. It is the perfect choice for my next bonsai tree. In fact, do you know… the bonsai tree is the symbol of the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai Hospital? It was selected because the bonsai grows more beautiful and more valuable with age.
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- The first step is to cover the large drainage hole of the bonsai pot. Mesh is the standard material and is flexible enough to cut into shape. Mesh screens prevent soil loss, keep small animals out, and help prevent root rot.
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- Ryan cuts the mesh screen just big enough to cover the hole.
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- Junipers have small, blue-green, overlapping, scale-like prickly, and stiff needle-like leaves, which is great for creating a strong and striking bonsai tree.
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- Bonsai soil mixes are well-draining to allow both air and water to reach the roots. They are usually a combination of Akadama, a hard-baked Japanese clay specifically produced for bonsai purposes, organic potting compost, pumice and fine gravel or grit.
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- Ryan combines the elements together first. There are many pre-prepared bonsai soil mixes available, but mixing one’s own can save money and allows control over the exact mixture for the tree species.
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- Ryan fills the container about two-thirds with the soil mix. The best bonsai containers are shallow. Shallow pots limit the space available for the roots to spread out, which prevents the tree from growing too large.
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- Next, Ryan sprinkles a generous amount of Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose plant food which contains natural ingredients to feed the microbes in the soil.
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- The fertilizer is a granular food that can feed a number of different types of plants for up to three months.
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- Using a combination of different shears, Ryan begins to shape and prune the juniper. One can use garden scissors, twig cutters, branch cutters, wire cutters, and gin pliers to shape the bonsai
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- The key is to prune the roots and the foliage so the plant remains dwarfed.
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- Using wire around branches can also guide them to grow in the desired shape.
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- Annealed copper or anodized aluminum wire are best for bonsai. Aluminum wire is better when used for deciduous species, while the harder copper wire is best for conifers and pines. Ryan uses a sturdy gage copper wire to shape the branches.
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- He carefully wraps the wire around the branch while it is bent to the desired angle.
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- Blackie is nearby to watch.
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- Wiring is a key technique for shaping bonsai trees, but it’s important to use it correctly and monitor the tree closely during the growing season – be sure to remove the wires before it starts digging into the bark.
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- Ryan continues to trim off any excess growth, remove weak or crisscrossed branches, and any others that take away from the desired shape of the bonsai.
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- Once Ryan is pleased with the apprance, he adds more soil mix unti it reaches just below the rim of the container.
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- Here is the trimmed juniper bonsai. I think it will do very nicely in this pot.
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- Juniper bonsai trees are best kept outdoors in bright locations with lots of sunlight. Ryan brings the juniper bonsai to a sturdy table outside my Winter House.
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- It joins two other bonsai trees where I can see it every day.
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