My bonsai also has some arial roots and completely holds all the soil in its tiny pot, it grows incredibly quickly and can be cut into shapes by cutting the branch with scissors just below a new leaf.
I mentioned earlier how a mini tree facinates me, as tree's provide massive amounts of biodiversity. I actually once found two mini snails living in the soil around my bonsai tree! and there is always moss and certain fungi that grow around the bark (not because i overwater the plant!) I have re planted cuttings which sucesfully grow, now my pot looks beautiful with mini 'poles' growing around my tree(poles being the cut branches) Trees are great for rooms as they not only make the room more attractive but provide plenty of oxygen when photosynthesising. As Bonsai are so precious people use special soils information of which can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai
However I used natural soil from my garden and my bonsai is thriving, Bonsai are tree's that are dwarf so are strong and able to survive more extreme conditons than plants would, due to their transpiration stream to cool themselves in hot weather it is important they are watered and the bark should not dry out.
In summer you can keep the bonsai in the garden, I did this growth was very rapid, but the soil dried very quickly and often the leaves would appear to burn and die quicker. According to instrucions, bonsai should be kept away from direct sunlight and extreme heat, they are indoor plants.
I strongly recommend any Botanist or plant fan like myself to get a bonsai tree, theyre amazing, you'll have fun cutting them into shapes etc.
Starting your Bonsai Growing Project.
The very first thing you will need to consider when starting to grow your own indoor bonsai trees is to select the species of trees that you will use. Selecting trees for use as bonsai plants will require some considerations of geographical location and climate in the locale, as weather conditions in each location is different from others and hence you will need to choose trees that are either local to your location or are easily adaptable to the conditions in your area. The best results are normally seen when you use plants or trees that are endemic to your location. The choice of exotic species may result in trees not able to grow properly due to not being able to adjust to the conditions in your area, although this is not always the case. You should wait until you are totally familiar and an expert before you consider introducing exotic species of plants for your bonsai growing projects.
Among other things to consider when growing your bonsai trees is the size of the tree you you intend to grow. Trees come in different sizes in nature and this is the same for bonsai trees. You may want to consider where in your house you will be placing the plant and you should decide how big of a plant should be in that place. Once you have a basic idea of how big or small you want your bonsai tree to be, you can then go to a nursery or bonsai specialty shop and find a tree that is suitable. However, if a nursery or bonsai shop is not available in your area, you may just have to start from scratch and plant your tree from seeds. This will give you the choice of find the seeds for the tree you like the best and start off from there.
Should you start off from seeds then you will need to plant them in seed bags until they become seedlings. As soon as the seedlings start to grow, you will need to start preparing your seedlings to be transferred to pots. Transferring the seedlings into pots is tricky at times, and you will have to remove most of the roots to fit in smaller pots. When cutting away roots, like in all plants you will have to be very careful as this effort can cause the plants to die. When you start the process of transferring your bonsai plant into its pot, you will also need to place some wires into the root system of the plant in order to help it fit into its pot. You will then need to ensure that you put just enough soil to cover your bonsai plants roots which will help it retain moisture. Make sure that the right amount of soil is place over the roots and not too much.
Bonsai are not genetically dwarfed plants. They are created from nearly any tree or shrub species and remain small through pot confinement and crown and root pruning. Nearly any tree or shrub species, with proper training and care can be used to create Bonsai, but some specific species are more sought after for use as bonsai material. This is because they have characteristics that make them appropriate for the smaller design arrangements of bonsai. There are many different ways to acquire, cultivate and grow Bonsai. Several of the most common include:
* Growing Bonsai from Seed
* Cuttings
* Air layering
* Grafting
Bonsai Garden at the pagoda Yunyan Ta (Cloud Rock Pagoda; Suzhou, China)
Bonsai Garden at the pagoda Yunyan Ta (Cloud Rock Pagoda; Suzhou, China)
Bonsai Trees showing a variety of different styles in Sydney, Australia.
Bonsai Trees showing a variety of different styles in Sydney, Australia.
A Pine bonsai in the informal upright style. This tree is more than 30 years old, in the Hidden Lake Gardens Collection
A Pine bonsai in the informal upright style. This tree is more than 30 years old, in the Hidden Lake Gardens Collection
Bonsai are often characterized as being grown in one of many different bonsai styles. In English, the most common styles include: formal upright, slant, informal upright, cascade, semi-cascade, raft, literati, and group / forest.
* The formal upright style, or Chokkan,
* Slant style, or Shakan bonsai possess straight trunks
* Cascade style, or Kengai bonsai
* Raft style, or Netsunari bonsai mimic
* The literati style (Bunjin is a translation of the Chinese word wenren meaning "scholars practiced in the arts" and gi is a derivative of the Japanese word, ki, for "tree").
* The group or forest style, or Yose Ue,
* The root over rock style, or Sekijoju,
* The broom style, or Hokidachi
* The multi Trunk style, or Ikadabuki
* The growing in a rock, or Ishizuke
