Bonsai Plant

Choosing and Caring for a Bonsai Plant

If you are new to the hobby of growing bonsai, you may be overwhelmed by the wide bonsai plant selection. It is recommended to start with a plant that is common in your area and that meets general bonsai plant requirements.

Some popular bonsai plant subjects include the Juniper tree, the Japanese and Chinese wisteria, the Japanese black pine, and the Japanese flowering cherry. Obtaining a bonsai plant from a nursery is a good idea since the roots of the plant have already adapted to confined conditions. Make sure you choose a bonsai plant with good root systems and branches.

Choose a protected area in your yard where to plant your bonsai specimen. The bonsai plant will be ready to be transplanted in a container after a year. During potting of the bonsai plant, you may do some light branch pruning but it would take another year for bonsai training to start.

You can also obtain a bonsai plant from the wild but this carries more risks because it will be difficult to determine certain factors important to growing a bonsai such as the plant's age. A bonsai plant must be collected when it is in its dormant phase and would be hard to tell this of a wild plant. Nevertheless, when you collect a wild plant make sure you have all the necessary tools because after digging you need to do the following: pack moss around the root ball, wrap the plant's root ball with a plastic bag, and then water it to keep the bonsai plant material moist. You can replant the specimen after digging. You may also need to pry loose the roots with a crowbar.

If the bonsai plant specimen is on someone else's property, make sure you have permission to dig. Also, you need to ensure that the species is not endangered. It is illegal to take a plant from protected areas such as national parks and other sanctuaries.

Seasonal Bonsai Plant Care

SUMMER: Avoid exposing the plant to extreme heat, sunlight, wind and rain. Water daily but do not keep it soaked. Three up to five hours of direct sunlight daily is beneficial to the bonsai plant but place it in a shaded area during the afternoon.

FALL: Prepare the bonsai plant for winter. Water less to slow growth and stop applying fertilizer. Do not prune branches starting late August.

WINTER: If the temperature drops below 28 degrees Fahrenheit, store the bonsai plant in a greenhouse or another suitable area. Keep it cool in order to maintain its dormancy. Watering is still necessary but should be done only on alternating days.

SPRING: This is the time for pruning and training an old bonsai plant. It is also the time to start a new one.