Caring For Bonsai
The art of bonsai care is an ancient practice that spans thousands of years. It is not only a gardener's delight, but a real artist's canvas for those who are willing to take the time and effort to help these plants mature and grow. Learning about bonsai care will help you to grow the best bonsai that you can.
Learning The Basics
To show proper bonsai care to you plant, you must first know the basics of plant care. Every plant needs a certain amount of soil, light, and water. Depending on the type of plant you choose, you will have to water it regularly and give it a sufficient amount of sunlight. With bonsai trees, watering can be tricky. To have proper bonsai care, you must make sure that the soil is always wet for your bonsai. Although it needs to be moist, you cannot over water your bonsai tree. If you do, you run the chance of your pant developing a fungus which can in turn rot the roots of your tree. Make sure the soil is wet, but not standing in a puddle in the pot.
Many people choose to use gravel and clay for potting bonsai trees. This will help with water drainage to prevent anyone from watering the plant too much.
Sunlight is also an important factor in bonsai care. A bonsai tree is best if grown outdoors, but can easily be grown indoors as well. Since it is a tree, it usually needs a lot of light in order to thrive. If it is outside, make sure it is in a place that gets sunlight most of the day. If it is indoors, put it next to a window that gets sunlight for at least half of the day.
Shaping
In order to complete you bonsai care, you must learn how to trim and shape your bonsai tree. This is an ancient practice that takes skill and patience. For bonsai trees to have their famous shape, it takes months and years of trimming and shaping little by little in order to achieve the proper shape. You can do this with a series of handheld tools that you can get at any gardening center. It is wise to have different sizes of shears in order to take care of your plant properly, so it may take a little investment on your part, but once you have a beautiful bonsai tree, it will be worth it.
