Bonsai is the Japanese art of cultivating miniature trees in shallow containers to represent their full-size, mature counterparts in nature. To create a bonsai, a blend of artistic talent and horticultural knowledge is applied while adhering to traditional Japanese design principles. Unlike other works of art, there is no such thing as a ‘finished’ bonsai as long as the tree is still alive and growing, they must continue to be tended to on a daily basis. That's why bonsai growing is sometimes called an art without end. For many enthusiasts, though, it's precisely this timelessness that makes raising bonsai so rewarding and worthwhile.
Bonsai can be created from nearly any perennial woody-stemmed tree or shrub species that produces true branches and can be cultivated to remain small through pot confinement with crown and root pruning. Some species are popular as bonsai material because they have characteristics, such as small leaves or needles, that make them appropriate for the compact visual scope of bonsai.
Popular bonsai material includes:
Ficus | Serissa | Cotoneaster | Buxus |
Fukien Tea | Elm | Juniper | Beech |
Pine | Maple | Azalea | Birch |
Cypress | Oak | Ginko | |
The process of raising bonsai requires controlling the kind of shape the trees take. Sometimes you need to bend branches with wires or to cut them off altogether. You might think that's cruel, but these steps are essential for the tree to remain healthy in a pot. Bonsai are designed using a set of commonly understood styles. The most common styles that you will come across include formal upright, informal upright and slanting. Other styles include: semi-cascade, cascade, raft, literati, broom, root over rock and group/forest. Less common forms include windswept, weeping, split-trunk, and driftwood styles. These terms are not mutually exclusive, and a single bonsai specimen can exhibit more than one style characteristic. When a bonsai specimen falls into multiple style categories, the common practice is to describe it by the dominant or most striking characteristic.
Some key principles in bonsai aesthetics include:
Miniaturisation: By definition, a bonsai is a tree kept small enough to be container-grown while otherwise fostered to have a mature appearance. It doesn’t necessarily need to be small as bonsai sizes range from 3cm high to 2m high.
Proportion among elements: The most prized proportions mimic those of a full-grown tree as closely as possible. Small trees with large leaves or needles are out of proportion and are avoided, as is a thin trunk with thick branches. The first branch should be 1/3rd the way up trunk of the final tree height, the height of the tree should be 6 times the width of the base of the trunk and the overall shape should be an asymmetrical triangle.
Asymmetry: Bonsai aesthetics discourage strict radial or bilateral symmetry in branch and root placement.
No trace of the artist: The designer's touch must not be apparent to the viewer. If a branch is removed in shaping the tree, the scar will be concealed. Likewise, wiring should be removed or at least concealed when the bonsai is shown, and must leave no permanent marks on the branch or bark.
Light: Full sun to part sun (minimum 3-4 hours direct sun a day).
Water: Check every day as each bonsai will have different watering requirements based on the size of the pot and the amount of foliage. Bonsai should be left to almost completely dry out before rewatering. Usually, every day in summer and every 2-3 days in winter. Deep watering is required by way of pulse watering 2-3 times with a pause in-between.
Fertiliser: Slow release all purpose fertiliser in spring and autumn. We stock Troforte All Purpose slow release fertiliser in 3.5kg and 10kg buckets.
Repotting: Best done in early spring annually for young trees, every 3-5 years for older trees. Remove tree from pot and tease out roots with a chopstick, remove up to 1/3rd of the roots. We stock Searls 10L Bonsai specialty potting mix.
Pruning: Maintenance pruning as needed throughout the growing season to maintain shape.
To give your bonsai the best chance of living to a ripe old age, please resist the urge to keep them as house plants. Kept in the artificial environment of a home, these trees weaken and die. It is fine to bring your bonsai inside to display for a short period of time (up to a week) but keeping them indoors permanently will most likely kill them.