Only in the true Oriental bonsai do art and horticulture combine in such an extreme state of perfection—and in miniature to boot. Paintings may be as magnificent, but they’re inanimate. Ancient trees of the forest may have equal artistic virtue, but they’re not shaped by the hand of man. Living bonsai trees, sometimes centuries old, become masterpieces because, says Claude Chidamian, “they’re planted in philosophy, shaped by art, grown with love.”
If that sounds as if I am awed by bonsai—I am. I would never have the talent and patience to prune and shape, trim and train, in minute detail year after year, so that every branch, twig, and tiny needle or leaf would be perfectly placed and proportioned. Even if I were an artist, I doubt that I could create the illusion of grandeur in minuscule scale. Nor would I ever dare assume the responsibility for caring for these priceless, age-old plants.
But that doesn’t mean that bonsai is beyond me, or any other gardener who admires it. Without committing the sacrilege of inept imitation, we can have our own version of these miniature trees and make them artistic and satisfying in our own way.
The original bonsai trees look old and weather-beaten because they are old and weather-beaten. The Japanese adopted this art from the Chinese many centuries ago. Our trees in bonsai-style are not likely to have that venerable age, but they can have character. They can have the lines of trees that have held a precarious footing on the side of a rocky slope, have been bent by the wind or twisted by mighty storms.
Because every part of it is in perfect proportion to every other part, a fine bonsai tree creates an illusion of tremendous size—as if you were looking through the wrong end of a telescope to a giant more than a hundred years old. Our dwarfed trees can be perfectly proportioned and create the same illusion. Although there is no substitute for true antiquity, our dwarfed trees can be artistic in their own way without pretending to be ancient.
By making some concessions (without desecrating the art) we can take suitable trees and turn them into “Orientalized” garden ornaments, and do it in one year, not ten. If the pruning and training is done with care and artistry, the result will be a bonsai which is a distinguished ornament and particularly appropriate for contemporary architecture, and also for landscape architecture.
I have seen a bonsai of Sargent’s juniper set beside a garden pool, its twisting branches swaying out and over the water, and reflected in it. Twin (but not identical) bonsai trees are startlingly effective; for example, one on each side at the top of a set of formal steps. Bonsai can be used as a center of interest on a patio or terrace to accent an entrance, on top of low walls, or against the wall at the end of a path.
Last summer, in our wild garden, my husband dammed up a tiny stream at a point where it began to run down a short but rather steep and shaded slope. This created a small pool from which the water trickles over the dam and drops onto a series of rock ledges below. We planted the banks on both sides with ferns, wild ginger, bloodroot, trillium, and other wildlings. But something was needed at the top, some small tree or shrub that would integrate the dam into the picture and would be in harmony with the woodsy surroundings.
We considered all the dwarf, shade-tolerant evergreens our local nurseries had to offer, but nothing seemed just right. We scoured our woods, but the only low-growing trees (which are mighty few in our area) were too straight and erect. The mountain laurels and other shrubs with interesting lines would eventually grow too large. So we decided to try what, for us, is an experiment.
We found a white pine less than two feet tall with a suggestion of the irregular shape we had been looking for. We lifted it carefully, took it home, root-pruned it, and planted it in the best bonsai tradition, in a sturdy box just large enough to hold the roots but leaving a little room to spare around the edge. Then we took the tree to the top of the dam and planted it by sinking the box in the soil. After some weeks, when the pine showed no sign of ill effects from being moved, and was making new growth, we shaped and pruned it, and then wired it, bonsai-style, along the lines of the tree we had been hunting for.
Streptocarpus—this variety is the delightful little Weismoor hybrid.
With sensible care and winter protection, pruning and root-pruning when it threatens to grow too large, and training in the way we think it should grow, the little pine will, we hope, mature into a gnarled gnome in proportion and harmony with its woodland setting. Of course, we plan to provide a new box at root-pruning time before the old one can rot and set the dwarfed roots free to roam the soil around it.
The real Japanese bonsai is an outdoor inhabitant, usually one of a collection that is brought indoors for display purposes and for only a few days at a time. But by using tender plants that want more warmth, growers are beginning to create bonsai that can be used decoratively indoors the year round. In a shadow box, on a coffee table or special stand, even as a table centerpiece they should always be alone and with no accessories to detract from their unique style.
Last winter I thoroughly enjoyed starting a collection of indoor miniatures, frank copies of Japanese name bonsai, and even the wee fingertip shinto type. These are a special challenge because to preserve proper proportion, leaves and needles must be extra small, and pruning and training are particularly crucial. Water is applied with an eyedropper; fertilizer is administered in microscopic amounts. To provide protective humidity and warmth, and to help keep the small amount of soil in tiny containers from drying out, we rigged up plastic-covered quarters on a window sill, with a layer of moist vermiculite. Our tray was also improvised from a double layer of heavyweight aluminum foil. Now, all but the youngest, and the very smallest, miniatures are strong enough to grow on glass shelves outside the plastic tent.
Indoor plants, bonsai-style, are more than just tender seedlings, or cuttings, kept small in small containers. They are patterned after true bonsai, with interesting character, artistic lines, and perfect proportion. The mechanics of pruning and training are very much the same. But because they are not hardy outdoor growers that resent the hot dry air of a house, and because they don’t need annual dormancy, they are fascinating indoor ornaments to be lived with and enjoyed the year round.
Different types of bonsai trees and containers
Bonsai in citrus
Once we became intrigued with the concept of “indoor bonsai” we found so many house and greenhouse plants with picturesque prospects that I fear we will never get to try them all. I have seedlings and cuttings of all sorts, even including those from a breakfast orange and a pomegranate out of the fruit bowl. And, of course, small plants sold by mail-order suppliers are just the right size to begin the process of dwarfing and shaping.
(In the list at the end of Chapter 6, plants suitable for indoor bonsai use are indicated.)
With proper care, any woody plant—any tree, shrub, or vine with persisting trunk or stems—can be grown indefinitely in a pot. With some skill in pruning branches and roots, it can be permanently dwarfed. And with imagination and artistry, it can be trained to re-create in miniature one of the majestic pictures of nature. However, some plants are more amenable to rigorous dwarfing than others; some adapt more willingly to growing in containers; and some are by nature more suitable in habit and appearance.
The easiest plants to dwarf are those that are naturally small, or slow growing, and those with small leaves or needles, flowers or fruit. Proportion is the most important factor. Every element—leaf, twig, branch, trunk, root, container—must be in harmony and balance with all others.
It’s not impossible to use larger-leaved plants. It’s just a little more difficult. Long needles can be cut shorter, for example, but they must be kept the proper length. Large leaves can be thinned to relieve any feeling of heaviness, and each leaf can be used to represent a branch. With some types of deciduous trees—say, maples—the leaves that come out first in the spring can be pinched off. The leaves that come out to replace them will be smaller.
Almost equally important is the “character” of a dwarfed plant—its irregular or fluid lines, illusion of age, unusual aspect of bark or twig that make it dramatic and vibrant. Any form of art can be dull if it has nothing except perfect proportion to offer. With good proportion, plus intriguing line and design, it becomes interesting.
In the original bonsai the artist transplanted a tree he found growing in the wild and carefully conserved the misshapen lines made by buffeting weather, or he very carefully copied, or re-created, a tree he had seen holding a precarious footing high on a rocky ridge and perhaps dipping down into a windy gorge. These shapes and forms are now the basis for specific classes of bonsai which we can borrow or adapt. So the “character” of a plant may suggest that it be trained as if it were growing out at a right angle from a rocky slope with its roots covering a stone; as a grove, to weep or cascade; or as a gigantic, single-trunked forest monarch with pitted, weather-worn bark.
Or perhaps, lightning might have split the trunk, leaving part of it jagged and dead. The two trunks may have become entangled with each other. Branches may have been blown in one direction so long that they bend that way permanently.
Types of Plants
Any woody plant whose parts are in proper proportion for dwarfing—and particularly, any that shows promise of interesting lines or “character”—is a good prospect for bonsai. The coniferous evergreens are most popular, because they hold their foliage all year, and because small-needled types are comparatively plentiful. Small-leaved deciduous trees can be at their most attractive best with spring’s budding new growth, summer’s airy foliage, fall’s brilliant color, or with the silhouette of a naked trunk in winter.
With flowering trees and shrubs the choice of varieties narrows even more. Large flowers with brilliant color and overpowering fragrance may destroy balance and proportion, and detract from the beauty of the plant itself. More delicate plants are more likely to enhance the picture. For obvious reasons, plants that bear fruits and berries in the proper scale are the hardest to find, and culturally the most difficult.
(For plants that are suitable for outdoor bonsai, see list at the end of Chapter 14.)
Sources
Bonsai becomes a reality faster, of course, when you start with a fairly mature plant. The most fruitful source is the selection of three-year-old trees and shrubs at your local nursery. Those growing in gallon-sized cans, or other containers, naturally accept pruning and transplanting with the least setback. They should be healthy plants, not overgrown or neglected, that have been regularly root-pruned and transplanted through their infancy. It is perfectly safe to buy them pot-bound if that condition has not persisted for several seasons, with the outer roots all dead as a result.
In selecting a specimen, first examine varieties that are by nature slow-growing and have leaves, or needles, in perfect scale. Be selective, pass up the symmetrical specimens that are best for ordinary landscaping purposes, and look for that one plant in a thousand, the one with interesting “character”—peculiarity of shape, irregular branches, low horizontal growth, stocky or twisted trunk. The most ideal plant has its largest branch near the base, and has no regular or opposite branches to be pruned away. Next to above-ground development in importance, is the below-ground root system. To be ideal, the root system should be a compact, shallow mass rather than one long taproot with a few offshoots. To make it even more ideal, the stoutest roots should be growing near the surface.
Younger, smaller bonsai plants are readily available from mail-order suppliers who specialize in them. Here, make your selection according to variety, and then train your plants as you grow them. But beware of cheap “bargain offers.” I speak with this advice because of the experience of some of my friends. They were too intrigued by Sunday-newspaper ads. Buy only from reliable growers who have invested time and care in developing healthy plants and, better yet, have labeled them true to name. For those who are more interested in the finished work of art than in the growing and creating of it, some florists and nurseries advertise mature, or nearly mature, bonsai. Again may I say, “Beware.” The supplier’s reliability is even more important.
Sometimes you can find precious bonsai-type shrubs or trees growing in the wild. Small seedlings of hemlock, ash, birch, maple, and some elms, if they are dug very carefully—and at just about any time of the year—can be used as miniature bonsai, or they can be planted in the garden for a few years until they are larger. Usually, the taproot has to be cut back rather severely to encourage the development of a spreading mass of smaller roots. Start your regular pruning as soon as the plant recovers from transplanting shock.
The larger native plants should be taken when they are dormant, in late fall or the earliest spring. In searching, look for those that have been naturally dwarfed and misshapen by misfortune. In digging, make sure the soil is so moist that much of it will cling to the roots. Keep the roots moist and well covered against drying sun and winds until the transplant is safely in the soil again. For any such wildlings, take along enough of the surrounding soil to fill the container into which they are going. This will make them feel at home in their new place in the garden bed.
Many growers now propagate their own bonsai plants; thus they can control shape, root-spread, line, and design from the very beginning. Almost all of the propagating methods outlined in Chapter 10 are useful here, some especially so. Cuttings of all kinds will produce stout-trunked plants much faster than seeds. Plants such as willow, holly, ginkgo, and ivy can be started from stems as thick as an inch or so in diameter. With cuttings you can have quantities of new plants from one parent, all with the same variegations or other characteristics.
Either ground or air layering can give you plants that are larger than those obtained from cuttings. By selecting a certain branch you can be surer of getting the characteristics and shape you want. If your bonsai is to be well balanced, select a well-proportioned branch with close twiggy growth. By layering you can also correct an unattractive bonsai, growing a new one from a plant that has become too tall and gangly, or one that has badly formed roots.
Grafting for bonsai plants is not widely practiced because too often it leaves a visible scar or some other sign of artificiality, and also because there is the danger of undesirable sprouts shooting up from the roots. Plants from a graft are generally weaker than cuttings or layers which have their own roots. If your plant happens to be a valuable one, you can often improve its shape by grafting on new branches where they will do the most good; or good branches can be grafted onto picturesque, gnarled roots. I have never made a serious effort to graft in such cases, but I have seen some good results from the work of other growers.
Growing bonsai plants from seed requires infinite patience—as a warning, the process takes years. But seedlings, once you have them going, and with the healthiest of root systems, will live indefinitely. Seeds of bonsai-type plants are available from several growers. Should they need special preparation, such as nicking or stratifying, the seed packets should say so.
When seedlings have several true leaves and are ready for transplanting, cut back the strong taproot (should there be one) by at least one-third. This will encourage root-branching. When potting seedlings, spread the side roots so they will develop evenly near the soil surface. Pruning and training can begin while the plants are still quite young. Plant the stem on a slant. Pinch new tip growth for development of side branches. Tie straight trunk stems to a bamboo cane, or perhaps just a sliver; or otherwise guide the young shrub, or tree, toward the lines you have in mind for its mature effect.
In no other art form is it more obvious that a subordinate element such as a container can make or mar the perfection of a picture. For instance, with a painting the frame can have small faults without lessening the impression of a masterpiece. But bonsai is so stark that a slight imperfection can become a glaring error. So, although the container is merely a supporting feature, it becomes only a little less important than the center of interest, the plant. It must harmonize with the plant, reflect and supplement its beauty, and not detract from its leading role.
Imported Japanese bonsai containers of the traditional type, now readily available, are usually shallow bowls or dishes of glazed (or unglazed) ceramic. They are never glazed on the inside and are usually sold in sets of three matched units of graduated size. Contemporary American artists and manufacturers are also turning out pans and trays made of dull metals, tile, and wood. The wood may be either of a natural finish or artistically weathered. For outdoor bonsai, wood must necessarily be treated for durability and weather resistance.
For indoor plantings, containers can very often be improvised. I’ve used bronze ash trays, wooden salad bowls, shapely plastic dishes (shallow), and odds and ends of pottery—anything of the right motif in which it is possible to bore, drill, or chip drainage holes on the bottom. Many of our modern ceramics are in complete harmony with bonsai. But you must have those drainage holes, otherwise your watering problems are compounded.
The ideal bonsai containers are seldom ornate; really they shouldn’t be. They should have the grace and elegance of “expensive simplicity,” which doesn’t mean they are expensive. They just look as though they were. Colors are subdued, not bright or showy. As a rule to follow, darker and somber shades are used for evergreens, lighter shades for flowering plants, the specific choice depending on the color of the bloom. In shape and form, bonsai containers are simple and graceful and are selected to set off the shape or lines of the plants. Erect trunks often take shallow, rectangular containers. Hanging or weeping lines call for round containers with more depth. Square or oval containers are used for extremely delicate, graceful subjects.
Container size, of course, depends on the plants themselves. As a general rule, the smallest and most shallow container that is culturally practical, and in good proportion, is the best. In true bonsai containers, diameters range from two to twenty-five inches; depths, from one to ten inches. The accepted rule for good proportions allows the plant to occupy 80 per cent of the picture, the container 20 per cent. Should you have very small plants the ratio is slightly changed—60 per cent for plant, 40 per cent for the container. However, these figures should not be considered as hard and fast, but as a guide when purchasing containers. Your eye may tell you what is better suited for your particular plant or shrub.
Rather specific cultural practices have evolved for dwarfing hardy garden plants, trees, and shrubs, and growing them in small containers. Tender house and greenhouse plants, dwarfed and grown as indoor bonsai, are also potted, pruned, trained, and watered as outlined in this chapter. Otherwise, they are grown like the window-garden plants in Chapter 1.
Root-pruning
This is often the first thing you do for a plant that is to be grown bonsai-style. It is a procedure that is repeated regularly if your plant is to have a long life. Dwarf trees and shrubs are root-pruned so they will fit their small containers, or to make room for fresh soil when they are repotted, or to keep the root system in balance with the growth above soil that is being restricted. Pruning also keeps the roots compact, near the surface of the soil, and vigorously young. Removing old, woody roots encourages the growth of fine new ones.
When seedlings, rooted cuttings, and small newly purchased or collected plants are made ready for their first bonsai containers, they are not immediately root-pruned in a severe sense. Any roots that are dead should be trimmed off and long taproots should be cut back at least one-third. Otherwise, it’s a matter of trimming off the root ball with as little disturbance as possible, just enough to fit the container.
After they have been established, plants are root-pruned when they are repotted. When roots are crowded and completely cover the soil in a close mesh, it’s time to repot and root-prune. For some plants this may come once in a year, for others once in five years.
Hold the base of the trunk in one hand—your left hand if you are a right-hander. Use a dull-pointed pencil (the Japanese use a chopstick) and loosen the soil around the outside. Pick away about one-third of it if the plant is established, somewhat more on younger plants. When you have finished, the soil ball should be, roughly speaking, one-fourth smaller than its container. Then, with sharp scissors, cut away all the loose root ends which you have removed from the soil. This is rather drastic surgery, although not like removing an arm and a leg of a gardener, because the plant or shrub has the happy faculty of growing new roots. However, it will need special care and protection until it is back on its feet again. Bonsai plants are root-pruned and returned to the same container year after year. None of this making each container one size larger each time the plant is moved into a new house. That’s for house plants per se.
Soil
Potting soil for dwarfed trees and shrubs is particularly important. There is so little of it in small containers. In general, it should provide good drainage and aeration while also holding a certain amount of moisture. On the specific side, soil contents and textures should vary to meet the individual plant’s needs.
If your plant happens to have been dug locally, take along a supply of local soil. If you happen to have purloined the plant from a neighbor’s woods, purloin a little soil. It’s no more of a sin to have stolen a sheep than half a sheep. In our neighborhood it is a standing joke about how many plants, flat paving stones, etc., we swipe from each other. If you have been honest enough to have bought your plant from a nursery, ask their advice on the soil. If they are not smart, although most of them are, get the reference book down off the shelf and find out whether the plant craves a mixture that is sandy, rich in humus, acid or alkaline, fine or coarse. You have a baby on your hands. Treat it right and it will award you with adulthood in bonsai. Neglect it and it will curl up and die. Mix your soil as you would a baby’s formula. Remember, babies cry when the formula is faulty; plants can’t. They silently pass away.
Potting and Repotting
I am frequently asked how often an established tree or shrub should be repotted. It depends, first, on how fast it grows. A willow may need this attention twice a year, a conifer once in five years. A general rule is to repot flowering and fruiting plants about once a year, most deciduous varieties every other year, evergreens every three to five years. But don’t follow that schedule too literally. If a tree begins to wither or look weak, if its color turns sickly and it shows no sign of growth, if its roots are so packed they hump up the soil, root-pruning and repotting are often the “shot in the arm” that can save it.
The most favorable repotting seasons vary with types of plants and the climate. Again, it’s a good idea to consult some authority or reference book. In general, and in most areas, it is safe to repot evergreens, deciduous foliage varieties, and summer-or fall-flowering types in early spring before new growth begins. As for spring-flowering plants, repot immediately after flowering; for fruiting types, in early autumn before cold weather sets in.
As a side light, it is possible to use watertight containers minus drainage holes. That is rather desirable when a plant is to be displayed on finely finished furniture in the house. The container should be a shade larger than usual so that, in potting, a corner area or space along the side can be left empty and the soil sloped down toward it. If there is any standing water it will show up in this section. Just up-end the container and drain off the excess water. In the process make sure that the plant is not also drained off or disturbed. But that you will know from plain common sense.
If a pot has drainage holes, I always make sure they are partially covered with crockery or aluminum window screen so the soil will not sift down and clog the holes. To insure even better drainage, I screen the first layer so that it is coarse and granular, put a little soil on top, and then set the plant in place. In oblong or oval containers, the trunk is usually one-third of the distance from the end and a little behind the center line. Of course, that depends on the shape of the containers. In round or square containers, the plant is usually centered.
When planting, fill in the soil gradually. Use a pencil, or if you have the true Oriental feeling, a chopstick, to tuck the soil in tightly around the roots. Whatever you use, be sure to eliminate any pockets of air. Roots don’t like it. As to how tightly you pack it, that depends on the type of plant and the texture of the soil. If your soil is built up around the edges and sloped toward the center, you will have a depression that will hold water until it can seep down to the roots below. Unless you have some particular plan or design, finish off the surface with a ground cover of moss, or perhaps a layer of gravel. Moss is not only an added attraction but functions as a mulch and delays the evaporation of moisture from the soil underneath.
After repotting, soak the soil thoroughly, and soak the container, which is probably dried out. Mist the foliage and remove any debris such as fallen leaves and petals. Then keep the plant sheltered for several weeks until it is re-established. Remember, it has had what a human being would regard as a major operation.
Some of the most appealing bonsai plants are grown with their roots around a rock of interesting and harmonious size, shape, color, and texture. Soft, porous tufa is especially good for this purpose because you can cut and shape it easily. You can hollow out cavities and crevices, just the place for roots to grow. Any rock should have a stable base. Please don’t let it tip or wobble.
For this sort of planting, select a healthy plant in vigorous growth with roots long enough to reach down the side of the stone. Prune away any roots that are too short or dead, and remove the soil from the others. Set the base of the trunk in place on top of the rock and arrange the roots so that the tips reach down and can be buried in the soil in the container. Both roots and plant may need to be anchored in place for a while; that is, until they can stand on their own.
Such plants naturally need special watering and protection for the first few months, perhaps even for a year or so. You can help them along by rubbing soil into the roots after they are fastened in place, or covering them temporarily with a thin layer of moist moss. Should you do any repotting, be careful not to loosen the roots on the rock.
Recently, in the home of one of my Redding neighbors, I saw a bonsai arrangement that pretty much follows what I have been describing above, except that it goes it one better. This gardener, in the search for the “right” rock, had walked miles along the stone fences that divide fields, woods, and properties in our area. Eventually she found a beautifully weathered specimen with a large pocket in the top. This she filled with a rich, moisture-holding soil mixture, encasing some of the roots of her bonsai in it. Then she set the rock in water in a shallow container to help keep it moist. Someday I am going to defy the snakes that are said to lurk in the cracks and crevices of our rock walls and see if I can’t find something to approximate what my neighbor discovered. I hope it will have a few lichens on it. That would be a crowning touch of age and antiquity.
Shaping and Pruning
These are the techniques, says one author, that “make bonsai culture an art.” That statement alone is sufficient reason to invalidate just about all of the specific rules. But there are others—the wide variations among plants and types of plants, plus the personal element, the variances in personal tastes and degrees of artistry.
Instead of trying to cover bonsai pruning and wiring in complete detail (there are many excellent books on the subject), I’d rather speak from personal experience and set down the basic principles as I see them and have used them. By following these principles—not word for word, or too literally, but with your own creative ingenuity and imagination—I feel you can shape a true bonsai plant, or adaptations in the bonsai manner.
First, let’s define the objective—a miniature tree or shrub with every part in perfect scale, the line and design of trunk and branches clearly outlined and not forced or distorted but naturally picturesque. If you start with a very small plant, a seedling, or a rooted cutting, the choice of shape and design is mostly up to you. But more mature plants almost always suggest their own form. A trunk may be slightly twisted, a branch slightly bent, the leaves or needles heavier in one area than another. You simply carry on the illusion in as natural a manner as possible.
In pruning, the first step is to remove all weak or dead wood, and any unwanted branches that cross unattractively or perhaps go off in the wrong direction. Then, you decide whether more branches should be pruned away—to reveal the basic form of the tree in general or the trunk in particular; to lighten the over-all effect; to help create the desired symmetrical or asymmetrical shape. If the plant has been root-pruned, the top should be pruned proportionally. Top growth and roots should always be kept in balance. Growing tips are pinched or cut back to encourage the development of side shoots, or merely to keep the plant in dwarf proportions.
From here on, pruning depends on the plant and the planned design. Slow-growing types may need trimming only once a year; others need constant attention. Any undesirable or excess growth is best removed while the plant is still young so the operation won’t leave an unsightly scar. Needles that are too long can be cut down to proper size from time to time. Leaves that are too large and heavy can be severely thinned. Because fruit that is too plentiful can weaken a dwarfed tree severely, some of it should be removed.
At repotting time you may find a few roots immediately under the soil surface that have enlarged to such a good size they can be exposed above the soil. If possible, spread them out slightly so they form a swelling base for the trunk. This is fun, but takes a bit of doing. You don’t want to end up with something that resembles an unanchored telegraph pole with leaves at the top.
Stems, branches, and trunks are trained by wiring them and then bending them along the lines you desire. Wiring is best done in the spring. New growth is just starting and the older woody parts are more supple and pliant. If the soil is left dry a few days before wiring, the wood will be even easier to work with. You can use ordinary galvanized wire. If you happen to have only copper wire, try annealing it. Hold it in a fire and then plunge it into cold water. The weight and strength of the wire will depend on the size of the trunk or branch with which you are working. Be careful not to get a wire that is so stiff you can’t bend it easily.
As to the actual process, first fasten one end of the wire. Perhaps you wrap it around the trunk, or better still, stick it deeply into the soil. Next coil it rather loosely around the branch that is being trained and fasten it again at the end. Now, using both hands, bend the wired branch in the direction you want it to go. Be firm, but be gentle and cautious. Ease up if the branch shows signs of breaking or being injured. Don’t hurry the job. If necessary, only bend it a little the first time. Bend it a little more the next week, and the weeks after that. If you are tempted to rush, stop and think of the bonsai creations you have seen on display at flowers shows. Usually you will have seen a card that says the creation is fifty or more years old. Be especially careful with old hardened growth or plants with tender bark that is easily bruised or broken. Most important, once you start to bend a branch, don’t change your mind and try to bend it back the original way. It will almost surely die. Plan before you act.
Depending on the type and age of the plant, wires may be left in place for six months, a year, or even more. However, watch carefully for signs that the plant is being choked or disfigured due to heavy growth.
There are also some easy ways to train parts of plants without wiring them. Branches can be pulled down to a horizontal line by looping soft cord around them and hitching it to the container. They can be made to hang down, or weep, by hanging weights at the tips. If you want to straighten a trunk, tie it with something strong, like raffia, to a straight bamboo stake. To narrow a wide fork between two branches, pull them together with raffia. To widen a fork, prop it apart with a light wooden wedge.
Location
Whether you have a collection of bonsai growing on tables or benches, or perhaps just a few plants, in summer give them outdoor growing quarters where there is a free circulation of air. Full sunlight is good except during the hottest weeks or months. Be careful to protect them against hot, drying winds and burning sun, which they cannot stand. Being in small containers, excessive heat or dryness is dangerous. We had some old bamboo shades that once enclosed our porch which were good protection. We also had some lath screens which came in handy. Lacking either, hang up old sheets or sections of burlap. You can help by keeping it moist with the garden hose.
Watering
Many factors determine how often your plants should be watered—age, type, size, how recently they were repotted, size of root system, and the usual climatic conditions such as temperature and humidity. About the only concrete thing I can say is that your plants will resent neglect, and will show it. Newly potted plants should be kept moist constantly until they begin to make new growth or show other signs that they have recovered from pruning and transplanting. For plants that are established, the ideal is limited moisture in the soil. Don’t keep it so wet that rank growth is encouraged. And please beware of rot. That is one of the most evil of evils when you are too generous with the watering can. At the other extreme, the soil shouldn’t be so dry that the plant wilts beyond recovery. You, as a grower, will have to determine this for yourself. I do it by feeling the soil in the container. If it feels moist to the fingers, no water is needed. Let it feel dry and it probably needs a drink. When you do water, be thorough. Make sure the soil is so completely moistened that the excess water runs out the drainage hole in the bottom of the container.
Fertilizing
There is a definite, delicate balance between too much and too little fertilizer for a bonsai plant. Too much food and it grows too large and is loaded with large foliage, flowers, and fruit. If you feed it too sparingly, it will suffer from malnutrition. I most certainly wish I could give you an exact rule to use. I fear no one can. Requirements differ for different plants. All I can offer is a few basic principles. The rest is up to you.
For the first few months after you have repotted a plant in fresh soil, withhold all fertilizer. Don’t fertilize a plant that is weak or sick or approaching dormancy, and don’t fertilize when the soil in the pot is dry. Be alert to fading leaf color, reluctant growth, and all similar signs that a plant is suffering for want of nutrients. These signs may be most apparent during the spring season of most active growth.
Organic fertilizers such as bone meal, liquid manure, or fish emulsion are usually recommended, and should be used sparingly in weak solutions. The purpose of this feeding is to keep the plant healthy but still small, and not to encourage larger growth.
Insects and Disease
My bonsai plants are much too precious to take chances with any sort of infection or insect infestation. As a preventative, I use an all-purpose aerosol bomb regularly, according to directions on the label. Constantly I keep a sharp eye for any signs of trouble. Thank goodness, up to now I have had no serious threats, but should they come along, there is a remedy I have used on other plants. I would dip them, container and all, in an appropriate solution, thus making sure it would penetrate every crevice and cover every surface. For outdoor bonsai and the problems most likely to beset plants while in their summer quarters, I have elsewhere discussed insects and diseases of trees and shrubs. Those general principles also apply to bonsai.
Winter Care
In areas where freezing temperatures are the rule or, as here in Connecticut, where temperatures are much lower, dwarfed potted trees and shrubs should spend the winter where the soil in the small containers will not freeze. We have a tight cold frame where we plunge the pots into the soil, then cover everything with straw and salt hay. Those who happen to have an unheated porch, one that is glassed in, but where the temperature does not go below freezing, have a good winter quarters. But, be careful, don’t let the soil in the containers dry out completely. Keep a watchful eye.
After that warning, may I offer another. Please don’t coddle plants by keeping them warm in the house or greenhouse. A cool period of complete rest is often very beneficial, or even a touch of frost.