carleton@elwood.DEC (Dennis Carleton) (03/13/85)
Anyone out there have any information on keeping bonsai trees ?? I am specifically interested in prices, ease of care, and any special environmental conditions needed. Thanks. DMC@DEC
mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate) (03/15/85)
I've just started with bonsai; I have a little juniper which I'm training as a formal upright, and a larger cherry which is in sort of a slanting style. (Watching the buds break in the spring is one of life's chief joys.) A nearby nursery (Behnke's for you D.C.ites) has bonsai for sale; they are fabulously expensive and, to my eye, not very impressive. If you do go out and buy one, be warned; there are three different kinds, each with it's own cultural requirements. First, there are tropical trees, such as dwarf pomegranates and Serissa Foetida. These are going to be trouble in the winter, unless you have a greenhouse or a VERY sunny room. On the plus side, you get pretty flowers and fruit. Conifers are very popular; Juniperus Procumbens Nana (creeping juniper) is the most common. These are probably the easiest to keep from killing, as they can stand a lot more winter abuse then the deciduous species. The only deciduous species I've seen for sale around here are boxwoods and azaleas. Deciduous trees are easier to prune and shape, but they need more care in the winter. Again, there are flowering species. My personal feeling is that starting from scratch is more rewarding. You're going to have to do most of the same things for a bought specimen anyway. Also, the inevitable mistakes you will make will be less painful when it isn't a $30 tree you're working on. In either case, you should get a good book on the subject; I recommend _The Beginner's Book of American Bonsai_, by Jerald P. Stovall (Kodansha Books). It has lots of inspiring illustrations, and is geared (as the title suggests) towards American beginners who don't have a lot of other guidance. For the rest of this article, I'll give some guidelines for bonsai care and development. The key elements to bonsai care are watering, pruning, wiring, and repotting. The first three are critical for maintaining the size and form of the tree; the fourth, which becomes necessary from time to time, must be done properly to insure that the tree will continue to thrive. Vigilance in watering is ESSENTIAL. Bonsai are ALWAYS potbound, so they will need multiple waterings in the summer. Letting them dry out for a week will almost certainly kill them, so find someone to look after them during a long trip. The trickiest time for deciduous trees is in the fall and winter, when there are no leaves to droop; I killed a little sweetgum this way. After the shoots grow out in the spring, you will need to prune them. Conifers get the new shoots pinched out before they harden; deciduous trees get clipped back to one or two nodes. Pruning is also used to shape the tree I can't give advice on this; you should consult illustrations in books and other models for ideas on how the things should be shaped. In early spring, wires are wrapped around branches to force them to grow in the desired positions; again, models should be consulted for ideas. Repotting is very important. There are things to watch for: root pruning, and soil composition. When a tree is put in a larger pot, some of the soil is removed from the roots, and they are clipped back to promote a denser root system. The new soil has to made up very carefully. It should drain very well, and should be very coarse. I use a mixture of vermiculite, potting soil, and sifted lumps from my garden (you throw away the stuff that sifts through). Straight commercial potting soil is BAD; it retains far too much water. Well, I guess that's about enough. Charley Wingate umcp-cs!mangoe