Bonsai - An Introduction|

Bonsai - An Introduction|

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Bonsai means plant in a pot in Japanese, this is from the two words bon and sai. It is a very old eastern form of art utilising plants. It originated in China over 1,000 years ago. Buddhist monks introduced the art form of bonsai to Japan, caring for these dwarfed plants and trees with the greatest of care. Bonsai was then practised and developed in Japan. Bonsai requires the tending of trees of a long period of time to produce lovely elegant specimens.

Although not always clear nowadays the bonsai was developed as an outdoor plant. Nowadays there is a much greater percentage of bonsai kept indoors.

As the life of the plant and the input of the bonsai follower is ongoing bonsai undergoes continual change throughout its life. The changes in the weather will also impact upon bonsai. Many Japanese utilise bonsai to differentiate the elegance and charm of their gardens. Gardening as well as sculpturing brilliance is required to produce the finest of bonsai.

Bonsai in miniature is as varied as a world full of trees of differing appearances. To produce a bonsai the practitioner can utilise almost any trees and shrubs. That said there are definite favourites for use as bonsai. Some trees are better in respect of their ability to reflect the elegant artistic work carried out by practitioners. Maples, junipers, elms and hawthorns are good examples of trees selected for any bonsai that is to be situated outside.

To properly look after bonsai trees you need to repot them every three to five years and make sure that they are feed and watered on a regular basis. As the soil has limited levels of nutrients the bonsai needs repotted after four years or so as by that time the soil will be severely depleted with respect to the nutrients. For the best results you need to use a soil that drains quickly and is composed of a loose collection of peat or bark with some sand and shale. As bonsai can be attacked by disease it is necessary to be vigilant to quickly spot any problems. Windy and or sunny weather can readily dry out your bonsai tree and hence keep the soil watered on a regular basis. The foliage of some plants cultivated for bonsai, including the common Juniper, do not display signs of drying and damage until long after the damage is done. In fact they may even appear green and healthy despite having an entirely dead root system.

Bonsai wiring is one of the most powerful tools to control the shape of the tree. Bonsai are kept small by careful control of the plant's growing conditions. Each twig of the bonsai may require to be shaped to achieve the wanted overall effect.

About the Author:
By David Young who is known to write widely on the growth of bonsai Further articles are available at http://onlinebonsailovers.com



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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