Prepare Your Bonsai Instantly
People have a feel that making a bonsai is almost like maturing scotch whiskey, which takes many years.So they avoid going in the fine art of bonsai. But there is a short cut called Instant Bonsai. It is all about creating a natural miniature landscape using moss and readily available plants. It is delicate but bold , it can impress your guests.
Follow easy steps to make it happen .
1. Start this activity in early spring as it is the ideal time to pot the plants. Avoid winter when the plants are dormant.
2. Choose from wide range of evergreen or deciduous sapling trees, shrubs or perennials.
3. Select your soil first : take three part of baked clay particles, one part peat soil and one part black lava rock. These specialty soils meet the needs of smaller containers as they absorb and retain moisture as well as allow excess water to drain.
4. Mix this soil with small part of bonsai or general purpose organic fertilizer. Make sure that the pot you select is wide and less in size, it has a drainage hole in the bottom this will help to prevent the roots from sitting in water thus rotting.
5. Now cut a square of wire mesh to size and position it over the drainage hole. This will stop the potting mix from falling through and prevent clogging , enabling vital airflow.
6. Cut a small section of aluminum wire with wire-cutters and bend it into U-shape. Insert this wire through the middle of the mesh. Make sure the wire ends come through the drainage hole , then bend them so that they are flush with the
bottom of the bowl to fix the mesh in place.
7. Choose a plant out of the pot or soil. We have chosen a Japanese Black pine. (see in the picture)
8. Use tweezers, carefully remove as much of the soil from the surface and root ball as possible, than tease out the roots. Task is simple now, prune back any log roots.
9. Put a thin layer of black lava rock in the base of the pot for extra drainage, then pour in a little of the soil mix to the correct height for the root ball of chosen plant.
10. Now place the plant to fit the miniature landscape design-it does not have to be centered.We are going to recreate the look of a tree growing out of the mossy mall.
11. Once satisfied with the plant's positioning, start the fill
in around it with soil mix.
12. Use chopstick and/or pencil start mixing for the soil in the pot than press it with a spatula.
13. Moisten and clean-up pieces of moss and position them around the base of the pine. Look to see if the moss is growing in the particular direction and try to add pieces in contrasting directions. Leave a portion of the soil uncovered .
14. To finish , pour a top dressing of black lava rock over the bare piece of soil to create the effect of water and add interesting texture. Smooth over the black lava rock with a spatula and water everything well. Water mister will help to keep moss green and shiny.
15. Place the bonsai outdoors ideally since it needs direct but not the strong sunlight. If wish to keep it inside, keep in a well ventilated room. Position where plant wont dry out. Protect from frost during the winter season, it should not be kept somewhere too wet.
16. As the small containers dry out quickly so it requires regular watering.During spring and fall water it once in a day, in summer twice a day and during winter water once in 2-3 days.
17. The fertilizer used at the time of planting normally last one to two years. Add additional fertilizer by gently mixing it into the soil, but use a tiny bit as the whole idea is to keep the plant growing too big.
18. To keep bonsai small, prune long growth back to a branch or secondary bud that is going to continue growing. Trim back long roots every 3 to 4 years in early spring. Re-pot when the plant fills the pot and roots come through the drainage hole.
Follow easy steps to make it happen .
1. Start this activity in early spring as it is the ideal time to pot the plants. Avoid winter when the plants are dormant.
2. Choose from wide range of evergreen or deciduous sapling trees, shrubs or perennials.
3. Select your soil first : take three part of baked clay particles, one part peat soil and one part black lava rock. These specialty soils meet the needs of smaller containers as they absorb and retain moisture as well as allow excess water to drain.
4. Mix this soil with small part of bonsai or general purpose organic fertilizer. Make sure that the pot you select is wide and less in size, it has a drainage hole in the bottom this will help to prevent the roots from sitting in water thus rotting.
5. Now cut a square of wire mesh to size and position it over the drainage hole. This will stop the potting mix from falling through and prevent clogging , enabling vital airflow.
6. Cut a small section of aluminum wire with wire-cutters and bend it into U-shape. Insert this wire through the middle of the mesh. Make sure the wire ends come through the drainage hole , then bend them so that they are flush with the
bottom of the bowl to fix the mesh in place.
7. Choose a plant out of the pot or soil. We have chosen a Japanese Black pine. (see in the picture)
8. Use tweezers, carefully remove as much of the soil from the surface and root ball as possible, than tease out the roots. Task is simple now, prune back any log roots.
9. Put a thin layer of black lava rock in the base of the pot for extra drainage, then pour in a little of the soil mix to the correct height for the root ball of chosen plant.
10. Now place the plant to fit the miniature landscape design-it does not have to be centered.We are going to recreate the look of a tree growing out of the mossy mall.
11. Once satisfied with the plant's positioning, start the fill
in around it with soil mix.
12. Use chopstick and/or pencil start mixing for the soil in the pot than press it with a spatula.
13. Moisten and clean-up pieces of moss and position them around the base of the pine. Look to see if the moss is growing in the particular direction and try to add pieces in contrasting directions. Leave a portion of the soil uncovered .
14. To finish , pour a top dressing of black lava rock over the bare piece of soil to create the effect of water and add interesting texture. Smooth over the black lava rock with a spatula and water everything well. Water mister will help to keep moss green and shiny.
15. Place the bonsai outdoors ideally since it needs direct but not the strong sunlight. If wish to keep it inside, keep in a well ventilated room. Position where plant wont dry out. Protect from frost during the winter season, it should not be kept somewhere too wet.
16. As the small containers dry out quickly so it requires regular watering.During spring and fall water it once in a day, in summer twice a day and during winter water once in 2-3 days.
17. The fertilizer used at the time of planting normally last one to two years. Add additional fertilizer by gently mixing it into the soil, but use a tiny bit as the whole idea is to keep the plant growing too big.
18. To keep bonsai small, prune long growth back to a branch or secondary bud that is going to continue growing. Trim back long roots every 3 to 4 years in early spring. Re-pot when the plant fills the pot and roots come through the drainage hole.
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