Bonsai are miniature trees, which have been created in this way thanks to patient care and transformation: sometimes, to create a bonsai, even years of work are required.
The art of bonsai born in China, and then perfected in Japan: it recalls the perfection that combines nature and art, so dear to the peoples of the East. For this reason, sometimes in the East bonsai were also cultivated that recreated specific scenes; and for the same reason bonsai trees are always given a specific, usually harmonious, shape. Many think that bonsai, forced to live in small pots, are plants in distress: this is not true, because the art of grow bonsai it lies precisely in the ability to form the plant and adapt it to the most suitable living conditions for its new dimension. And here we will have very small trees of olive, pine, peach and others; all housed in small pots that become one with the plant. If you decide to take care of a bonsai, you can choose to take care of a plant that we can buy in a garden shop, or we can decide to make our own bonsai. If we have patience and a little green thumb, the result is guaranteed.
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bonsai
The art of bonsai is something extremely ancient and elevated, an art that also in our country finds many followers and many enthusiasts. In this section of giardino.it entirely dedicates …
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Carmona
Hi, I received a bonsai as a gift and I would like to know more particular news than what I read on your site, which I think is very very useful: I can contact you or the expert in com …
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Bonsai
Hi! I wanted to ask one thing: I am very passionate about bonsai, but something just born and I would like to know how to make them, just take normal plants or need special plants …
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Bonsai cuttings
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If you are a beginner, it is advisable to choose a ficus, cypress, maple, azalea or pomegranate plant: these are more resistant trees than others, and therefore suitable for a first experience. Plants can be bought in specialized shops: the essential thing is that they are not too tall (no more than 30-35 centimeters, otherwise the transformation would become too difficult). You can also ask the staff of our trusted garden shop for advice: they will surely be able to point us to the most suitable tree for our purpose.
After you have found the right plant, you need to choose the pot: it is recommended to take a suitable one for growing a bonsai (also in this case, which can be purchased in shops specialized in gardening items). The pot (usually low rectangular pots) must be as wide as half the height of the plant: for a 40cm tall tree, a maximum 20cm wide pot is recommended. The maximum height that the pot can have is equal to 10 centimeters. The pot must be filled with soil suitable for bonsai: also in this case, special packages are sold in the same shops where you bought the plant and pot. After having obtained all the necessary, we can proceed with the realization of our bonsai.First of all, it is necessary to extract the plant we have chosen from the pot, and clean the roots from the earth (delicacy is recommended, to avoid breaking them). Then we take some gardening shears and start cutting the roots, pruning them by a third. Now let’s wash the roots under water: a fundamental operation, because we have to remove all the remaining soil from the bonsai.While the roots dry, let’s prepare the pot that will host our new bonsai: on the bottom we place a few balls of expanded clay to facilitate drainage (but gravel is fine too). Bonsai fear water stagnation, because it could cause rotting of the roots, causing the plant to die.Let’s place a first layer of soil on the bottom of the pot, a few centimeters high. Let’s settle on the roots of the plant and cover them with other soil. At this point, it is necessary to cut some branches of the bonsai, pruning it to get it to the size we want. We cut off the tips of the branches and, at the same time, give the plant the desired shape. It is also recommended to remove a few twigs from the innermost part of the canopy, to ensure that the leaves can take in as much light as possible. We also prune the upper part of the tree, by about five centimeters: in this way, its size will be considerably lower. If we want to give a certain shape to the bonsai (bonsai are in fact considered works of art) it is necessary to arrange some steel wire around the stem and branches, bending them in the shape we want: be careful not to break the branches, it is necessary to use a lot of delicacy (the steel wire can be removed after about four months). Water abundantly, and place the bonsai near a window, so that it absorbs natural light. There are also other methods of creating a bonsai: starting from sowing, for example, or from cutting (or even from layering). However, these are much more complicated procedures than the one just described, and therefore it is good to start gradually, so as not to have to see our work go to waste.
Once we have created our bonsai, or after we have bought one, we need to start taking care of it. The fundamental thing for the life of a bonsai is water: the soil must always be moist, as the bonsai quickly assimilates the water from the watering. In spring and autumn, it is good to help our bonsai with fertilization: we recommend special fertilizers for bonsai, which can be diluted directly in the watering. But there are also solid tablets, which simply have to be placed on the soil, next to the roots, and replaced periodically. We cannot forget to fertilize the bonsai: the soil that the plant has at its disposal to live very little, and it has no way, without fertilization, to find the nutrients it needs to survive. Repotting is a fundamental thing, which must be done every two years: it is important above all because you have the opportunity to change the soil, which over time will certainly be depleted of nutritional elements. During the repotting operation you can proceed with the pruning of the roots, cutting the larger ones and leaving the thinnest ones. In this way, the bonsai will be prevented from growing too much, losing the regularity of the shape. For this reason, the same importance covered by the pruning of the branches and the foliage, to be carried out periodically to prevent the plant from losing the shape we have given it. Attention: when cutting the roots, it is necessary not to prune them too close to the stem of the tree: by doing so, you will risk causing the death of the plant.
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