Making your own Bonsai....in pictures...it's not so hard if you don't expect perfection...

I'll try anything once...if its not illegal, immoral or stupid.

One of the things that I keep trying and trying is the fascinating art of Bonsai. I have books on Bonsai; several of them. I am obsessed with the process of turning an ordinary potted plant (in this case, a Buxus Sempervirens - Dwarf English Boxwood) into a tree in miniature. Instead of writing a lot of words on the subject tonight, I'm going to illustrate it for you in photographs. I know you can get this stuff on other websites, by Bonsai pro's, and I'm not a pro. But it is sometimes encouraging to learn something from a friend, and not a professional. Professional perfectionism can be intimidating. You won't be intimidated by my Bonsai skills.




This is what I was shooting for when I bought an English Boxwood yesterday.
This comes from the book "The Living Art of Bonsai'
by Professor Amy Liang
An excellent book with lots of examples and information
about growing and maintaining Bonsai.

I told my husband today that I had a hankerin' for makin' a Bonsai,

 a miniature tree. Again.

I get on a Bonsai Binge about once every year or two.

Though I have made them before, but the real trick is as much in

maintaining them through a hot summer as it is making them.

So although I've done this again and again, I must keep trying.

We went to Home Depot and found this potted, untamed beauty for $4.45.

A bargain indeed! With a thick trunk, it should make a great Bonsai.

(And if you want to make it into a Bonsai,

 and you aren't a professional, it better be a bargain.)

I chose this English Boxwood for three reasons.
1. English Boxwoods make great Bonsai trees.
2. It was cheap, probably because it had been in the ground for a while before they sent it to Home Depot.
3. It had this great trunk, thick leaf growth, and exposed, developed roots.

After you've decided what you are shooting for,

(I wanted a tree with an interesting trunk...something...interesting.)

I hold down the branches and decide "does this look good? Does this look stupid")
If it doesn't break while I'm holding it down,
then I save it for wiring.

The first cut is the hardest. Do a little planning before you begin:
Look beneath the leaves, and figure out what you have under all that foliage.
 Then you can decide what to keep and what to discard. Be gentle as you do these things.
This boxwood was brittle, and in the process of making it into a Bonsai,
I did loose a couple of desirable limbs. But, hey. It's just for fun. Right?

It was really difficult to decide how low to trim the boxwood.
I decided to go easy on her, and trimmed less than I think may look best.
Take it slow. You can always cut off more, but you can't put it back.



Wiring a Bonsai is an art in itself. You may want to look up how to
wire a Bonsai before you start.
I'm not very good at it, but I stumble through it.
 I used copper wire in different sizes.
You wrap the branches around and around,
so you can arrange them to grow in an attractive way,
 and keep them in that position until the wood hardens up and stays that way.

When I was done with my creation, I cut the pot off the root ball.
I didn't want to damage the work I'd done.

This is a picture of my Bonsai, first night. I have potted it in a temporary pot, and I will keep it here until it has survived the winter. In March, I will take it out of here, and move it into a medium sized Bonsai pot (a little wider than the branching width.) I will trim only the roots necessary to keep the plant alive. *see note below.
I have to admit, even I have done better,
but working with such a mature plant was much
more difficult for me than working with smaller, fresher plants.

You know, my Bonsai is at the "awkward teenager" stage. Actually, it turned out to look a lot like some of my artwork, like "Old Queen Elizabeth", above. I am not finished with this bonsai, yet. I have potted it in a larger pot than I want, and I'm going to give it a rest and save trimming the roots for another time, after I've had time to think about the type of pot I want to use. For now, I'm ready to tackle the Azalea I just bought. This one should be interesting, too.

You might want to try your own hand at making a bonsai. You can do it. My advice is start with an inexpensive plant, go easy on it, and just have fun. Don't expect perfection...nature isn't perfect, either.

Update - One Year Later:

I thought you'd want to see the above Bonsai after one year. I have done more trimming as I saw fit, and have kept new growth to a minimum. It is slowly becoming more of the vision I had in mind when it was begun.

Just as I said I should, I did leave this tree for planting into a Bonsai pot until March. At that time, I removed it from the blue pot. I trimmed the roots as much as I could, *leaving enough large roots to anchor the plant and enough of the small, fine roots which are for water gathering. I like the look of a tree growing on a little hill, which also accommodated all the roots, so I allowed it to mound above the pot, as much for effect as for the health of the tree.
 

The front of this Bonsai is pictured at left, and the back is pictured at right. I chose the one on the left to be called the front because I like the roots showing. Unfortunately, I have once again lost a couple of branches when potting this year, due to brittleness. I am hoping some new branches will start next spring. If so, I will find one worth keeping, and train it to grow to replace the lost branch. Around the base, I added local moss which I found around my apartment, and some micro-thyme, as a ground cover. It's healthy and doing well. We keep it well watered, and fertilize occasionally with fish emulsion, at half strength.

Bonsai is not an art for the impatient soul...unless you buy one ready made by someone else who has the patience of Job. But Bonsai is well worth waiting for. I just like being able to say, I did this one, myself.

...So what if everyone else is thinking..."Yes...I believe you..." :)