Feeding Bonsai Trees

Feeding plays a very vital role in ensuring good health for the bonsai trees. Hence it becomes very essential to have a good understanding of the kind of fertilizers to feed your bonsai trees, and the right kind of schedule to be followed based on the season and the kind of plant.

Since the bonsai plants grow in shallow pots, they have limited amount of soil available to meet all their requirements for nutrients. There fore it becomes very essential for them to be fed regularly. Fertilizers have three basic components Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. Nitrogen helps the plant in processing the proteins and hormones and generally helps the bonsai tree to have healthy leaves and stems. Phosphorus aids in the overall growth of the plant. Potassium helps in strengthening the root system, and aids in the overall health of the plant by assisting the tissue repair process. Other important elements that play a vital role in the plants growth are Calcium, Magnesium, Sulphur, Iron, Copper, Boron, Manganese etc. Use of fertilizers should be made judiciously as too much of it and at the wrong time might cause more harm to the plant than good.

During the growing season of the plant that is from late spring to early summers you should use a high nitrogen content fertilizers for your bonsai plant, this should be applied once every two weeks. During the mid summer time when the temperatures are very high you should not feed your bonsai trees, and for the late summer season feed with a low nitrogen based fertilizers so that it will aid in the growth of the trunks and the twigs.

You can either use a liquid feed or a solid feed for your bonsai. Liquid feed allows the fertilizers to seep into the soil and retained for a prolonged duration of time. It is also a well accepted rule that feeding should be stopped during the winter season, or the dormant season of the plant. Feeding plants which are unhealthy is also not advisable. The roots of the bonsai plants need to be in good health to do absorb the feed and produce good results. Hence immediate feeding after carrying out re potting should be avoided as the roots would already be stressed by the root pruning carried during the re potting exercise.

Cherry Bonsai

Cherry Bonsai is one of the most commonly used tree for bonsai. It is well liked by beginners. The beautiful flowers and pleasant smell adds a lot of sense to growing it.

They need a balanced exposure to sunlight. Being a flowering plant it would need more fertilizers, but avoid feeding during the flowering season. It also need good amount of watering. Ideally watering the roots should be enough, water on the flowers might result in their decaying.

Repotting of cherry bonsai should be carried out during the spring season, and once every two years. You should carry out some root pruning during this time as well.

Bonsai Junipers

Bonsai Junipers have been around since a very long time. Juniperus is a genus which comprises more than 60 species of shrubs and trees. The proliferation of junipers as a bonsai material can be attributed to their ability to survive in harsh conditions. They generally sustain lack of good quality soil and respond well to heavy pruning exercises. Junipers also tend to develop a good root system pretty easily.

The most important thing to remember with junipers and for that matter any coniferous trees is that, they are supposed to be grown outdoors. When grown indoors they become unhealthy. Bonsai Junipers require good amount of sunlight and variations in atmospheric conditions to do well, which cannot be easily replicated indoors.

Junipers are quite allergic to heavy watering and don’t do well in a damp soil. If you intend to carry out some major pruning exercise on your bonsai juniper, then late spring is the best time for it. During the growing season you should pluck off the tips on the new buds using the thumb and the first finger. This is something which can be practiced across all conifer varieties and not just junipers.

Junipers have needles which can easily pierce the skin and produce rashes; hence you should use protective gloves when handling bonsai junipers.

They can be grown in a variety of bonsai styles, but is not very suitable for the broom and upright style of bonsai.


Bonsai Junipers do well when kept in the full sun, and the soil is allowed to dry out before watering again. Unlike many other bonsai varieties, junipers are quite hardy and can be kept outside during the winter season. However you have to be cautious and see to it that frost does not form on the root balls of the bonsai tree.

For more information please visit, TheBonsaiHub.

Azalea Bonsai

Azalea bonsai is very popular amongst bonsai lovers. It is a flowering shrub, with a very unique feature. It generally has one flower per flower stem. Satsuki azalea and kurume azalea are two of the most commonly found varieties.

Azalea Bonsai Care.

• Keep it away from direct exposure to sulight. This would be harmful for the flowers.
  


• Generally the shrub prefers a damp soil. Mix one table spoon of vinegar with about 10 litres of water and use the mixutre to water you azalea bonsai once every month.
  


• Feed the bonsai tree in the spring, once every two weeks. Once the flowers start to bloom stop using fertilizers.
  


• Prune your azalea bonsai during the end of the growing season, when new flowering has stopped.
  

Indoor bonsai trees

Growing an Indoor bonsai tree is a challenge in itself. It is a great learning process for any bonsai practitioner. It is all about having an eye for the details and understanding the basic requirements of the plants. Every plant give a tell tale sign when something is wrong with it. With indoor bonsai it becomes ever more important that you perceive the messages and signs that your plant gives. For example when the plant is not watered enough the leaves start to turn yellow and some species even have loss of foliage. Loss of vigor and growth might be a precursor towards repotting your bonsai. Absence of good bloom in your flowering bonsai might be due to insufficient exposure to sunlight. Similarly there could be a lot of other hints which when paid attention to will reveal some lacuna in your bonsai plant care schedule. So it is very important that you be patient, and feel responsible for the well being of your Indoor bonsai tree.

With the basic things looked after properly, some varieties of bonsai trees can be kept indoors all round the year. Although it is better to bring them out in the sun during the frost free months.

Some of the most commonly found Indoor bonsai trees can be highlighted below:

• Desert Rose.
  


• Bougainvillea bonsai.
  


• Boxwood bonsai.
  


• Ficus bonsai.
  


• Gardenia bonsai.
  


• Fukien Tea bonsai.
  


• Bush Cherry bonsai.
  


• Ivy bonsai.
  


• Olive bonsai.
  


• Chinese Elm bonsai.
  


• Rosemary bonsai.
  


• Dwarf Pomegranate bonsai.
  

The list can go on, and there are lots of other varieties of bonsai that do well when grown indoors.

It is best to choose a species which grows in a climate that resembles closely to the atmosphere inside our houses, and which does not have a varying seasonal requirement.

For more on bonsai please visit TheBonsaiHub.

Basic Bonsai Guidelines

To create a beautiful bonsai you would need to master a lot of techniques, but there are some basic guidelines which every grower must be aware of. Few of them are highlighted below:

• The trunk of the bonsai should be wider at the base and should taper towards the top.
  


• The height of the tree should be around 6 times the width.
  


• Ideally you should have only one throne or apex for your bonsai trees.
  


• Two branches growing in opposite directions should not be in the same line.
  


• The thickness of the branch should ideally be one-third the thickness of the trunk.
  


• If you apply Jin or Shari techniques on your bonsai, then ensure that they are clearly visible to the viewer.
  


• The depth of your bonsai pot should be proportional to the height of the tree, and the width should be around two-thirds the height.
  


• The shape of the bonsai pot must compliment the style being followed, for example a rectangular pot looks best for an upright style. Choosing the right color for the pot is also very essential.
  

There are many more simple techniques that would go a long way in making a beautiful bonsai. Please visit TheBonsaiHub to learn more about these techniques.

Ficus Bonsai

Ficus Bonsai is one of the most commonly found variety in the bonsai world. It is a great material for Indoor training, as it is quite hardy and weather resistant.

Some varieties of figs bear both flowers as well as small fruits, which increases their aesthetic beauty. They do well when grown in partly shady conditions with humus rich moist soil.

As they are mainly found in the tropical regions of the world, figs are used to growing in arid conditions, and hence do well when kept indoors. They are quite tolerant and have proven to be a great tree for training by beginners to bonsai art.

Ficus bonsai should be wired during the growing season, and it is best to wire it just before the new growth hardens.

For more information on ficus bonsai please visit:
TheBonsaiHub