Bonsai How To

Who doesn’t want to grow indoor Bonsai trees? After all, there is something satisfying about seeing a tree inside (especially Bonsai trees) and it can kind of be simple to forget a tree that’s outside. You might be surprised to learn that not all Bonsai trees are grown indoors – I was when I first got into Bonsai trees. Outdoor trees can be easier. They have full access to light, rain and the elements. Indoor Bonsai trees don’t. But there are certain species that will work better as indoor trees, so let’s have a look at what you need to be taking into account when growing Bonsai trees indoors.

Indoor trees have many benefits over their outdoor counterparts. For example they will keep their leaves all year round instead of being a shaped ‘stick’ in the winter time. The trees that you will grow inside are traditionally tropical plants (they need to be to survive the warmer temps of human habitation). Tropical plants do grow a bit quicker which you will find speeds up the Bonsai process – it can knock a lot of time from the starting point to the stage where you switch from growing to maintaining. This you might find helpful.

The main issue with growing trees inside is lighting. Trees require plenty of light so they should be placed in rooms with a lot of sun. Next to a window will usually be a good idea.

Tropical trees will usually be OK all year around with warmer temperatures.. They might like a slightly cooler period in the night times, but sometimes not. Check what the species that you are growing likes to determine where the tree should be in your house. Some trees might need a cool location during winter (mainly the non-tropical trees).

One thing to be aware of it humidity. Houses tend to have quite a low humidity but most often these trees aren’t fans of that. Some people place a bowl of water under or next to their Bonsai trees (don’t sit the pot in the water) to keep the humidity for the tree up. You might find that misting your tree once or twice a day is helpful but this requires a commitment to be regular.

Suitable species for the indoor Bonsai includes the Fiscus (benjamina and eriifolia). This tree is an excellent indoor tree, it’s tropical and you will find it relatively simple to look after. This tree can get stressed very easily however. If it does, the leaves may fall off. This can result of shifting the tree or by over or under watering.

The Jade tree is also a very common tree to be grown as an indoor Bonsai, and you can take a look at that article for more info on the tree. It’s a South African tree and it likes warm temps.

Indoor Bonsai trees have many benefits to outdoor trees but they also have many weaknesses. If you find that indoor trees are too hard to grow, try an outdoor one or vice versa. Regardless of the tree that you grow, indoor or outdoor, a Bonsai tree is bound to be a great hobby to start.

View my free picture guide for essential Bonsai inspiration!

image 1 by PhotoOptik

image 2 by Syromaniac

image 3 by marsi

Outside, this Bonsai tree can survive and get the changes that it needs.

There are two primary types of Bonsai trees – indoor trees and outdoor trees. Most people will want an indoor tree, at least at first thought. Of course you want it to be shown indoors where it can be seen and appreciated! Many people live in apartments or have no space outside for a Bonsai. In these situations, an indoor tree might be more appropriate.

HOWEVER, most trees aren’t meant to be grown inside which is why the majority of experts say that outdoor Bonsai trees are easier. This may seem contrary to what you might expect. After all, many trees require a specific temperature or climate, and putting the tree outside gets rid of a lot of that control that you have for an indoors tree. Still, outdoor Bonsai trees are usually easier to grow if you’re growing the right species.

This is because the tree gets the extremes that it needs to. Unless you’re growing a tree from South Africa (like the Jade) which requires a warm temperature to thrive the majority of trees that you can buy are suited to the extremes that we have. This means cold nights, and warm days. Evolution has done them well to survive in these conditions, and it goes beyond simply surviving, rather requiring the temperatures and seasonal changes in order to live.

The Bonsai tree is a famous addition to a Japanese Garden.

Outdoor Bonsai trees include the following species: Cedar, Japanese Black Pine, Larch, Pines, Junipers. If the tree is an evergreen or a deciduous tree then it should be fine to leave outside.

OK, so I may have made it sound like outdoor Bonsai trees are very easy to grow compared to their indoor cousins. It primarily depends on the species that you are using. If you are growing a tree that needs the winter period then you need to grow it outside. If the leaves fall off then you will probably need to grow it outside.

An outdoor Bonsai tree can be displayed in many ways. For example you can put it on a deck, balcony or on a patio. You can still enjoy your Bonsai tree even if it’s outside. With a Bonsai tree it’s much easier to get the balance right – if the tree is inside it can be very tempting and very easy to work on your tree all the time. For example if something happened to your tree (leaves fell off etc) then it’s tempting and very easy to ‘work on your tree all the time’, making things often worse, not better. Placing a tree outside can help to get the balance right (please see lesson four of my e-course for more details on getting this balance correct).

You might be surprised to learn that many Bonsai trees thrive under the outdoors conditions. You may have thought that all trees should be kept indoors which is what I thought when I got involved with Bonsai trees. It’s just not true – if the species requires the intensities of the seasons and of ‘real life’ then you will need to keep it outdoors.

Check with the species of tree that you are growing to make sure that you will be growing it in the right conditions for survival.

What is a Bonsai tree? This is a Bonsai tree.

So, you’ve discovered that your local gardens have a Bonsai tree exhibition, and while that sounds very cool, just what is a Bonsai tree? While of course there are variations on explanations, a Bonsai tree is effectively a potted tree that has been sculpted to look like a real one, as in a tree that is growing in the wild. To Bonsai a tree is to employ a variety of techniques and skills to create the effect that the mini tree is a much bigger one.

Bonsai is a form of art that came out of China many many hundreds of years ago. The trees then weren’t the sculpted masterpieces that we know of today – they were trees planted in small pots and left to their own devices. As the idea spread across to Japan, someone had the bright idea of training the tree in order to create the effect of the larger tree.

Here is a range of Bonsai trees.

Bonsai trees can be made out of virtually any type of tree. There are of course species that will work better and are more suited to creating Bonsai trees and many people recommend that you start with these – they are tried and true. There are also a large number of styles that can be created with Bonsai trees:

Formal Upright: This style is well suited to tall and proud trees, like pines. This gives the illusion of a ‘Forest King’ and has a tall and imposing structure. This tree is straight up and down – no bends.

Informal Upright: This is the most common of all the Bonsai tree styles. It’s also one of the most common styles in nature. The tree still goes straight up and down, but it bends a little along the way, twisting and turning to create a smaller and realistic appearance.

Cascade: This is a great tree style. This tree is designed to look like it it hanging off the edge of a cliff and the Bonsai version of it must extend below the bottom of the pot that the tree lives in.

This is an informal upright Bonsai that has wire on it (to shape the tree).

A Bonsai tree is created in many ways. It can be grown from a seed or from a cutting, from a sapling or a ready made tree. The shape is created with extensive pruning, careful pot selection (to control the roots) and with wiring. Wiring is where a piece of strong wire is wrapped around the tree in order to bend the trunk and bend the branches into the shape that the designer wants.

Pruning is done so that the buds and the branches can be controlled. With a successful Bonsai tree there is a balance between what the tree wants to do and what the designer wants to do. Pots are also selected to limit or encourage root growth and also for the shapes they can create with the tree.

Growing a beautiful Bonsai can take a lot of time. The best Bonsai trees are many years old, however a beautiful tree can start to be seen after just a couple of years. The trees of course and living and breathing so the art changes depending what the artist wants to do with it and the time of year. Bonsai trees act just like real trees – so if a tree’s leaves turn orange and fall off in autumn, that’s what will happen. Some Bonsai trees can even bear fruit if they are fruit trees.

So what is a Bonsai tree? Well, put simply, it’s a living, breathing piece of art. It’s the careful taming of nature to create the image of a large tree but in miniature. It’s a combination of so many factors, and what you end up with is a tree that is to be ogled at. Everyone is impressed by Bonsai trees.

If you’re interested in creating a Bonsai tree, take a look at my picture book and course. It’s free and will let you see what goes into creating a Bonsai tree. Of course, please feel free to explore the rest of the website.

image 1 by Pete Barr-Watson

image 2 by Mr. T in DC

image 3 by OpenEye

image 4 by randomwire