How do you bonsai a plant, eg: grow from seed and FORCE it to grow small?

Question

I am wondering how you make bonsai plants grow small... Something to do with cutting roots and training branches?

I have an interest in them and I am well aware it takes years and years but thats ok...

So for now Im just trying to figure a few things out...

Silk floss tree, monkey pod tree and pencil palm are a few I thought to look nice so far but I need to know how the plants grow small... I dont think they do it by themselves, so how can I find out step by step how to make a little plant small and turn it into a bonsai?

Answer 1

My goodness, you're receiving some strange advice. First, you must determine whether you want to grow a tree inside or outside, then pick a species. There are 100's of species used for bonsai.
How to keep a tree small?....Planting a tree in a container, OCCASIONALLY repotting and trimming the roots, and ALWAYS keeping the branches will keep it small. The trunk will continue to expand wider, and that's good! You may want to read more about bonsai on the Care page of my site:
http://www.american-bonsai.com . You're welcome to email me at [e-mail] with more specific questions, but I'll also need to know where you live so we can discuss the climate conditions.

Answer 2

Bonsai is complex. I took a six week course in it a few years ago and decided at the end it was too much work.

If you are serious, search for a bonsai club in your area; ask Japanese cultural clubs, at Japanese restarants and at stores carrying Japenese goods if they know one. Also check garden centres, continuing educaton providers, gardne clubs if they have courses. Then join the club or take the course.

Failing that, check your local library for bonsai books, sign them out and read them. When you find a good one that you like, then buy it.

Here is the method in a nutshell: Don't start from seed. Buy a tree at a nursery in a one gallon container, no larger -- best to use a tree that naturally tends to contorted branches. Buy a bonsai container and soil. Trim the roots of the tree so that they fit the container. Remove about half the branches, leaving a few well spaced ones. Find thin copper wire (try stripping vinyl from electrical wire), wrap around branches of tree then bend into interesting shapes. Cover soil with intersting stones, moss, grass etc. Water daily. Bend and trim branches monthly. Trim roots every 4-6 months. The root pruning and branch pruning will keep the plant small.

If the tree you pick is a tree that normally goes through a dormant period in winter, you will have to keep it outdoors for the winter. In fact, if the tree normally grows outdoors and is not a house plant, you will need to keep it outdoors.

Answer 3

Bonsai are not normally grown from seeds, but from cuttings which are started rooting by wrapping damp peat moss around an interesting branch until roots form. The branch is then cut off and planted in a limited amount of soil in a small pot. When it has formed more roots and is growing, the roots are kept trimmed in length and copper wire is wrapped around the parts of the branch to hold the bending into a form that looks like a full-sized tree, often one distorted by constant winds. Since it really is a tree, it takes years to grow into form and must get sun and be watered almost every day. About once a year, the tree is removed from its pot, the roots trimmed, new soil added and either returned to its pot or to one slightly larger. Classic bonsai may be decades old. Most American bonsai beginners start by buying a tree that has been prepared by experienced people and thus is 5-6 years old, well rooted, but not shaped. Bonsai clubs offer advice on working with the trees and species that look nice when miniatured and those that look dumb.

Answer 4

Your local library will have books, and possibly even an instructional video on doing your own bonsai.

It is a matter of trimming both the roots and the branches periodically, to keep it dwarfed.

The copper wire is used to train the branches into the "form" of an old tree. Old trees' branches generally grow away from the trunk, while young sprouts' branches grow UP. Shaping the branches as your bonsai-in-training grows will give it the "mature" look in a small plant.

It's an ancient art, that takes practice, time, and patience.

Answer 5

Bonsai, such a sweet topic.

The TRICK is to do just the opposite of what you think.
Start with a large container plant, something VERY tough like a green mound juniper, cedar elm, or yaupon.

Purchase a azalea pot (unless you want to pop for a bonsai pot) and fill the bottom with gravel.

Remove shrub , wash ALL roots clean of soil, and put as much of root ball as possible in pot.
Cut off any downward growing roots.

Mix Expanded Shale (sold in 50lb bags) with potting soil. 75/25 ratio shale to soil.

Put everything into pot and cover with soil mix.
Trim off at least 75% of foliage into a style you like.

Now you have instant amature bonsai.

Keep plant outside until temp dips below 30.
No bonsai, even tropicals want to stay in a house. Think about the last time you saw a pine tree growing in someone living room. It just does not happen.
However, if you choice of plant is not cold hardy, protect during the winter.

I have been a member of the Dallas Bonsai Society for 10 years, have killed untold plants, and it is fun.
Go to the libary and get as many picture books as possible.

You can make this hobby Very expensive, or do like me and NEVER spend more than 50 bucks.

Good luck.
Now go drink a beer and ponder your choices.

Answer 6

You need to keep trimming the roots, and I've also seen some bonsai plants that have wire around the branches, which I suppose also retards the growth. But for accurate information you should probably get a book.

Answer 7

Nature comes natural. That is changing mother earth by force. Actualy I have no idea what a bonsai plant is... But this is my opnion.

Grow about 5 at one time and try different catalysts. See what the results come out to be.

Answer 8

Try practicing on your pets first. I have an adult German Shepherd, and now he sleeps in a shoe box.