First in the Carolinas. The Best in Carolina Bonsai for Over 40 Years. Established in 1964.
Getting Started
One of the most frequently asked questions is how to get started with bonsai. The beginner looks at a beautiful bonsai and is drawn to want to learn more. Here are some simple hints that will get you started. They consist of a few Dos and a few Don'ts. We'll start with the Don'ts first.
Don't
1. Don't think that bonsai are like any other potted plant.
If you treat them like a flower or foliage plant, they will probably die.
Bonsai have unique soil, watering, and lighting requirements.
2. Don't think that you can buy a pre-made bonsai at one of your
local nurseries for $9.95 and expect it to live. Most of these plants are obviously
sold as disposable plants that will not live longer than a month or two. For one
thing, most of them have a layer of rocks that has been glued to the surface. There
is no way that this plant can be watered properly. Maybe if you brought it home and
repotted it immediately, you might have a chance at keeping it alive.
3. Don't think you can put
your bonsai in your living room, den or anywhere else in the house and expect it to be
healthy. Bonsai are trees. They natively live outdoors. They will not stay healthy if you
keep them indoors. Most of the time, they will die if kept indoors. (Winter care is a
possible exception, but that is an advanced topic.) They do not get the proper amount of
light, ventilation, humidity, and water if kept indoors. I heard of one lady who put her
bonsai on the TV in the living room and couldn't understand why it died. (Obviously, she
cooked it to death.)
4. Don't pronounce it BAHN-ZAI. It is pronounced BONE-SIGH.
The former is what Japanese kamikaze pilots shouted during World War II. The term
bon-sai literally means "tree in a pot".
Do
1. Buy a good beginner book. There are many to choose from
depending upon your level of knowledge. For the brand new beginner, Sunset's Bonsai,
An Illustrated Guide to an Ancient Art, is a good place to start. This book is
often available at garden centers and bookstores. It has lots of good pictures and
some good beginner advice. It sells for under $10. There are better bonsai
books that give more specific advice when you are ready to learn more.
2. Seek out a good bonsai club. Many large cities have
bonsai societies. Both Bonsai Clubs International and the American Bonsai Society
have a list of bonsai clubs on their web sites. At your local bonsai club you can
get specific advice, encouragement, and instruction. While it is possible to teach
the art of bonsai to yourself, it is highly unlikely. This is an old and ancient art
that is passed down through the centuries. Try to get around others who practice it
to learn from their experience.
3. Locate a reputable bonsai nursery. You will get your best
bonsai plants, materials, and instruction from a bonsai nursery dedicated 100% to bonsai.
If necessary, you may have to travel to find one. It will be worth the trip.
These nurseries can answer all your questions, particularly those that deal will
your local weather conditions. A bonsai from Florida may not do you much good if you
live in New Jersey.
4. Begin simply. There is no reason to rush into bonsai.
It is a proven fact that a $10 bonsai will die just as quickly as a
$5,000 bonsai if not properly cared for. Learn the horticultural part of bonsai on
inexpensive plant material. A procumbens nana juniper is a good place to
start. They are readily available and give a certain amount of instant gratification
since they can easily be made to look like older trees.
5. Be patient. If anything, bonsai teaches patience.
A tree does not grow overnight. Most people will lose a certain amount of trees when
they first get into bonsai. Don't be discouraged when this happens. This is
all part of the learning curve. Randy Clark says that if you buy 100 trees and work
on all of them, by the time you get to the last tree you will have finally learned
something. Let each plant you lose teach you something. Also it takes time for
a bonsai to develop. You may makes some cuts on your tree that won't develop fully
until the end of the growing season.
6. Have fun. If you enjoy your bonsai learning experience, it
will reward you with many years of pleasure. It is very rewarding to watch your
trees grow and mature. This can be a lifetime pleasure.
A Few "Truths" to
Ponder
By Pat Leners, Editor
Minnesota Bonsai Newsletter
(Reprinted With Permission)
I discovered our bonsai club in July of 1990, along with my daughter Betsy. At that time we jumped in with both feet and have been active in the club ever since. We also love to "collect" bonsai, whether from a local nursery or one in California, and even sometimes from the wild (these tend to be tamaracks and spruce from up north.). Here are some "truths" I've learned in my 11 years "in bonsai".
1. The most important thing about growing bonsai is knowing how to water correctly. Each tree has its own watering requirements, and you ignore them at your peril.
2. Never rely on an automatic watering system - they do malfunction even when new. Check your bonsai daily, and have someone else check them when you're gone.
3. While experience is still the best teacher, for Minnesotans a well rounded bonsai education combines reading/studying along with hands-on workshop experience, as well as independent work on your trees at home. Our non-bonsai winter season is too long to waste by taking a complete break from the bonsai learning process. Reading books and magazines helps to fill that void and get the creative juices flowing.
4. Some members who are most in need of the bonsai knowledge in books will never read them.
5. Moss grows where it wants to and turns green or brown when it wants to.
6. No matter how big you make your winter storage space, it will be too small.
7. You WILL kill trees along the way, but each dead tress can be a learning experience.
8. As in every other aspect of life, rules are made to be broken. I'm thinking of bonsai styling/design. Trees that don't follow the rules are sometimes the most captivating, whether by design or by accident.
9. Most bonsai people are among the best you'll every meet.
10. There's nothing more relaxing and satisfying than sitting quietly, alone, working on a bonsai - if you are a bonsai person. There are lots of people out there who couldn't care less about trees or nature. You have to feel sorry for them!