Around the world, bonsai are known as plants that live for a very long time. In Japan, ancient collections of bonsai are passed from generation to generation and the most famous bonsai are owned by very wealthy businessmen.
“In South Africa, bonsai is primarily practised by people who are fascinated by the artistic and horticultural practice of growing and styling plants,” says Joburg bonsai expert Errol Rubin.
“Bonsai can never be treated like indoor plants, but the process of looking after your own bonsai is not as difficult as it seems.”
Here are Rubin’s five tips for looking after your bonsai:
Water soil daily:
The most common reason for losing a bonsai is due to incorrect watering. Bonsai are grown in a container with drainage holes to allow the excess moisture to drain away. The soil mix contains a large percentage of grit to allow good drainage. Most bonsai trees do not like their roots wet all the time; however, they cannot live without water and therefore the soil needs to be watered every day.
Bonsai love sunshine:
Most bonsai need to be outdoors in an east-facing position. Once the basic watering is done correctly, then you need to look at the position of the tree. Most tropical trees like Ficus benjamina do not mind growing indoors, however, trees like the maple, white stinkwood and acacia need a lot of light and therefore it is better to find an east-facing position outside to allow the tree to catch the morning sunlight.
Bonsais, however, need direct sunlight to keep the trees healthy and to prevent them from growing long branches. If your tree has very long internodes (the space between the leaves), then it is not getting enough light. You cannot position it too close to a glass window because the glass has a magnifying effect and the heat will scorch the leaves. The indoor climate is also very dry and therefore many plant pests (red spider, scale etc) can infest the tree.
Prune bonsai regularly:
Bonsai is an artform whereby you are trying to train a small tree in a pot to look like a full-grown tree in nature. The branches must be trimmed so an imaginary bird can fly through the branches. To achieve this you need to keep the branch growth trimmed in proportion to the tree’s size.
The fear of making a mistake is so great that beginners never trim the tree and it grows out of proportion. To develop proper branch ramification, any shoots that grow either upward or downward need to be removed; only side-growing shoots need to be retained. Cut back to two leaves (sets) as soon as a new shoot has hardened.
Nutrients are critical:
You need to feed a bonsai regularly. The process of growing also depletes the soil of nutrients and therefore the tree needs to be fertilised using any of the commercial fertilisers. Remember your tree grows in a small pot of soil so follow the fertiliser manufacturer’s instructions carefully. Rather over- dilute than make the fertiliser too concentrated. This can damage the roots and kill your tree.
Repot your bonsai:
As the tree grows, more roots are produced and after about three years, you need to re-pot your tree. To do this, buy a soil mix specially from a bonsai supplier. The best time to re-pot your tree is in spring. Remove the root ball from the container and use a knife to cut off a couple of centimetres of root and soil from the sides and bottom of the root ball. Place some new soil in the container and replace the root ball back in the container. Fill the sides with new soil mix and press down well. Leave your tree in the shade for about two weeks and gradually introduce it back into full sun. - Saturday Star