For someone, a houseplant is a blooming violet or ficus with dark shiny leaves. And someone wants to grow a real forest in a small handful of land.
Many indoor plant lovers have heard the mysterious word "bonsai". But what is bonsai and how to form a miniature miracle, they simply do not understand. Meanwhile, it is quite possible to figure this out.
History of bonsai
The fashion for miniature trees has spread around the world from Japan. But the Japanese are not the founders of a new art form. The idea of bonsai came to them from China. But it was the Japanese who brought it to perfection.
The first mention of the cultivation of miniature trees fell into the hands of historians in 1972. In the mausoleum of Prince Zang Hui, images were found detailing the technology of growing small trees. Judging by how carefully the drawings were preserved for posterity, the technique was considered a particularly valuable knowledge. The drawings belonged to the time of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, which corresponds to 600 BC. e.
The Chinese called the unusual hobby "pensay". The Japanese read the Chinese character in their own way, and the word "bonsai" came out,meaning "grown in a tray".
By the way, archaeologists say that even the ancient Egyptians knew what a bonsai is. They grew small plants in special vessels, but called them differently. Unfortunately, the Egyptian version of the name has not survived.
What's the point of this
The Japanese have brought the art of growing dwarf plants to perfection. Each tree requires many years of work, attention and patience from the master. This is the only way to get a green masterpiece that will live longer than its creator. A beautiful plant will go to grateful students who understand well what bonsai is and how much effort the master has invested in this beauty.
The art of bonsai is a certain philosophy that allows you to accept life and enjoy the beauty of its course. Each tree in the hands of the master goes through three stages, like all life on the planet. First, it lives through youth, shining with freshness and pressure, then it enters maturity, reaching the perfection of forms and beauty, and the last stage is old age, embodying all the wisdom of the world. And besides, bonsai is a symbol of the continuity of generations, because the youngest in the family needs to learn from experience and be able to preserve what the elders have created.
What trees can be grown
Evergreen species are most commonly used for growing in containers. It can be Japanese cypress, Chinese juniper, cryptomeria, five-leafed, black or red Japanese pine. Bonsai from these tree species looks veryspectacular, but some prefer to grow deciduous trees, finding a special charm in the change of seasons. In this case, Japanese plum, apple trees of various varieties, cherries, some varieties of maples, rhododendron, wild azalea, various varieties of pears, persimmons, wild grapes, willow and others are suitable.
Bonsai-pine looks very beautiful and unusual, as can be seen in the photo below, so these miniature coniferous trees are most often found.
Bonsai styles: Tekkan and Moyogi
Even the most experienced master will never get two absolutely identical plants. But all compositions are usually clearly divided into styles. It was the Japanese who brought this tradition to the art of bonsai. They gave a designation to a number of features by which trees are divided into styles. There are more than 30 of them, but we will consider the most common ones.
If you see a bonsai plant with a straight trunk flaring towards the base, then this is a formal vertical style - Tekkan. Another important characteristic of it is that the plant should narrow towards the top. Any type of tree can be grown in this style. The symbolism of Tekkan is proud loneliness and unbending character.
If the plant is elongated vertically, but its branches do not have a clear structure, but are arranged randomly, then this is the Moyogi style. The trunk of a tree can be bent, but the top must be drawn in line with the base, forming a perpendicular to the ground. Moyogi symbolizes simplicity and freedom, and also the desire to go beyond, resisting circumstances.
Fukinagashi and Shakan
These are bonsai styles that seem to be photographed in a strong gusty wind. Syakan (oblique style) is characterized by a slope at an angle to the ground, but the tree stretches upwards. Fukinagashi (wind-bent) can have both a straight and sloping trunk, but its branches are directed in one direction (in the direction of the slope), as if the tree has grown in a strong wind. The symbolism of these styles is resistance to the forces of nature and the struggle for life.
Sokan Style
Sokan translates as "forked trunk". This style was suggested to bonsai lovers by nature itself, since very often two trunks rise from one root, one of which is stronger and higher. A tree can be flat or sloping, it is not very important, the main thing is that it should form a common crown. You can create a similar bonsai at home by giving the appearance of a second trunk to the lowest branch. The symbolism of this style is the continuity of generations and reverence for traditions. Sokan is sometimes referred to as "twins" or "father and son".
Kengai and Khan-kengai
These are slightly similar types of bonsai in cascade and semi-cascade style. Kengai is like a tree growing on a steep cliff. To survive, he had to adapt to difficult circumstances. The symbol of style is plasticity in any conditions.
Khan-kengai has a more horizontal direction of trunk growth. Trees seem to grow on the shore of a reservoir, trying to reach the water with their crowns. Hen-kengai - bonsai, the photo of which clearly shows thatbranches do not fall below the middle of the pot, and the top of the plant is always above ground level.
For these plastic styles, plants with bendable trunks are always chosen. Preference is given to pine, cotoneaster, juniper.
Bundzings
This style is considered one of the most difficult to perform. And he is one of the oldest. Otherwise, this style is called "literary". This name is due to the fact that the plants have a schematic form of "Japanese letters". Masters, as if writing calligraphic signs, growing trees with long curved trunks without lower branches. The crown of this type of bonsai is only allowed at the very top. The style symbolizes airiness and sublimity. Coniferous or broad-leaved species are chosen for cultivation.
Charming Yose-ue
Can you imagine the bonsai pots that have grown a small forest? These are Yose-ue style plants. The composition is made up of a large number of trees with different heights of trunks, with different thickness and age of plants. Usually, an odd number of trees are selected, and they are most often of the same species. They are planted without observing symmetry and avoiding the same distances. Thus, the master gets his own park or a small forest, as similar as possible to a corner of the wild.
Sharimiki Style
Enlightened Japanese have learned to see beauty in every moment of life. They proved that old age can be beautiful too. The embodiment of thisstatements - Sharimika style, that is, "dead wood." The tree is artificially aged, the bark is partially removed from the trunk, and its wood is bleached, creating a contrast between the dead and the living. Areas with dead wood are subtly curved, but they must be clearly visible. For this species, juniper is most often used.
Planting bonsai
Getting ready to grow the described miracle, beginners are wondering how to plant a bonsai. There are several ways to do this:
- Misho's way. This is ideal for beginner experimenters. It lies in the sowing of seeds collected in the wild. In this case, you can choose exactly the one you need from a variety of sprouts and start slowing growth from the very beginning.
- Toriki's way. This is the cultivation of miniature plants from cuttings or layering. To use this method, the bark is cut or trimmed in the right place on the branch and the opened wood is treated with horse growth stimulants. A piece of wood is wrapped in moss and film and waited for 3 (sometimes more) months. The cut point is not allowed to dry out all this time.
- Yamadori Method. The approximate meaning of this name is “found and dug up”. In the spring, a suitable plant is found in a forest or garden, dug in and left for several months to form surface horses. After that, the powerful roots are shortened a little, the plant is removed from the soil, and the formation of a bonsai in a pot begins.
- Ueki's way. With this method, ready-madea young plant in a nursery, then it is cut and planted in a flat pot. Or buy a young bonsai and then grow it based on your style preference.
How to form a plant
The main task in growing bonsai is to force the tree to stay small. To do this, you need to slow down growth and give the desired shape. To inhibit growth, roots are often cut and young shoots are removed, poor soils are chosen, fertilizers are used minimally, and special bonsai pots are chosen in which the root system cannot grow much. In addition, be sure to use a system to weaken the flow of juices, applying horizontal cuts to the wood or braiding the trunk with wire.
When the plant is sufficiently rooted, begin to cut and bend its branches. For this, copper wire is used, which is used to entangle branches and fix them with pegs in a flowerpot. Bends are best started in the summer, when the branches are most elastic. In order not to damage the crown, the place of bending is wrapped with a soft tourniquet or bast.
Timely pruning of branches helps to awaken the necessary buds to growth. If, to create an ideal shape, it is necessary to direct the branch to the right, then choose a bud that sticks out in the right direction, and cut the branch above it, leaving no stump above.
By the way, if pine bonsai is grown, then pruning must be done with extreme caution. Damaged branches may turn yellow. This also applies to other conifers.
Howtake care of the plant
The plant requires care throughout its life. To grow a decent bonsai, home care is provided all year round. This includes transplanting, fertilizing, watering.
Transplantation is best done in the spring. It is necessary to ensure that the roots do not grow and do not form a ball. As soon as this has happened, the tree is taken out of the bowl, the roots are cut and the plant is returned to its place, but in fresh soil.
For planting make a mixture of 3/5 humus soil, 1/5 peat and 1/5 sand. The soil in the container is carefully compacted so that voids do not form. The height of the soil in the container is about 5-6 cm. As a rule, it is decorated with stones and moss on top.
Top dressing is carried out in spring and summer. The interval is kept for about two weeks. It is most convenient to use ready-made liquid organic fertilizer with bird droppings, which is applied 2 hours after watering.
What else needs to be done to grow a he althy and beautiful bonsai? Care at home involves abundant and regular watering. Many people place a container with a tree in a flat vessel with water. Its bottom is filled with small stones or a grate is placed. The water level in the tray is maintained at one mark. This allows you to increase the humidity of the air and reduce watering.
The miniature tree needs water in large quantities. But you need to take into account the type of plant, since different irrigation conditions are created for residents of different climatic zones. So, for example, small-leaved karmona is a bonsai tree, the care of which requires daily plentifulglaze. But for a fat woman, such watering is fatal, its root system will not cope with the abundance of moisture and will rot.
It is important to understand that a miniature tree needs to be watered more often, even if the species does not like wet soil, when the following factors are present:
- the foliage on the branches is large and numerous;
- the plant is planted in a small or flat container, because then there is a large area for evaporation of moisture from the surface of the substrate;
- the room is dry and too warm air.
In addition, regular spraying will not interfere with the plant. However, keep in mind that evergreen species can only be sprayed with distilled water. When using ordinary tap water, an irremovable whitish coating will appear on the leaves.
Now that you understand what bonsai is, you can try to create your own masterpiece. But think and evaluate your strengths. If you are not patient enough, then maybe you should not take on this painstaking work.
