Types of bonsai. Growing bonsai at home. Spring protection of garden plants from pests and diseases

The art of bonsai has been around for centuries. Bonsai is bonsai grown in a pot. Ready-made copies are sold in specialized stores. But it is much more interesting and pleasant to create such a mini-tree on your own at home. The article will tell you how to do this step by step.

To get bonsai (bonsai) from seeds at home, you will need to be patient. After all, the desired result will be visible only after a few years. On the first try, not everyone succeeds in growing a miniature tree from seeds. The reason is inexperience and non-compliance with some rules.

Growing and making your own bonsai from seeds and cuttings of a sprout at home on a stone is easy from almost any tree. But it is better to give preference to those species that grow and are adapted to domestic climate conditions. Especially if the plant is planned to be kept in the garden or on an unglazed balcony. If the bonsai is in the apartment, it is allowed to choose and form more exotic, tropical options. Dracaena houses grow well, a coffee tree, hibiscus, shefler and laurel.

If there is no experience in crop production, it is better to try planting a ficus Microcarp at home. He is unpretentious and easy to care for. Experienced gardener you can take the seeds of pine, plum. From this material, a beautiful and unusual garden bonsai is obtained. True, pine grows very slowly.

From hardwood trees, preference should be given to beech, birch, maple, pedunculate oak, cherry, and if you want to grow tropical species in an apartment, it makes sense to pay attention to acacia, abutilon and myrtle.

tropical tree species

Such tropical trees, like shefflera, wisteria, ficus retuza, portulacaria and crassula, are great for growing nivaki in an apartment. The main thing is that the house has good lighting and humidity.

Especially often gardeners choose ficus Natasha. After all, this plant has all the characteristics that are needed to create a real adult bonsai at home:

1. The root system is branched.
2. The skin is beautiful.
3. The leaves are small.
4. The trunks are ornate, corrugated, massive.
5. Ficus grows quickly.

Suitable for growing an ordinary mini-tree at home different varieties and views. For example:

But many choose to create Benjamin and Microcarp. To get a beautiful bonsai from such a ficus, you need to properly plant and care for the plant. More information about the process of planting and care can be viewed on the photo and video on the Internet. Often, when the conditions of detention are violated, leaf fall is observed. To avoid this, it is required to carry out a competent landing, pruning of roots and crowns, transplantation. It is important to follow the rules of care.

From ginseng, wisteria, you also get an original bonsai with your own hands. But this tree is very capricious and needs to create certain conditions. Wisteria is photophilous, so the lighting should be good. It is important to monitor the temperature regime so that the room is always above -5 degrees. Otherwise, the tree will freeze. It is important to regularly ventilate the room in which wisteria grows. Transplanted every year after flowering is complete. In this case, the root zone should be inspected and any damaged parts should be removed.

Broad-leaved tree species

Of the broad-leaved tree species, maple, hornbeam, elm, beech, pomegranate, lemon, felt cherry and birch are most suitable for bonsai. Experienced flower growers experiment and form bonsai from several types of plants. By caring for the crown and root system in a certain way, you can get interesting specimens.

To create maple bonsai at home, seeds of the hand-shaped, field, plato-leaved, rocky and ash-leaved varieties are most often chosen. These species are characterized by small foliage. Therefore, the trees look and look very organic.

Since the art of bonsai is very popular among summer residents and flower growers, breeders are working on breeding maple varieties with different colors and leaf shapes. For example, blue, blue maple, red Japanese and purple look very interesting.

To create a bonsai at home, the maple crown is given a different shape: inclined, grove, upright, broom-shaped. Any of these styles are easy to create at home. The main thing when growing lemon tree do not miss such important points:

1. Use mature seeds that germinate quickly. Such material allows you to give the plant any shape without changing the already formed root system.
2. Seeds should be collected in autumn. But the material is not yet ready for planting. It is left for the winter. Store in a container with wet sand in the refrigerator.
3. To get an ornamental tree faster, it is recommended to use the cutting planting method.
4. To get bonsai from red, blue and blue maple, you need to buy specially bred plants in stores.

Coniferous tree species

The easiest way to grow bonsai is from those types of trees that grow on the territory of the country. Conifers are the most suitable. Particularly good compositions are obtained from juniper, pine, spruce and arborvitae.

Exist different styles growing a mini tree. But in any case, you must follow these rules:

• The crown of thuja and spruce should be cone-shaped or divided into horizontal tiers.
• It is important that thuja and spruce have dense needles.

For the formation of the crown will have to spend a lot of time and effort. After planting the plant in a container, it is necessary to cut the top. It is necessary to first think over the style of the future mini-tree. Because the first pruning lays the foundation for the bonsai. During the shearing, all excess branches are removed. With the help of aluminum wire form the frame of the barrel.

Thuja and spruce should be pruned regularly. Only with the help of this procedure can you maintain an attractive appearance. The first time is cut in the spring with the beginning active growth. Further, everything depends on the intensity of development of the crassula tree.

Each coniferous species has its own trimming rules, so that the cut drags on faster, it is covered with plasticine.

In summer, excess needles are cut to rejuvenate the crown. Dwarf thuja and spruce should be transplanted regularly. This operation is carried out in the warm season. To do this, take a flower ceramic pot and make holes in it for drainage. 1/4 of the container is filled with clay. Then a layer of special soil mixture is poured. All strongly overgrown, old and damaged parts of the root zone are removed with garden shears. Then carefully clean the roots from old earth. The plant is placed in a new container and covered with a substrate.

Sakura, azalea, rose, jade, fuchsia

Some beginner gardeners decide to create rose bonsai. As a rule, all attempts are unsuccessful. After all, such a plant does not tolerate pruning of the root zone. But much depends on the chosen variety. If the flower is characterized by slow growth, then it is quite possible to create a bonsai from it. It's better to prioritize terry varieties. Safely create a bonsai from a Chinese rose, rhododendron.

A more suitable type of tree is sakura. But her bone is covered with a dense shell. Therefore, seed germination is longer and more difficult. The material is stratified before planting: placed in a refrigerator for several months. Sow the seeds in coarse, disinfected sand. There is no need to fertilize the substrate. As the seedlings grow, they dive. Repeated transplantation allows the plant to quickly form a strong and powerful root zone. It takes 2-3 years to grow sakura from scratch. After this time, they begin to cut and form a mini-tree.

The main task is to restrain the growth of sakura, to give it a dwarf appearance. This is done as follows:

1. All shoots that grow vertically are pruned. So at the base you get a thick trunk.
2. The upper part of the root system is exposed. To do this, remove upper layer soil. So even a three-year-old tree will look like a century old.
3. The crown and trunk are formed by trimming the lower branches.
4. If the trunk is very long, it is shortened. For this purpose, a strip of bark is cut off at the base and the plant is transplanted with a bare area into the ground. Roots grow in the treated area. After that, the old root system is cut off and the sakura is transplanted.
5. If the gardener has chosen a broom-like bonsai style, you need to cut the vertical branches as much as possible. With a vertical style, the growth of side shoots and the main trunk is encouraged.

They also create bonsai from fuchsia, azaleas and fat women. Even if the tree is fully formed, it must be periodically pinched and trimmed. Only in this case it will be possible to maintain a good shape.

Bonsai Tree Tomatoes

Often people who do not have a dacha grow miniature ones. If you choose compact varieties, you can form a bonsai so that it bears fruit. Before planting, Gavrish tomato seeds are soaked for three hours in a manganese solution. The pot is filled with earth, leaving 5 centimeters from the edge. Lay out the material and tamp a little. Sprinkle on top with a 1.5-centimeter layer of soil.

Tomatoes Micro f1 are photophilous, so they should be placed on the southern windows. For good growth and development, it is important to cut off the old lower leaves in a timely manner. It is useful to feed the plant mineral fertilizers. Every two months it is recommended to add fresh biohumus.

To form the crown of a miniature pomegranate tree, a special variety is usually used - a bonsai tomato. This is a small pot plant that does not need a garter. It bears fruit with original and tasty fruits.

Below are the advantages of the variety:

• High yield. One bush gives about 2 kilograms of tomatoes.
• The first fruits ripen 3 months after planting.
• Tomatoes look neat, round, bright red. Weigh up to 65 grams.

Where to buy seeds?

Seeds for growing a bonsai tree are collected independently from deciduous or coniferous trees. Planting material is also sold in specialized stores. Some gardeners order seeds, get ideas and advice on Internet portals. The price depends on the type and type of wood.

Often you can find a mix of seeds for growing bonsai. For example, many companies sell a collection of seeds consisting of Siberian cedar, laurel, pine, sequoia, juniper inexpensively, for only 1000 rubles. As a result, for a small amount it turns out to form several original bonsai.

Will outdoor bonsai grow?

It is customary to keep a standard bonsai at home. Growing outdoors is more of an exception than the rule. Having decided to create a mini-tree in the garden or in the country, you need to take care of buying a suitable variety. It is better to choose deciduous species. For example, apple, magnolia, cork oak, Japanese or Chinese elm. These trees are desirable to grow for residents of regions with a temperate-warm climate. In any case, a young plant outdoors needs protection from wind, rain and sun. Good on open area feels like a podocarpus.

Thus, bonsai is a popular technique for growing artificial mini-trees. For this, different types and varieties of plants are used. The main thing is to know the prices, methods and rules for crown formation. When deciding to create a bonsai on the street, you should choose those tree species that are adapted to the conditions of the domestic climate.

Fashion, hobbies, art, philosophy, the Way... Everyone who starts growing bonsai finds their meaning in this amazing phenomenon of Japanese culture. For some, this is an opportunity to relieve stress and escape from everyday worries, for others - a successful commercial enterprise, for others - the ascent to harmony, insight into the essence of things and comprehension of the laws of the universe.

A scaled-down version of a wild tree - more than just houseplants grown for their beautiful leaves and flowers. This is a kind of manifesto of life, the result of the struggle for survival. Bonsai teaches optimism, patience, focus and perseverance; it is not for nothing that these decorative compositions were so widespread among Zen monks and samurai.

All living things are decrepit, but the older the tree, the more respect and interest we look at it. Contemplating bonsai, you can go on an imaginary journey, climb the rocks to the waterfall, see the great in the small. And the tree - absorbs our views, love, admiration and reciprocates. With proper care, it can live for hundreds of years and become a living symbol that connects generations, conveying to others the feelings and mood of the creator in the language of symbols.

II: HISTORY OF BONSAI

The Japanese were not the first to grow miniature trees, they were cultivated by Egyptian priests, as evidenced by the drawings found in ancient tombs. They depict small trees in containers placed around the temples.

Itinerant Hindu practitioners of Ayurveda used the pots to carry some of the healing seedlings. To facilitate transportation, plants and trees were constantly trimmed. Doctors quickly noticed that with this treatment, the leaves of the tree become smaller, the branches begin to settle down more densely, and the whole tree decreases in size.

But the closest relative of Japanese bonsai is an art that appeared in China during the reign of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and received the name pen cai or penging. Today, in the Shanghai Botanical Garden, you can see images of a reduced landscape and a tree in a bowl that decorated the burial place of Prince Zhang Huai, who died in 706. However, there is evidence that such trees were grown in the Celestial Empire and before the Tang Dynasty.

According to one version, the art of penjing arose from the nostalgia of both rich and poor rural people who flocked from the villages to the densely populated cities of China. In the cramped conditions of the new way of life, the settlers tried to preserve the memory of their native places. They set up small gardens, resurrecting a view familiar from childhood. At the same time, some trees were specially planted in separate vessels so that they could be moved, changing the entire composition. Gardeners also had to restrain the growth of especially large specimens and work on their shape.

Of course, few in the city could afford a garden. Most were content with what they could see at a glance - a small tree in an elegant vase. Some compositions were so beautiful that they began to be specially made for sale.

Gradually, the cultivation of miniature trees began to turn into a separate art direction - with its own canons, schools, branches. Manifold climatic zones, specific vegetation in each of them contributed to the emergence of the most different directions penging. Throughout the country, craftsmen worked with local materials that defined their style and technique. There were two main types of penjing: chancesui And noise. The first depicted a mountain landscape in which the tree is not an essential element or plays a secondary role. Noise assumed the use of one or more trees as a mandatory dominant - he is considered the prototype of bonsai in Japan.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, penjing was brought from China in the 6th century by followers of the teachings of Zen Buddhism, who often used miniature trees in meditation. In fairness, it should be noted that other Asian countries, such as Vietnam, borrowed penjing, but it was thanks to Japanese masters that the culture of growing miniature trees turned into a whole philosophy. Looking ahead, let's say that centuries later, in the 20th century, the Japanese even contributed to the revival of the traditions of penjing in China itself, where they were mercilessly exterminated during the years of the communist regime.

Having penetrated Japan, penjing remained the prerogative of the monks until the 12th century, but then miniature trees moved from temples to the palaces of the aristocracy and to the houses of the samurai, as documented evidence has been preserved. Among the illustrations for the book Amazing stories about Kasuga Gongen, dating back to 1303, there are drawings that already meet modern ideas about bonsai. And in the poem Pine in a bowl, referring to the same period, the majestic image of a tree is sung, which "even after thousands of years, in old age, strikes with the beauty of green needles." Word bonsa and in those days it was not used, compositions from ornamental plants or trees were called hatiue, and the principles and methods of their compilation were very different from modern traditions. Masters hatiue have not yet created masterpieces of a given form with deep inner symbolism.

From the second half of the 15th to the beginning of the 17th century, Japan entered the era Warring States. Battles distracted the samurai and the nobility; interest in all things elegant returned only at the end of the reign of the Tokugawa clan (1603-1868). The rulers of this period contributed to the development of art borrowed from China, especially the third shogun Iemitsu, who became famous for his very turbulent social life (1623-1651). He amassed a large collection of miniature trees, guarded day and night by seven samurai.

The beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912) was marked by the establishment in Japanese of the word bonsa and along with hatiue. During these years, ordinary townspeople also joined in the preparation of decorative compositions. Most often they used pine, juniper, cryptomeria and plum. In the spring of 1892, a bonsai exhibition opened in one of the Tokyo restaurants - the first in the world. Since that moment, the cultivation of miniature trees in Japan has been elevated to the rank of national art, they are collected, presented as an expensive gift, passed down as a family heirloom that links generations.

At the beginning of the 20th century, many specialized publications appeared, paying special attention to the development of bonsai techniques. Throughout Japan, professionals and amateurs alike strive to improve their craft. Exhibitions are held every month, created Bonsa Development Societyth.

After a terrible earthquake in 1923, thirty Japanese craftsmen moved from Tokyo to the northeast of the country to a forest area near the city of Omiya, where bonsa village th. It soon became a center for the cultivation of miniature trees, where professionals and amateurs from all over the world began to come.

In the spring of 1934, several compositions by Japanese masters were exhibited among the artistic masterpieces at the Tokyo Museum of Fine Arts. Since then, this exhibition has become a regular. And three years later, 50 miniature trees won gold at the World Exhibition in Paris.

With the end of the Second World War, bonsai was also known in the New World. Oriental curiosities were brought to the United States by American soldiers returning home from occupied Japan. The spread of Japanese national art throughout the world was also facilitated by the emergence of fundamentally new technologies, namely, the use of wire, with which it is much easier to form a composition than using trimming and stretching.

After the Tokyo Olympics and international exhibition in the city of Osaka, where 1190 magnificent samples were presented, Japanese national art finally became the property of world culture.

At the end of the 20th century, a real commercial boom swept through Europe, the bonsai hobby reached its peak in both the Old and New Worlds. Clubs, unions, associations and, of course, experienced craftsmen appeared in all countries. Cultivation of miniature trees has become a serious business, prices for some author's specimens have risen to $ 2,000,000 in the 80s of the last century.

In Russia, the first bonsai appeared in 1976. On the initiative of the wife of the Ambassador of Japan, Mrs. Shigemitsu, the Main Botanical Garden of the USSR Academy of Sciences received a collection of 44 miniature trees as a gift. The employees of the Botanical Garden not only took care of them, but also practiced the technique of growing bonsai from birches and pines dear to the Russian heart.

Soon a popular Soviet magazine Science and life published photos and a short guide to caring for bonsai. The three-million edition of the publication contributed a lot to introducing the widest masses of our compatriots to the Japanese cultural tradition. Since then, this interest has not weakened, especially now, with the discovery of the world, with new opportunities.

III: BONSAI STYLES

There are no strict rules in the art of bonsai. A miniature tree needs only a little help to grow as it should on a plain, near a cliff, or near a river. Of course, in order for a tree to be graceful and beautiful, it needs to be given the appropriate shape.

For beginners, many styles of bonsai will seem complicated, it is worth starting with the study of typical forms, which, nevertheless, have a huge aesthetic and spiritual impact. These are images of trees bent by the wind or growing at an angle. Creation of more bizarre compositions can be started only after many years of practice on live material.

Having studied and mastered the basic styles of bonsai, you will come to understand that genuine masterpieces are deviations from generally accepted norms. At a certain stage, a true artist must forget everything he knows and follow the dictates of his heart. But you can only reject what you yourself comprehended to the end.

BASIC STYLES

TJOKAN: STRAIGHT VERTICAL

The classic vertical is the basis of the basics of bonsai, so all beginners need to master the style tekkan before tackling more complex miniatures. According to bonsai masters, a straight vertical represents maturity and perfection.

Tekan imitates a tree with a perfectly straight powerful trunk, which is quite rare in nature. Indeed, in order for a pine or spruce tree to grow strictly up and have a beautiful shape under normal conditions, they need a sufficient amount of food and water. In addition, they should not be exposed to strong winds and competition from other trees. Such an instance can only be seen on the plain.

Many breeds are suitable for chokan compositions, but the most commonly used pine, spruce, juniper, and maple, peach, plum, cherry, orange, apple tree. Each miniature tree formed in this style is characterized by a straight, tapering, cone-shaped trunk, which is divided into three equal parts.

The lower part is free from branches, so the trunk of the tree, its roots and bark are visible in all its glory. Above are three main horizontal branches: the first, the most powerful, grows in one direction, the second in the other, and the third - back, from the viewer. The last branch is especially important, it gives depth to the composition, so it should be lush. The lateral branches are slightly lowered down and slightly turned forward, but in such a way as not to block the trunk.

The upper part of the tree is decorated with thinner and shorter branches. They rise up and create, depending on the selected breed, a dense deciduous or coniferous crown, spherical or pointed.

When caring for a tree, provide equal and unrestricted access to all branches for light and air. Make sure that the branches do not grow directly one above the other, with this arrangement the sun will illuminate them unevenly.

Chokan-style compositions are best placed in an oval or rectangular container.

MOYOGI: CURVED VERTICAL

Moyogi considered a variation of the tekkan style, it is widespread in nature and is suitable for beginners. This is one of the main ways to grow miniature trees and is the most commonly used. Moyogi is also good because compositions created in this style never repeat each other. Most often they use pine, oak, maple, juniper.

The main difference between moyogi and tekkan is that the upright tree trunk has an S-shape or several bends decreasing towards the top. Moyogi conveys movement, upward striving, flexibility. To achieve this effect, the trunk begins to bend from the base, making sure that the top of the tree is located exactly above its base.

When choosing a container for moyogi-style compositions, you should choose an oval or rectangular vessel. The tree is placed in it asymmetrically, its roots should be visible on the surface of the earth. Pay attention to the fact that the crown does not extend beyond the edges of the container.

SOKAN (SOJU): DOUBLE BARREL

A tree with a double trunk is very common in nature. Its miniature copy is grown using two separate roots or one, forming a second trunk from the lower branch, which should not be too high.

Compositions in style sokan are both vertical and inclined, while each trunk can be given special form. The branches of the trees diverge, but form a common crown. The beauty of such a bonsai depends on the balance of the thickness and height of the trunks. One of them is powerful, the other is thin, so the sokan style is sometimes also called "father and son" or "mother and child."

To create compositions, it is recommended to use coniferous, evergreen and deciduous trees with small leaves, flowers and fruits. Suitable for various types pines, juniper, spruce, ginkgo, maple, beech, elm, apple, plum. In some countries, bonsai hobbyists work with specimens of local flora, with particular preference for those that grow in extreme natural conditions.

SHAKAN: SLANTED STYLE

Style shakan reproduces a tree that has survived a hurricane or a landslide. Its trunk - straight or curved - is at an angle to the surface of the container. On the one hand, powerful roots go deep into the ground, and on the other hand, they stick out to the surface, as if clinging to it. Depending on the slope of the trunk, they distinguish sho-shakan(minimum), chu-shakan(medium) and dai-shakan(maximum).

The lower branch in all shakan compositions is located in the direction opposite to the slope of the tree. Both she and other branches are curved, the top protrudes slightly forward. It seems that the tree continues to resist the gusts of wind.

To give stability, the bulk of the bonsai should be concentrated within the boundaries of the container. When creating shakan compositions, oval or oblong vessels are used. In round containers, the tree is planted in the center.

KENGAI: CASCADE STYLE

Cascading, falling trees are often found on steep cliffs and sheer cliffs. Deeply rooted in the ground or rock, they grow hanging down. There are similar forms in the art of bonsai, they are all derived from two main styles - kengai(full cascade) and khan kengai(half-cascade).

In kengai compositions, the upwardly directed tree trunk suddenly changes direction and falls down, dropping below the surface of the tall container. One of the three main branches can also lean to the side of the container, dominating the trunk. Its length is not limited, so it is customary to place such bonsai on high tables. A small branch of the top is usually directed away from the main body of the tree to give stability to the whole composition.

Growing kengai style bonsai is not easy, as the tree is always trying to climb up. The formation of a cascade in a garden in a garden bed is usually impossible; planting in a deep vessel is necessary. To direct the growth of the tree down, use a wire or change the position of the container. The right container is extremely important for a cascading composition, it must be deep and heavy to balance the branches and trunk of the tree. The most suitable shape is round, square or hexagonal.

The kengai style is suitable for trees with a flexible trunk, these include azalea, juniper, cotoneaster. When choosing a specimen in a nursery, it is desirable that it has a large branch in the lower third of the trunk.

HAN-KENGAI: SEMI-CASCADE STYLE

Like the cascading style, khan kengai copies trees leaning over a cliff. Its difference is that in han-kengai compositions, the trunk is not bent so much, but is directed horizontally, not allowing them to fall below the base of the container under their own weight. The trunk, growing upwards, is located in the center and is formed by a wide crown. The semi-cascade requires proportional crown and trunk, the roots must be well developed and located in the direction of the main cascading branch.

For khan-kengai compositions, the same species of well-bending trees are used as for cascading miniatures. The container may be flatter and not as deep.

BUJINGI: LITERARY STYLE

Budzingi- one of the most exquisite styles of bonsai, it was formed relatively recently, at the end of the Edo period (1603-1868). At the origins of Bujinga were Japanese writers, fans of Chinese painting. nanga. Creating compositions from miniature trees, they tried to imitate the artists of the Middle Kingdom in everything, deliberately ignoring the canons of bonsai. Intellectuals relied on their own inspiration in everything, which they drew, including in the famous treatise A word about painting from the Mustard Seed Garden, the main guide to nang. Subsequently, some terms coined by Japanese writers began to be used by other bonsai masters.

The literary style is reminiscent of delicate ink drawings that are created with just a few strokes of the brush. Bujinga compositions require less time than others. The emphasis is on a tall, thin, gracefully curved trunk. The lower branches of the tree are absent, the upper ones are located in ledges. The crown is small but well formed, the foliage is small and well visible. Such trees are found in shady areas of the forest, where, due to lack of sun, their lower branches die off, and the trunk becomes knobby and rough.

Both coniferous and broad-leaved trees are suitable for bujinga-style compositions. Bonsai should be placed in a small round container with raised edges. The color of the container should be bright.

NEAGARI: EXPOSED ROOTS

"The ebb and flow shaped me" - this is how you can describe the style non-agari, one of the most original in the art of bonsai. The roots of the tree in non-agari compositions are not just exposed, they are raised high above the ground and twisted like a tourniquet. The trunk stands on them like on stilts. Similar forms can be seen along the banks of rivers, where trees are washed away by water.

For non-agari style compositions, trees should be used that form aerial roots, such as some ficuses- Ficus benghalensis, Ficus retusa or Ficus pumila.

SEKIJOJU: A WOOD ON A STONE

Style sekijoju very spectacular, the viewer sees a tree on a rock, with a sprawling crown and powerful roots, resembling a cobweb, tenaciously engulfing the entire stone. This is how vegetation survives on huge boulders. Over time, the roots of a tree growing on rocks begin to resemble trunks.

Sekijoju style is suitable for all unpretentious breeds with well-developed roots. Most commonly used maple, Chinese elm, pine and juniper.

The tree itself in sekijoju compositions can be grown in any style, with the exception, perhaps, of the “broom” and “straight vertical”. A stone fragment used as a rock must have through crevices so that the roots can penetrate through them to the soil.

If the root system is not long enough, the tree is first planted in a deep box and, as it grows, the topsoil is removed. The roots are exposed and begin to stiffen. When they reach the bottom of the box, the tree is taken out, tightly tied to a stone with twine or wire and wrapped with polyethylene, after adding a little sandy soil there, and watered abundantly. After the bonsai gets stronger and shoots, the polyethylene and sand are removed, and the tree is transplanted into a container.

HOKIDACHI: BROOM

Bonsai in style hokidachi resembles a broom placed on a handle. It is suitable for broad-leaved trees with spreading thin branches that look attractive even without foliage. In nature, such forms are found in zelkova, elm or hornbeam. They work with these breeds most often, but birch, willow or oak to create a beautiful "broom" is definitely not suitable.

The tree trunk in hokidachi compositions is strictly vertical, but not very long. All branches diverge from one point, forming a dense spherical crown. Its ratio with the length of the barrel is 2:1.

The crown can be formed by one or more equal branches, but none of them should dominate the others. If this happens, such a branch must be severely shortened or completely removed.

The classic hokidati bonsai is formed by pinching the apical shoot to 1/3 of the total height of the trunk. With the appearance of buds, the crown of the tree acquires a V-shape, they continue to work with it, pinching the branches in order to achieve a better result.

In a container, hokidachi-style bonsai should be placed strictly in the center.

IKADABUKI: THE RAFT

The center of the composition ikadabuki becomes a fallen tree, which is re-rooted on the soil in a horizontal position. The branches of the tree, obeying the laws of growth, begin to rise up and eventually turn into trunks standing upright, like people on a raft.

To form such bonsai, specimens are used that have more branches on one side - they are preserved, while others are removed, making shallow notches along the entire length of the trunk to speed up the formation of new roots. Then the tree is pressed into the soil and fixed with strips of bast or cloth.

The time required for the development of a new root system depends on the type of tree. Maple will need 1-2 years for this, pine - up to 5 years. Only after the specified time has elapsed, you can remove the root from the main tree and move the entire composition to a more suitable container. Except maple And pines ikadabuki style is suitable for working with juniper, euonymus, ficus.

There are two types of "rafts": straight and curved. In the first case, the composition is based on a short and thick tree, its branches are along one line and grow strictly vertically or with a slight slope. Another type of bonsai requires a thin, several times twisted tree, on which the branches are arranged in random order. Both in the first and in the second case, new trunks may have their own bends, but then this pattern should be repeated throughout the composition.

SARIMIKI: DEAD WOOD

The center of compositions in style Sarimiki become areas of dead wood. They are created artificially by cutting the bark with special mites. The movement of juices in such areas stops, the wood dries up.

Dead parts of the trunk and branches are called, respectively, Shari And gins. Genie can be split with special tongs and made "bulliers" that mimic a lightning strike. The exposed areas are treated with sandpaper and lime sulfide to whiten the wood.

That's what it looks like juniper growing on mountain slopes under the rays of the sun. Him, along with yew, spruce or pine most often they are used to create compositions in the sarimiki style, since the wood of these species is not affected by fungus and does not rot. Many deciduous trees can be artificially aged, but the style of sarimiki is quite complicated: the dead areas should look beautiful, and you need to work very carefully so as not to destroy the entire tree.

SPECIAL STYLES

NETSURANARI: COMMON ROOTS

"Standing Soldiers" or netsuranari symbolizes constancy, devotion, reliability. The composition looks like a group of several trees, although all the trunks come from the same root. To do this, the tree is laid on the bottom of the container and sprinkled with earth, and the branches are directed upwards. Over time, they will become like individual trees, reminiscent of a forest.

When creating compositions in the style of netsuranari, they use Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora) or Ayan spruce (Picea jezoensis). The Japanese believe that these trees bring happiness.

FUKINAGASI: WOOD IN THE WIND

The image of a tree in the wind captivates and touches at first sight, this is one of the most wonderful stories in the art of bonsai. Obviously, the Japanese masters spied it on the seashore, where the wind always blows in the same direction.

Style fukinagashi imitates a tree with one or two trunks, which from birth had no choice but to bend under the pressure of the elements so as not to break. When looking at such a composition, the viewer should feel a gust of wind, so the crown of the tree should be a little disheveled and have a minimum of leaves or needles.

Fukinagashi resembles a different style - shakan, but they have in common only in the slope that arose under the influence of natural factors. The difference is that the branches of the tree in the wind only grow in one direction, not both. They become shorter towards the top, making the whole composition look like a developing triangular pennant.

When creating compositions in the style of fukinagashi, you can use pine, juniper, sageteria And birch. It is better to grow such bonsai in a rectangular or oval container.

Yose-UE: FOREST

This style conveys the idea of ​​continuity of generations to an even greater extent than Sokan: yose-ue- a whole forest family with a large mother tree at the head.

The total number of "relatives" in yose-ue compositions is always odd - from 5 to 19. Each of them has a strictly defined place in the container. "Mother" is in front, "children" are located around her at different distances. To enhance the perspective, rear trees with dense lower branches and a dense crown are placed more compactly, and the trunks of the front ones are left open. When creating a miniature forest, you can take trees of the same species, but combinations of evergreen and deciduous species look the most advantageous. Most often used pine, thuja, cryptomeria, beech, hornbeam, birch, zelkova or maple. In an oval-shaped container, they will look best.

The complexity of the "forest" style is that, like no other, it requires complete naturalness from the composition. You need to take care of different levels of relief, about stones, perhaps about additional undersized plants. But the most difficult thing is to show the time. Looking at such a family, the viewer should see that the trees appeared in the general group gradually, over many years.

SAIKEI:LANDSCAPE IN MINIATURE

saikei, strictly speaking, it is not a bonsai style, it is an independent direction for creating miniature landscapes, in which, in addition to trees, stones, soil, moss and other plants are used. Bonsai masters influenced the development of saikei, but this trend also absorbed the traditions of Vietnamese honnonbo(the so-called sculptural groups imitating islands, mountains and their surrounding nature), as well as some principles bonkey And bonseki(Japanese landscapes of stones and sand).

The history of saikei dates back more than one hundred years, the first images of miniature landscapes are found on the scrolls of the 13th century. After World War II, this ancient art was revived thanks to a bonsai master. Toshio Kawamoto. Kawamoto founded his own school and made saikei extremely popular both in Japan and in other countries of the world. The followers continued the work of the master, raising his art to an even higher level.

Toshio Kawamoto wanted to ensure that he and his students did not have to wait too long when creating miniature landscapes, so for work he selected not mature trees, but young seedlings. The technique of caring for them and their styles are the same as in the art of bonsai.

However, saikei have differences, primarily ideological ones. If bonsai masters emphasize the beauty of one or more trees, then in saikei they become elements of the landscape - mandatory, but not paramount. Stones are often used in bonsai compositions, but they do not form the landscape, while in saikei they play a very important role. Toshio Kawamoto even introduced a special classification for them - mountain, island, lonely coast etc. All elements of the composition are arranged in such a way as to recreate in miniature the natural landscape, sometimes real, memorable.

The classic saikei sits on a large, low-rimmed, neutral-coloured ceramic tray. The drainage holes at the bottom of the tray are covered with plastic nets, after which a thin layer of soil mixture is poured onto it. Before placing trees in their places, for stability, their roots can be covered with peat and clay. Trees and plants should be positioned so that the viewer has a sense of perspective - the smaller the size, the farther.

Then comes the turn of the stones, they should be laid out in accordance with the preliminary sketch. The height of all elements must be balanced, so that the fragment, which plays the role of a rock, is higher than the tree.

After placing the stones and trees, the space between them is filled with soil mixture, then the entire surface is covered with soil, making sure that the earth layer is not very thick.

The saikei is decorated with pieces of moss and placed in a place protected from wind and direct sun rays. A miniature landscape needs not only to be regularly watered, but also sprayed. In winter, the saikei should be kept indoors where the temperature does not drop below 0°C.

IV: BONSAI CLASSIFICATION

SIZE

The value of a genuine masterpiece is determined not by its size, but by the skill and taste of the creator. Among the bonsai there are very tiny trees that fit in the palm of your hand, and the famous Moonlight Pine, growing on the island of Honshu in Shizuoka Prefecture, stretches its branches as much as 13 meters!

Bonsai are measured from the top to the base of the trunk, excluding the container. Complexity is represented by cascading and semi-cascading forms, since such instances are first raised and then lowered. Their size is determined from the base to the bend that forms the trunk before going down again.

There are several basic sizes of miniature trees. And, although such a systematization is considered rather arbitrary, and there are discrepancies in the numbers, experts usually distinguish 5 classes of bonsai, which differ in their size.

mame

The tiniest bonsai are in a class mame. Among them there are real midgets - no more than 2.5 cm. This size is called keshitsubu. They go for kesitsubu sieve(2.5-7.5 cm) and hafu(13-20 cm).

shohin

Next class - shohin, it includes trees up to 18 cm (komono) and from 15 to 20 cm (chumono). These bonsai are considered small, they, like mame, require increased attention due to their fragility and vulnerability. They require special containers, tiny and small trees are transplanted, pruned and watered more often than others. These bonsai can be grown from juniper, shadberry, rhododendron, spruce.

kifu

Trees of medium size, up to 40 cm (Toatademochi), merged into Class kifu. Suitable for creating such bonsai barberry, field or rock maple, privet, mountain pine.

tehin

Class tehin- these are trees from 40 cm, for example, birch, hazel, pine, ash-leaved maple, elm. The largest bonsai in this class (omono) reach a meter or more, they are grown from beech, oak, elder, false maple, larch, linden, ash. Omono in Japan is usually placed at the entrance to a rich estate - as a sign of cordiality and hospitality or as a symbol of the wealth of the owners.

daiza

Daiza - huge bonsai exceeding one meter . They can be seen in some ancient Japanese gardens. The most suitable breeds for such giants are sycamore, chestnut, black pine, elderberry, acacia, wisteria.

NUMBER OF STROKE

The most common compositions are those that consist of one tree growing with one trunk. They are presented in each of the styles. There are multi-stemmed bonsai with common roots, as well as groups of trees of the same or different species, each of which has its own root system. They are used to create landscapes, making sure that the number of trunks in such compositions is odd.

AGE BONSAI

It takes many years to form and bring a miniature tree to perfection. The age of bonsai can range from 5 years to several centuries. Centuries-old copies are priceless, they are passed down from generation to generation, exhibited in museums or kept in private collections that are inaccessible to a wide audience.

Garden trees are considered the oldest Happo-en in Tokyo. The life cycle of some of them has been around for about 8 centuries. Among the venerable centenarians is the already mentioned Moonlight Pine. It is more than 6 centuries old, it is known that its first owner was the local prince Shingen Takada. Now they use for pine care modern technologies, a special platform is even installed under it, rotating the tree so that it is evenly illuminated from all sides.

Special mention deserves another unique copy, passed down through the Japanese emperors. This Third Generation Tokugawa Pine, because of which one of the shoguns of a powerful dynasty neglected his duties and completely devoted himself to the art of bonsai. The tree was planted 500 years ago, and to this day it is in the collection of the imperial palace.

Finally, in the American arboretum National Arboretum you can see a miniature pine Yamaki transported to the USA from Japan. She is about 375 years old, during the bombing of Hiroshima, she was only three kilometers from the site of the fall of the atomic bomb and remained completely unharmed.

The exact age of such masterpieces cannot be determined without damaging them. Therefore, when evaluating specialists, as a rule, rely on historical evidence.

However, do not think that a real bonsai must be very old. Indeed, it is impossible to create compositions with a split trunk or with partially descended bark from young trees. But they also look very expressive and impressive if they are formed correctly and harmoniously.

V: BONSAI SELECTION

When creating bonsai, experts and amateurs use about 400 various kinds trees and shrubs. Sometimes in the compositions come across and herbaceous plants, for example, some small ferns. They are very beautiful, although in winter they need moist and cool air, otherwise their leaves will dry out.

However, classic bonsai is grown from plants that have a solid trunk and branches, that is, from trees or shrubs. Note that different countries of the world have their own traditions. So, in Japan, heavy trees with a powerful trunk and a perfectly formed crown are more common. In the USA, simple and coarse specimens are valued, which often reach 1 meter in height. Europeans prefer elegant compositions with thin trunks.

When making a choice, think about the effect that you expect from the future composition. It must be remembered that evergreen species will delight you with their beauty all year round, while other trees are good during the flowering period or vice versa, in winter, thanks to the peculiar form of bare branches.

The queen of coniferous bonsai is considered pine, they follow her juniper, larch, thuja, cypress. Of fruitful and beautiful flowering trees can recommend acacia, guava, pomegranate, myrtle, magnolia, peach, plum, citrus. Maple- a favorite of hardwoods, but miniature ones look no less impressive oak, beech, hornbeam, willow, birch or Rowan. Deciduous trees are generally most suitable for bonsai, and those whose leaves and flowers are naturally small, as this helps to achieve a proportional ratio of all elements of the future composition.

Breeds that saturate the air with volatile healing secretions and purify it well are highly valued - these include grapefruit, lemon, fig, spindle tree, hibiscus, laurel, boxwood and others. Of course, if you do not like this or that smell, you do not need to force yourself for the sake of the ideals of beauty. Remember the main rule: in no case do not choose something that irritates you, confuses you with its appearance, color or aroma. A miniature tree should bring only positive emotions to its owner and reflect his character.

Bonsai can be grown from seed or yamadori- this is the name of a tree or shrub taken in a special nursery. For beginners, it is better to go the second way, and you need to start with young specimens of fast-growing breeds, for example, with junipers or cypress trees. Then you will see the first results faster, gain some skills and not lose interest.

VI: POSITIONING THE BONSAI

Most bonsai are not indoor plants, they need a place in the open air for normal growth and development. Therefore, the Japanese grow them in gardens and bring them into the house on special occasions.

Exotic Japanese seedlings do not take root well in Russian conditions. But many types of our trees can decorate your summer cottage. In this case, you will not need to worry about watering, only pruning and shaping will remain.

They are accustomed to the cold and calmly hibernate on the street. oak, birch, elm, lilac, barberry, apple tree, pear, plum, cherry, pine, spruce, junipers, thuja, cotoneaster, larch. However, in summer they should be protected from direct sunlight. These trees do not tolerate room climate well.

Indoors, our compatriots successfully cultivate tropical and subtropical plants. Among them - serissa, ficuses, pomegranate, hibiscus, dracaena, cordilina,Jaboticaba,gardenia and famous "Money Tree". They do not require special conditions for wintering, it is faster and easier to form bonsai from them. But some thermophilic species (cedars, cryptomerias, cypresses) in summer it is better to keep in the garden, and in winter - in a bright, cool room, at a temperature not lower than +10 degrees. With increasing day length and light intensity, they can be transferred to warm room, which is especially desirable for flowering species.

VII: LIGHTING

Most indoor bonsai require a lot of light. The exceptions are trees that are naturally low and grow in the forest, where they are hidden from direct sunlight. For other species, you need to find a well-lit place, for example, on the windowsill, but be sure to ensure that the bonsai does not overheat. The tree must be rotated several times during the day so that all parts of it receive an even amount of light.

You can determine the lack of light by the distance between the leaves - internodes. In normal formation, the leaves are located on the branches not far from each other. If this distance increases, then the bonsai requires additional lighting. Look elsewhere or buy a lamp - fluorescent, halogen or mercury. It is better to exclude incandescent lamps, their light is different from daylight, and heat rays can damage the bonsai. Use artificial light all year round not recommended, but in winter, as well as on cloudy days, additional lighting is necessary.

VIII: TEMPERATURE CONDITION

Bonsai intended for unheated premises are kept cold in winter at a temperature in the range of 5-12 ° C. You can create such conditions in winter garden or special greenhouse.

Tropical species feel good all year round at a temperature of 18-24°C. In the summer they are put on open air, increasing the time by 30 minutes daily to gradually accustom the bonsai to the sun's rays.

The higher the temperature of a miniature tree, the more light, water and nutrients it needs. With a decrease in the thermometer, watering and fertilizing the plant can be reduced.

IX: HUMIDITY

The humidity in the tropics, where many indoor plants come from, is very high. The more moisture in the air, the less water they need. In Russian houses, where the humidity is much lower, an aquarium located near the bonsai can correct the situation. Other plants that evaporate moisture will also help, or a tray filled with water and hydroballs, in which a container with a miniature tree is placed. The amount of liquid must be maintained at the same level. The effectiveness of this method will be even higher if the tray and bonsai are placed above the heating system. It's easier and cheaper than using a bulky, noisy and expensive humidifier.

In the morning, tropical bonsai can be sprayed with water, but not in bright and hot sun. Such a procedure gives only a short-term effect, so it must be carried out repeatedly, but so that the tree dries by evening.

Under natural conditions, powerful crowns protect trees from excessive evaporation of moisture, and from pests that are repelled by swaying foliage. Indoors, the air practically does not move, and tender shoots can become easy prey for insects. This is another reason to put the bonsai on the balcony or take it out into the garden, or turn on a fan nearby.

X: WATERING

Placing a miniature tree in a container has its own characteristics, as a result of which the bonsai requires more water than ordinary houseplants. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the soil in the pot remains moist, but not wet.

It is believed that bonsai can be watered from above, below, or alternating both of these methods. The main thing is to moisten the whole earthen ball well, and not just the surface. When watering from above, the water should appear from the drainage holes of the container and drain into the pan, from where it must be removed. Watering from above helps to flush out excess mineral salts from the soil, and it is easier to monitor the penetration of moisture to the roots. You can also pour water into the pan, but then you must definitely drain the excess after it has been absorbed into the soil. A container with bonsai cannot be constantly in the water, so that this does not happen, it even has special legs for safety net.

During the planting of a miniature tree, the soil around it is well tamped, which is why the dense soil makes it difficult for moisture to reach the bonsai roots. Therefore, bonsai are sometimes simply lowered into a basin of water - this is another way to properly soak an earthen ball.

The watering regimen and its frequency depend on the type of tree. Coniferous bonsai require less moisture compared to deciduous ones. In summer, during the period of intensive growth, watering should be done daily, and in the heat - twice a day, which does not apply to subtropical plants. In winter, one or two times a week is enough, and not so plentifully.

To bring bonsai conditions closer to natural, miniature trees are watered only in the morning and evening hours, at a time when dew falls in nature. But if on a hot day you see that the bonsai leaves have drooped, cool it first in the shade, and then lower the container into a container with warm water. When the tree is thirsty, spray it. The water temperature during watering and spraying should be several degrees higher than the ambient temperature.

The best water for irrigation is melted water, tap water must be defended for three days or cleaned with a household filter. Water hardness can create problems when growing bonsai, filters with ion exchange resins help to solve them, they remove impurities of calcium and magnesium salts. If this is not done, then over time a white chalky sediment will appear on the surface of the earth and on the bark, which cannot be eliminated. Hard water leaves an indelible coating on the leaves, keep this in mind when spraying bonsai.

Proper watering is one of the main conditions for caring for miniature trees. Even a single overdrying will almost certainly kill most of them, as will an excess of moisture. Planting bonsai in well-composed soil reduces the risks of consequences from improper watering.

XI: SOIL, DRAINAGE

Ready-made soil, which is used when breeding ordinary indoor plants, is not suitable for bonsai. The right soil mixture is a substrate consisting of sand, clay, humus(old leaves, needles, peat, rotted bark). Such a substrate can be purchased at the store or made independently.

For deciduous species, the mixture is prepared from 7 parts of clay and 3 parts of sand. Flowering and fruiting trees need soil containing 6 parts clay, 3 parts sand and 1 part leaf humus. When working with coniferous bonsai, clay and sand are taken in a ratio of 6 to 4.

A small amount can be added to the substrate organic fertilizers- horn sawdust, blood, fish or bone meal, rapeseed cake (3 g of organic matter per 1 kg of soil). After all the components are well mixed, the mixture is neutralized from weed seeds and pathogens by heating it for 15 minutes at a temperature of 100 ° C in a saucepan or other suitable container.

In addition to the substrate, drainage is placed in the container - broken shards, pebbles, expanded clay, coarse wet sand or special chemically neutral granules. The size of the latter is 3-4 mm. Smaller granules will spill out of the drainage holes, and large ones will stick together, from which the drainage will stop letting water through. The weaker the root system of the plant, the larger the drainage layer should be.

XII: BONSAI CONTAINER

The right container is critical when growing a miniature tree. Note that in the art of bonsai, this is not just a container, but one of the most important elements of the entire composition, it must be in complete harmony with the tree. The Japanese even have a special term - hachiutsuri, it is used to assess the compositional unity of all components of the bonsai.

It is not surprising that a bowl in which a tree grows is sometimes a work of art itself. Here is just one historical reference: in 2011 to a buyer who paid $1,296,850 for a three-century-old bonsai Pinus parviflora, I had to pay extra for the pot in which the white was sold japanese pine, another $493,000.

Of course, only wealthy collectors can afford such masterpieces, attending special auctions where rare antique utensils are exhibited. For someone who is just learning the basics of art, an ordinary solid container, selected according to the rules below, is quite suitable.

First of all, such a vessel must be made of natural materials - clay, faience or porcelain. It should be remembered that clay pots absorb moisture well, therefore, you will have to water the tree more abundantly and more often. And if your bonsai will grow in the garden, he will need frost-resistant ceramics.

The walls of the pots are glazed, but only on the outside, otherwise the earth inside will slide off without touching them. Such products are very beautiful, but, unlike unglazed ones, they pass oxygen and moisture from the air to the roots worse. Therefore, unglazed pots are recommended while the tree is still growing and getting stronger.

The shape of the container can be arbitrary - square, rectangular, round, oval. As a rule, when growing most straight and tall bonsai, shallow containers are used. In the view of experts, a low bowl imitates a plain or a clearing on which stands a lone tree. Such a container is also preferable because it contributes to the formation of a flat root system for a tree. Vessels of medium height are suitable for bonsai with a wide crown and a powerful trunk. Deep and tall pots are needed when working with cascading styles, in which case the container plays the role of a “rock”.

The proportions of the container and the tree must be balanced so that the container, on the one hand, does not suppress the bonsai, and on the other hand, fully corresponds to the height of the trunk and the size of the root system.

A miniature tree needs to be watered frequently. To keep the roots from rotting, more drainage holes are made in the bottom of the container than in ordinary flower pots. The holes are closed with a special mesh made of thick plastic with a cell size of about 3 mm. It is specially made in Japan, but the usual "mosquito" is also suitable.

The color of the container should go well with the foliage or needles. Flashy colors will distract the viewer, so in general, experts suggest choosing soft shades of brown, green, gray or blue. In Japan, coniferous trees are usually planted in bowls or bowls of brown tones made of unglazed ceramics. For hardwoods use beige, green or blue. Flowering bonsai look beautiful in black or white pots. The most important thing is not to combine cold and warm colors in one composition. You should not grow blue juniper in a terracotta container, and pine in a blue glazed container, this will be a gross violation of the hachiutsuri principle.

When choosing a container, you need to pay attention to the age of your bonsai. Young specimens are first placed in ordinary flower pots- they are also called "acceleration", because in them the root system can develop freely. When the bonsai has reached the desired shape, the tree is transplanted into a flat container, reducing the volume of the roots with pruning.

XIII: BONSAI BREEDING

There are two ways to propagate bonsai: vegetative, in which cuttings, shoots or scions are used, and seed. In room conditions, most often resort to the first method, the most simple and reliable. To the seeds of some tropical plants germination requires a sufficiently high temperature and humidity, here you can’t do without a greenhouse with bottom heating.

REPRODUCTION BY CUTTINGS

A cutting is a part of a root, leaf or shoot, from which, with proper care, a new plant can be obtained. stem cuttings it takes from 10 days to several weeks for the formation of the root system and the beginning of growth. The timing depends on the type of plant, its age and ability to form new roots and shoots.

Can be propagated by cuttings coniferous trees, except for spruce, pine and fir, using the same soil mixtures for rooting as for seeds. Some cuttings root better when they are very young, while others are more mature.

There are three types of cuttings: green actively growing, semi-lignified and lignified.

green cuttings cut from the tops of rapidly growing young shoots under a node or bud, leaving 3-5 leaves on top and exposing the lower third. It is best to do this in the spring, in the morning. The parent plant is pre-cut, this stimulates the appearance of fresh shoots. Make sure that the cut is even, without burrs and in no case touch it with your hands.

Ready cuttings are buried a third of the length in the soil mixture. They are very sensitive to lack of moisture, so watering should be plentiful, and the water temperature should be in the range of 20 - 25 ° C. If the cuttings are not planted immediately after cutting, they must be placed in a container of water.

Semi-lignified cuttings - these are the bases of shoots 10-15 cm long, they are harvested at the end of summer. When cutting, the shoots are pulled down so that a piece of wood about 1.5-2 cm is split off from the main stem of the parent tree (such a “heel” contributes to rooting). The leaves from the lower third of the cutting are removed, and the cut is treated with a growth regulator.

Semi-lignified cuttings placed in a soil mixture at a temperature of 14-18 ° C, the best option for them is a cold greenhouse. The growth of cuttings is supported liquid fertilizer feeding should be regular.

lignified cuttings are rare, although this method is applicable to the propagation of some shrubs that have a dormant period when their growth is completely stopped, the foliage is shed, and the stems have hardened. For reproduction choose sluggish shoots with 5-6 buds. To speed up the process of root formation, cuttings are buried in a greenhouse at an angle of 45 °, deepening into the ground by 3 buds.

Lignified cuttings can dry out due to evaporation from the surface of the shoots, this most often explains the absence of newly formed roots in them. Therefore, for the upper part of the cutting, it will be necessary to create conditions of low temperature. So the buds will not bloom, and all the energy of the bonsai will go to the development of the root system. Cuttings, in which it is formed very slowly, are treated with special growth regulators.

REPRODUCTION BY LAYERS

Layers are a kind of cuttings, the difference is that they are separated from the parent tree only after they take root. The withdrawals can be ordinary And air.

Regular layering are applicable when you are dealing with a tree whose lower branches are so close to the ground that they can be bent to it without breaking. These include ficuses magnolias, pines, forsythia, weigels, irga, aralia.

After the desired branch is selected, porous vegetable compost is poured under it. When working with a parent tree growing in a container, you can use a pot set at the desired height.

In the place where the branch should take on new roots, 1-2 longitudinal cuts are made, and the foliage around is cleaned off. After that, the branch is pressed to the surface and sunk 10 cm, fixing it with a wire in the ground or pressing it with something heavy. The soil must always be moist. As soon as the roots get stronger, the cuttings can be separated from the parent plant.

Air layers allow form bonsai in the shortest possible time from the branches of a relatively mature tree. This method is suitable for fat women,rhododendron, maples, beeches, cedars, pyracanthus, pomegranate, elm, quince, willow and many others. Their branches are located high from the surface of the earth and do not reach it. But it turns out that you can bring the earth itself closer to the branches, although it is best to do this in the spring.

After choosing a suitable stem, 2-3 longitudinal cuts 3-5 cm long are made under one of its buds. Using ordinary matches, they are slightly expanded and treated with growth stimulants. The cuts are crimped with wet moss and vegetable compost. Then these places are wrapped with a piece of perforated polyethylene film or coarse cloth and watered abundantly. With the appearance of the roots, the protective wrapper is removed, the layers are cut off and transplanted into a container.

GRAFT

Grafting is a rather complicated procedure, it should be carried out only after acquiring gardening skills, but even then it can give unexpected results. Therefore, it is better to put the first experiments on inexpensive material. Grafting is usually resorted to if other methods of reproduction are not possible or in emergency cases, for example, to save bonsai with a damaged root system.

With the help of grafting, it is possible to achieve the appearance of flowers of different colors on the same tree. Agree that a miniature plum with white, pink and red flowers will look very impressive. In addition, this method allows you to add branches to a rare part of the tree crown to make it thicker.

The vaccine has one more important advantage. Bonsai grown from seeds may be genetically different from their parents, while grafted specimens fully retain their characteristic features.

Grafting is nothing more than implanting a part of a plant (graft) into a stock - that is, into a trunk, branch or roots of an individual of the same species. The grafting site is tied with a strong elastic material for fixation and coated with a special mastic, which protects the sections from atmospheric influences, insect pests and pathogens. The best period for such a procedure is spring, as sap flow, or summer, begins at this time.

Cleavage grafting allows new branches to be planted into the tree. The stock is split with a knife to a depth of 3-5 cm and a cutting is inserted into the slot, cut off on both sides with a wedge (graft). It is cut either from the parent tree, or from another, but of the same species. Such a vaccination can only be done on thin branches in the spring.

Inoculation (budding) necessary in cases where it is required to combine a male and female tree in order to obtain a bisexual specimen that produces fruits as a result. The stock is sprayed with a spray bottle, after which the letter “T” is cut out on the bark. In the incision, pulling back the bark, insert the "eye" - a kidney with a shield, cut off from the shoot of the scion. After that, the vaccine is tied and smeared.

The budding takes root when the petiole of the ocellus falls off, which usually occurs in the spring of the following year. The chances of success are increased by several simultaneous buddings in different places: so you can get not one, but several new branches.

Grafting in the side cut used when working with evergreen tree species. On the rootstock, closer to the root neck, a side cut is made about 5 cm deep. A cutting is inserted into it, cut obliquely on both sides, then this place is wrapped with a cloth and coated with mastic. Such a vaccination is carried out in the summer, and in the spring the graft is already starting to grow. It is cut at an angle, directly above the grafting site.

Graft for the bark makes it possible to form bonsai with numerous trunks, it also promotes the growth of old trees. A vertical cut about 3 cm long is made on the trunk of the parent tree, after which the bark is separated from the wood, and a scion of a smaller diameter is inserted under it. The vaccination site is tied with a cloth and coated with mastic. This method allows you to plant several cuttings on one stock at once. But such a procedure should be carried out only on large trees, in the spring.

Approach grafting (ablactation) - this is a splicing of two independently growing branches. This phenomenon is very common in nature, and this method has been in service with gardeners since time immemorial. It is simple and reliable, since the spliced ​​branches still continue to feed, because the movement of juices along them does not stop. The chances of successful fusion with ablactation are much higher than with cuttings.

During grafting, about 3 cm of bark is cut off on the scion and stock. After that, they are connected, tied and covered with mastic.

Vaccination by rapprochement is carried out in the spring, by the autumn the graft takes root. It is separated by cutting off part of the rootstock directly above the matching point.

GROWING FROM SEEDS

This method is long and painstaking, but it is he who allows you to form the most beautiful compositions. Remember that there are no "special bonsai seeds", you will need those that you can buy at any garden store or collect yourself.

Seeds of some plants need to be sown immediately as they germinate immediately after being harvested. Others should be stored in a dry and cool place for some time. Still others may germinate in autumn or winter, but first they need to be placed in wet sand for several days.

Sowing is carried out in spring or from late summer to mid-autumn. Sow the seeds in the ground, sifted through a fine sieve and mixed with sand. Large seeds are sprinkled with a thin layer of earth, and small ones are left on the surface, after which they are watered from a spray bottle, covered with glass on top or placed in a greenhouse.

Later, the top layer of the earth is slightly dried. This prevents the seeds from rotting and provides them with air. Depending on the type of plant, the germination time is from 1 to 2 months.

The shoots that have appeared are aired, but watered not so often so that the roots do not rot. Seedlings grown from seeds are transplanted into containers and watered.

XIV: TRANSPLANT AND SHAPING BONSAI

TRANSFER

Every artificially grown plant needs regular repotting. This is due to the fact that the composition of the soil in the container worsens over time, its granular structure is destroyed, and organic residues accumulate in it. The balance of trace elements is disturbed, changes chemical composition, as a result, the soil turns sour, as evidenced by a decrease in the size of the leaves.

Miniature trees are no exception, they also need to be replanted in order to achieve the correct ratio of roots and crown. Thus, the main tasks in transplanting bonsai are to replace part of the soil and remove oppressed or too dense roots.

Young trees up to 3-4 years old are transplanted annually, adults - 1 time in 2-3 years, and old ones can not be disturbed for 10-15 years. Coniferous species require such a procedure more often than deciduous ones. In the same way, bonsai that grow all year round in a warm climate are transplanted once every 2-3 years, and more frost-resistant ones - after 5 years.

If we are not talking about emergency tree rescue, then the best time to transplant is spring or autumn. First, the bonsai needs to be dried a little, for which it is stopped watering for 1-2 days, so that the earthen lump decreases in size and separates itself from the walls of the container. The tree is taken by the base of the trunk and carefully turned left and right. If it's sitting tight in the container, gently push it up from the bottom by pushing the earth ball through the drain hole with a stick, or use a thin metal spatula with rounded edges.

Before pruning the roots, they are straightened with small rakes, if there are none at hand, they will do. hashi- Traditional Japanese chopsticks. The roots are cut directly with the soil - so that they protrude from the earthen clod by 2-3 cm. The cutting tool must be very sharp in order to injure the bonsai as little as possible.

After that, the drainage is changed and fresh soil substrate is poured into the container. Bonsai are placed inside, rotated around the axis to spread thin roots and fall asleep. A fresh substrate must fill the entire space, air cavities are detrimental to the root system. The tree, if necessary, can be fixed in the container with copper wire, but in no case should the trunk be buried in the ground and cover the root neck - this will lead to the death of the bonsai.

When transplanting miniature trees, the container is not changed, except in cases where there is a desire to improve the composition. Make sure that the new dishes do not greatly exceed the size of the old ones, bonsai with small roots in a large container will most likely not take root, as the soil may turn sour. If you still use another container, moreover, already in use, disinfect it in a solution of potassium permanganate, and scald the new one with boiling water.

After the transplant is complete, the bonsai should be watered abundantly and placed away from direct sunlight and drafts.

FORMING BONSAI

ROOT FORMATION

Strong, healthy, well developed root system - essential condition for bonsai, otherwise the tree will simply die. Thin underground roots supply the trunk and branches with moisture and trace elements, and large, protruding to the surface, keep the tree in the ground.

The state of the root system is determined during bonsai transplants. Rotten and dry areas are cut with a sharp tool. After that, the roots are straightened so that they diverge from the trunk radially.

Particular attention must be paid Nebari - aboveground roots. They should be not only strong, but also beautiful, smoothly curved. It is also desirable that the Nebari do not protrude beyond half the diameter of the crown, so they will have to work a lot. The formation of above-ground roots begins from the first days of growing bonsai. Using copper wire, they are shaped into an octopus. Fragile and rigid areas should not be touched. After that, the Nebari are sprinkled with earth so that they become stiff faster. No later than two months later, the wire is removed. This must be done very carefully, with the help of wire cutters. Then the nebari is again covered with a layer of earth.

THICKENING OF THE BARREL

The thick trunk gives the bonsai the appearance of a mature tree. To accelerate its growth in width, use different ways. To do this, the first 3-5 years of bonsai are regularly transplanted into a larger container, and then they begin to use flat containers, which leads to a natural thickening of the trunk. Flexible, but already limp trunks, during the period of active growth, are carefully bent at the base in different directions every week, as a result of which the tree begins to actively increase its mass. Bonsai with the same thickness along the entire length are tightly wrapped with wire, and after it begins to grow bark, it is carefully removed. As a result, growths appear on the trunks, they overgrow over time, forming thickenings.

Sometimes, although rather rarely, the neck of the main root is tightly tightened with a wire loop. Juices in this part begin to stagnate, which leads to the appearance of tissue sagging. The operation is very risky, it can end with thinning of the roots.

The growth of a large lateral branch in the lower part of the tree also contributes to the thickening of the trunk. It is removed only at the last stages of bonsai formation, even if it stands out from the overall composition.

The trunk should taper towards the top, for a 20 cm tree the ratio of its thickness to height should be 1 to 6. Keep in mind that as your bonsai spreads out in breadth, it becomes more and more difficult to shape it.

Pinch

Pinching or pinching is one of the main methods of bonsai crown formation. In the spring, excessive development of shoots leads to the formation of new shoots, an increase in the gaps between the cuttings of the leaves. The lower branches begin to weaken and die off, while the upper branches grow stronger and spread out in breadth, and only the shoots at the ends thicken, while others, “axillary”, grow slowly. If this process is not controlled, the whole composition will lose balance. Plucking the tops of young shoots and stopping their growth, you can stimulate the formation of numerous small branches.

Pinching is carried out with fingers folded into a pinch, or with tweezers. Too strong shoots are cut with sharp scissors. In conifers, they are removed by 2/3 of the length; in representatives of a mixed forest, only 2–3 leaves are left, cutting off all the terminal ones.

Branches need to be given special attention, unplanned and unnecessary shoots in such places appear most often. As they grow, they disrupt the normal supply of nutrients to the old branches, which play a key role in the composition, and lead to their death.

On branches that are specially grown, more shoots should be left, however, when they threaten to turn into branches, they are disposed of. Weakened bonsai do not pinch until they regain their vitality.

To pinch start immediately after the appearance of young shoots. Delay threatens to increase the gaps between the leaves and a sharp deterioration in the shape of the tree crown - especially in maple. Some types, for example, cryptomeria or juniper needle require repetition of pinching until September.

CUTTING

It is simply impossible to create a bonsai without resorting to pruning. Some modern Chinese craftsmen even now use this technique exclusively, and ignore the wire on principle. Pruning is one of the most important operations in the art of bonsai, it is with its help that the tree is given the desired shape, achieving the correct correspondence between the root system and the crown. In addition, it contributes to the best movement of juices. Remember that such an operation is a huge burden for bonsai, it can only be used on healthy specimens - and only those that have not been subjected to it for a year.

Pruning extra branches and shoots is one of the very first actions that are carried out with a tree when forming a bonsai. Beginners may be advised to start with fast-growing breeds that have small leaves.

At the first stage, in order to develop a sense of form in oneself, they make an arched pruning of the tree crown. Removing branches presents certain difficulties for beginners, it is not always clear what to leave and what to sacrifice. In such cases, it is recommended to simply close one or another branch with your hand and see if the whole composition benefits from this or not. There are a few general rules: boldly part with branches located opposite each other, intersecting, as well as weak and too thin.

During work, you will need special tools: wire cutters with which you can cut branches of medium thickness and a folding saw for thicker branches. Another wire cutter (concave shape) is used during the processing of irregularities remaining in the trunk from cut thick branches.

Cut points must be immediately treated with the same means that are intended for ordinary garden trees, for example , liquid varnish-balm acrylic based. It can be applied in damp weather or if juice is flowing from the wound. Another proven remedy is garden var putty-like. But before applying it to dry cuts, wet your hands with water.

The most suitable time for pruning branches is winter or early spring, when all Live nature is still at rest. If you start work during this period, your tree will more easily survive the operation and will not lose its juices. The thinnest branches can be cut without harm to the bonsai all year round.

Defoliation or removal of foliage serves to renew and rejuvenate the crown. As a result of this procedure, the number of leaves increases, and their size decreases markedly. By defoliating a tree, it is possible to regulate its further development: the buds located in the nodes of the removed leaves will grow, while the others will remain dormant.

Defoliation is carried out in the summer, once every 2-3 years, but not in the year of transplantation, the tree must be healthy and strong. Leaf blades are cut with sharp scissors in whole or in part, and the petiole is always left. When the work is finished, the bonsai is placed in a shaded place until new leaves appear.

USE OF WIRE

The invention of wire tying is considered the most significant event in the history of bonsai. This discovery was made by chance. At the end of the 19th century, an amateur from the city of Osaka sent a miniature pine tree to his friend in Tokyo, the branches of which were fixed with wire to prevent breakage. Thanks to this happy accident, which greatly simplified the process of forming miniature trees, the ancient art was reborn.

It takes patience and practice to learn how to properly use all wire techniques. Practice, develop skills - this is the only way to achieve a good result.

When creating bonsai, you can use wire with a thickness of 0.7 to 7 mm. A simple rule will help determine the exact size: the fixed branch or trunk should be 3 times thicker. In other words, if you're working on a 1cm branch, use 3mm wire.

FRAMES

To give the branches or trunk of a tree the desired shape, a wire frame is applied to them. Most often, this technique is used with conifers, their bark is rough, the traces of the winding on it quickly overgrow. However, this process must be monitored and metal should not be cut into the trunk and branches in order to prevent the formation of ugly spiral scars.

Deciduous trees are usually formed by pruning, the need to use wire when working with them does not arise so often. On smooth-bore beeches, elms, maples and lindens, the wire frame should not remain long, otherwise traces of the winding will be visible for decades.

At the first stage, all branches are fixed - up to the top of the shoots. The wire coils are superimposed at an angle of 45°. Make sure that no branch crosses with another, each of them must have its own direction.

The best time to form bonsai with wire is winter or early spring: at this time there are no leaves on the trees, it is easier to work with them. With the advent of heat, the movement of juices accelerates, the branches and trunk thicken, so there should always be a small gap between the winding and the wood.

After about 3 months, when the desired forms of the trunk and branches are fixed, the wire "scaffolding" is removed from the miniature tree. In order not to damage the bonsai, the winding is not untwisted, but carefully bitten with special wire cutters.

STAPLES

Staples are used in cases where the usual application of wire will not give the desired result, for example, when changing the direction of growth of thick branches and trunks. And for multi-stemmed bonsai, the whole composition can be adjusted in this way. To prevent the staples from cutting into the bark, they must be periodically shifted, not forgetting to place pieces of skin under them.

STRETCHES

Guy wires are installed in order to pull down the branches growing up. This technique is not as time-consuming as the application of the frame, but even here you need to carefully monitor that the wire does not cut into the bark of the tree.

WOOD DEATH

REMOVING THE BARK

Removing the bark from the branches and trunk is practiced to artificially age the tree, for example, when creating compositions in the style Sarimiki. Such work is within the power of people with experience, with a sense of form and certain gardening skills. You can not completely expose the branches that you are going to leave alive, you must definitely save on them narrow sections bark through which water and nutrients will flow to the foliage. You can completely expose only those parts of the tree that, according to the plan, should be dead.

The process of removing the bark is not difficult, but then the bare areas need to be processed with a wood knife. Such an operation will require skill, so at first it is better to practice on some pruning, and at the same time carefully observe similar specimens in wildlife. Starting to remove the bark, prepare the entire essential tool: wood carving knives, pliers, concave nippers, sandpaper. Do not rush to use power tools, they make the job easier, but you need to get used to them so as not to damage the bonsai.

For bleaching, use a lime sulfide solution with the addition of black dye. The solution must be applied three times a year, washing off the old layer. Take precautions: sulfur, getting into the soil, can destroy beneficial microorganisms. Do not touch the living parts of the tree without washing your hands after using the solution.

SPLIT

splitting or sabamiki used when you want to reproduce the result of a lightning strike in your composition. Under natural conditions, such specimens are quite common and, although they are no longer full-fledged trees, their appearance is very picturesque. To create a similar effect, the bonsai trunk is split with wire cutters and wedges, creating wood teases - gins And sari. However, such an operation, like sarimiki, requires knowledge and experience.

TYPICAL ERRORS IN FORMING BONSAI

It is impossible to avoid mistakes when growing miniature trees, especially for beginners. Mistakes should not discourage you, the heights of art can only be achieved by constantly experimenting and listening to the advice of more experienced professionals. Below are some typical beginner mistakes pointed out by John Yoshio Naka, one of today's greatest bonsai masters.

1: no top;

2: tree branches look like wheel spokes;

3: branch forming a "fork";

4: straight growing branch;

5: a branch resembling a stump;

6: branches located at the same level;

7: branch growing upwards;

8: short branch next to larger ones;

9: parallel branches;

10: branch growing in the wrong direction;

11: branch crossing the trunk;

12: branch forming a knee;

13: randomly growing branches;

14: branch with thickening;

15: crossing branches;

16: rounded branches;

17: branch growing down;

18: "U"-shaped branch;

XV: TOOLS FOR BONSAI

The art of bonsai would never have reached such heights if it were not for the emergence of many specialized tools and tools designed for growing miniature trees. Over time, they improved and became widespread among amateurs around the world.

The quality and price of such tools vary, good ones are not cheap. This is due to the fact that intervention in the life of a miniature tree can be compared with a serious surgical operation on the human body. Bonsai are fragile and vulnerable, you need to work with them very carefully, for this you need special tweezers, wire cutters, knives. In addition, using high-quality tools, you will form a beautiful tree in a shorter time and with less effort, which will then be easier to care for. Of course, for beginners, at first, a small set is enough, you can purchase everything else as needed.

In the market for bonsai tools, preference is traditionally given to Japanese products - primarily because of the high quality of steel. IN Lately some tools are made of "stainless steel", which hits the pockets of bonsai lovers even more. However, good carbon steel scissors or wire cutters are just as reliable if you remember to clean and lubricate them on time.

BASIC TOOLS

necessary for trimming small branches and removing leaves in the thick of the crown.

are used in cases where the strengthened shoots are difficult to cut off with your fingers.

have thick blades that allow you to cut strong branches and roots.

Wire cutters : provide a clean symmetrical cut, have a rounded head that protects the branch from damage.

Concave cutters: designed to cut branches flush with the trunk, leaving an elongated indentation. The cutting edge of such pliers is sharp as a razor, so the wound on the tree heals quickly. This is a very important tool that cannot be replaced by pruning shears that work on wood from a different angle.

Convex cutters : are used for quick and clean removal of burrs from the trunk and roots. The head of the nippers is made in the shape of a ball, which is why they are also called "spherical".

Root clippers: have reinforced blades that allow you to cut dense wood. Such nippers are used to trim the roots during bonsai transplantation.

Barrel splitter: this tool allows you to split wood with the least residual damage. The shape of its head and symmetrical cutting blades provide simultaneous separation and dissection, resulting in a clean split.

Small saw: used for trimming branches that cannot be removed with scissors and wire cutters. The small angle of its teeth set gives a smooth, clean cut. The saw blade is slightly curved.

Wire: copper or aluminum, the latter is of two types - white and brown (anodized), its thickness is from 1 to 4 mm. Iron wire or that used in floristry is not suitable for forming miniature trees, it is not flexible enough and, moreover, it rusts. Before use, copper wire must be annealed, that is, heated to red and quickly cooled in water so that it becomes soft and easier to wrap around branches. When working with branches thicker than 3 mm, it is better to use aluminum wire, and for delicate shoots, take thin copper (up to 0.5 mm), which can not be annealed.

has a multifunctional purpose, for example, for grafting, layering, trimming strong roots and small trunks.

necessary when straightening especially difficult branches in large bonsai. Clamps come in a variety of sizes and are designed to increase pressure every few weeks or as the desired result is achieved. You need to use these tools carefully so as not to interrupt the movement of juices in the branch.

needed for plucking needles, removing unnecessary buds, cleaning bonsai from insects, weeds and small debris at the base of the tree. The reverse side of the tweezers has the shape of a spatula, so it is also convenient for them to loosen or compact the soil.

Master OK: helps to compact the soil and fix the bonsai in the container.

Hasi: traditional Japanese chopsticks are used to gently untangle the roots when transplanting bonsai.

Hooks with teeth: replace hashi when unraveling stronger and thicker roots without damaging them.

has many uses - from soil compaction to cleaning the base of the trunks and container.

designed to loosen or remove the soil around the roots.

have built-in sieves that sift dust. They will come in handy if you will harvest large quantities of soil in the winter, before using it in the spring it needs to be sieved.

Sieve: used to obtain soil with different grain sizes.

Watering can: has a long spout and a fine mesh that cuts through the stream of water when watering bonsai.

Spray: used for uniform spraying of insecticides and spraying bonsai crown with water.

Garden mastic: a special tool for processing fresh cuts, which helps to avoid the formation of scars on the bark of a tree.

TOOL CARE

As soon as good tools for bonsai are not cheap, it is worth making sure that they last longer. After work, be sure to clean them of dirt and resin, wipe scissors and wire cutters with alcohol. Cutting tools that you do not use for a long time should be stored in a dry place, previously lubricated with machine oil and wrapped in woolen fabric. Knives and wire cutters have to be sharpened from time to time, this can be done independently with the help of a grinding stone.

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Bonsai is a special technique for growing bonsai trees indoors. Essentially, bonsai is the art of creating the kind of tree you want to see. For a plant, you can choose the most common cutting of aspen, birch, pine, oak or juniper. With the help of various tricks, a strong large tree is forced to grow in small indoor pots, thanks to which a very beautiful small tree grows, amazingly fitting into a modern interior.

In the East, the bonsai technique is equated with the art of creating sculptures or painting. The history of bonsai dates back to the time of the samurai. When warriors went on campaigns, they certainly took small trees with them, personifying eternal youth and life.

How to plant a bonsai

Adult bonsai is an expensive pleasure. In addition, grown by someone else's hands, bonsai will not bring you proper satisfaction and joy. Old-timers of the East say that growing bonsai from scratch gives a person strength, teaches wisdom and patience.

To grow a bonsai at home, you need to go to the nearest park and find a small offshoot of any tree. Remember that bonsai is a prototype big tree, so you need to choose those varieties that suit your taste. That is, if you do not want to see leaves falling in autumn and bare branches in winter, you need to choose evergreen tree species. Also pay attention to which trees take root well in your lane. Don't plant a palm tree or banana tree if they don't get enough sunlight.

Walk through the park and decide on the choice of tree. It can be ficus, oak, elm, birch and any other plants. Dig up a small tree cutting. Usually viable shoots huddle around the roots of a large tree. In the same place, in the park, it is necessary to collect land for planting a plant. This is done so that the tree gets into the "familiar", that is, into the soil familiar to it.

To plant a plant, you need to prepare a pot. Bonsai grows very well and takes the desired shape in wide and shallow ceramic pots. The pot should be so shallow that it only covers the roots of the tree. Ceramics, in turn, perfectly retains moisture, which is so necessary when planting a shallow plant. However, for the first time, until the tree has grown stronger and gained strength, it can be planted in an ordinary pot for indoor plants.

At the bottom of the pot, you need to make drainage - scatter expanded clay pebbles or just brick shards. To prepare the soil, you need to mix three parts of the earth brought from the park with one part of sand and one part of peat. Mix the soil and pour it into the pot. Plant a tree in it, after cutting off the long roots. This is another important part of growing a tree. At each transplant, you need to cut the roots of the tree, leaving no more than 10 cm. This allows the plant to grow not up, but in breadth.

Growing bonsai is quite simple. Most trees do not need any special conditions. Immediately after planting a tree, it must be watered abundantly and placed in fresh air - for example, on a balcony or on a windowsill on the outside of a window.

fertilizers
Since there is not a lot of soil in the pot, bonsai need to be fertilized regularly. You need to feed the plant once every three weeks during the period of active growth. In winter, top dressing can be canceled. Usually bonsai are fertilized from a mixture of minerals, which include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Some crops, such as pine and maple, do not fertilize with nitrogen, otherwise it can provoke the active growth of these trees, which is unacceptable for us.

Watering a bonsai tree
Bonsai should be watered moderately, the amount of water required by the plant depends on its type. However, you should not allow the soil to dry out completely, since a shallow pot does not allow the tree to accumulate moisture. It is best to water the plant as soon as the topsoil dries out. In winter, watering is reduced to a minimum. If the air in the room is very hot and dry, you need to place the plant pot in a pan of water. Bonsai also need regular spraying - so it looks fresher.

Temperature and amount of sunlight
Most cultures are quite unpretentious regarding the temperature in the room where they grow. Try to regularly take your "pet" out into the fresh air - put it on the balcony. Most trees grow normally at temperatures ranging from -10 degrees to +40 degrees Celsius.

But there should be plenty of sunlight all year round. Place bonsai on windows on the sunny side of the house. And only in the middle of summer the tree needs to be protected from direct sunlight, otherwise the crown will simply turn yellow.

pruning bonsai
Pruning is one of the main conditions for growing aesthetically. beautiful plant. Even at the very beginning of growing a tree, you need to decide on the shape that you would like to see in your pot. Trees can be cut in such a way that they are straight and tall, spreading and low, asymmetrical, spherical, etc.

When pruning, it is important to consider some features. If you want to speed up and improve the growth of a plant in a certain direction, you need to cut off only the tops of the branches that grow in that direction. When you remove only the top leaves, the growth of the plant in that direction is accelerated. If, on the contrary, you want to stop the growth of branches in a certain direction, you need to “pinch off” the branches, that is, remove them from the very base of the trunk. Most likely, new shoots will no longer grow from this place.

From the very beginning of the growth of the seedling, it is necessary to constantly form the crown of the plant. This accelerates the growth of leaves, while making them small and decorative. Usually the tree is pruned in spring and summer, using small pruners or scissors for this. It is not necessary to prune the tree during flowering, otherwise it will never bloom again.

Many flower growers who are just starting to grow bonsai do not understand how such a dwarf plant species can be obtained from a large viable tree. Here are a few tips to help you figure out how to shape your bonsai.

1. Small capacity. If you plant a seedling in a large container, you will get a real garden tree. The small size of the shoots is achieved due to the shallow pot for planting bonsai. There is not much soil to "roam" in growth. And in order to replenish the strength of the plant, you need to transplant the tree into fresh soil saturated with minerals and fertilizers every few years.
2. Minimum fertilizer. To slow down the growth of a tree, you need to fertilize it, but to a minimum. You must not allow active growth and development of the crown.
3. Frequent pruning of young shoots. If you constantly cut off young branches, all the growth of the tree will go into the thickness of the trunk, which is what we want to achieve.
4. Root pruning. At each transplant, you need to ruthlessly cut the roots of the tree, leaving only small branches no more than 12 cm long.
5. Cuts in tree bark. If a tree stubbornly strives to grow upward, you need to stop the flow of sap under its bark. To do this, incisions are made on the bark or the trunk is simply pulled over with wire for several months.

All these techniques can be carried out only after the final strengthening of the seedling, otherwise it may lead to the death of a fragile tree.

What is sick bonsai

Bonsai can usually get sick with all those diseases and pests that affect big trees of this type. The main pests of the bonsai tree are - spider mite, aphids, worms. Like other indoor plants, bonsai can suffer from mold and mildew. You can get rid of pests using medicinal formulations for indoor plants, which are sold in specialized stores. You can also rub the tree trunk with garlic tincture, which kills insects. If your plant is sick, then you did not comply temperature regime, the amount of watering and other living conditions of the plant.

Growing a beautiful, elegant and refined bonsai tree is a real hobby that requires patience and endurance. Bonsai is not just flower growing, it is a true art of creating beauty.

Video: how to grow a bonsai tree with your own hands

According to legend, the Chinese emperor decided to observe his country with his own eyes, for which the masters of the Celestial Empire had to create tiny copies of houses, people and, of course, trees. Bonsai, almost fifteen centuries ago, first conquered Japan, and today this amazing art has conquered the whole world.

Like many centuries ago, the goal of the bonsai grower is to reproduce the creations of nature itself. Reduced copies of oaks, maples, pines, sakuras or ficuses have realistic proportions, they live according to the routine established by nature. If a deciduous tree is grown in a pot, it blooms, leaves and goes to winter dormancy.

Because the skillful likeness of a real tree is shaped by hand, growing and caring for a bonsai is laborious, time-consuming, requiring knowledge, patience and understanding of the needs of your green pet.

And yet, more and more beginners enthusiastically take on the difficult, but very exciting work. How to grow a bonsai at home and take care of a small copy of a real tree?

How to grow bonsai at home: common ways

If the grower is just beginning to be interested in bonsai, the easiest way is to purchase an already formed plant, for example, from ficus or citrus. It will help you master all the techniques of care from ordinary watering to pruning and adjusting the shape of the trunk and branches. The accumulated experience will allow you to move on to more complex tasks.

There are several ways to grow bonsai at home:

• through sowing the seeds of the culture you like and the subsequent "education" of the seedling;
• with the help of a rooted cutting;
• the formation of a seedling from a nursery or wild;
• transfer to a pot and correction of an already adult cultivated or wild specimen.

The fastest of these methods is the formation of the crown and root system of one or two-year-old seedling. Such a plant already has developed roots, while its ground part gives room for imagination and can be modified, according to the plans of the grower.

Enthusiasts interested in how to grow bonsai from seeds should know that this is the longest way, but also the most rewarding. Here, a person has control over the plant literally from the moment the seed is hatched, and it is easier to change the shape of the shoots and roots because of their flexibility.

It is not necessary to choose an exotic tree or shrub. The main thing is that the plant has small leaves and a small annual increase, otherwise it will be much more difficult to “tame” the future bonsai tree.

Choosing the Right Bonsai Tree

What types of plants are suitable for bonsai, tree in Japanese style? To quickly get an attractive tree, you can pay attention to:

The choice of trees suitable for bonsai is incredibly large, and many of them are the indigenous inhabitants of Russia and are found in gardens, parks, city squares and forests. Magnificent compositions are obtained from and shadberry, hawthorn, acacia and birch, elder and linden, euonymus and oak.

Before growing a bonsai, based on the type of plant, determine its future height and style.

How to grow bonsai from seeds?

Seeds of trees and shrubs suitable for bonsai are divided into two types. Some of the cultures are immediately ready for germination, but the “program” of many species has a hibernation period, when the sprout waits out the cold season, by evolution. At home, stratification will help to simulate winter.

Tree seeds for Japanese bonsai are placed in wet sand or sphagnum moss for 3-5 months, after which the container is placed in the refrigerator. At a slight positive temperature in a humid environment, the seed prepares for growth. When it is transferred to heat, the sprout quickly awakens. For evergreen species and plants with seeds that have a particularly strong shell, heat or temperature contrast is used to awaken.

Sowing seeds is carried out from spring to early autumn. Seedlings obtained in the second half of summer already need illumination, which is simply irreplaceable in autumn and winter.

For germination and the first months of life of seedlings, a light sandy-peat substrate is used or soaked and moistened peat tablets. Until a sprout appears on the surface, the container should be in the dark under the film. The air temperature is selected depending on the bonsai tree grown.

To avoid the formation of condensation and rot, the greenhouse is ventilated. When shoots appear inside, they provide a little access to fresh air and transfer the seedlings to the light. As necessary, seedlings are watered and fertilized with complex compounds. When the plant reaches a height of 10–12 cm, it is transplanted.

At this stage, the main root is shortened by a third to slow down the vertical growth of the tree. They immediately begin to form the future trunk, for which copper wire is used.

Choosing a pot and soil for bonsai

The bonsai tree is not for nothing called grown on a tray. To limit the pet in growth, it is planted in a deliberately small and shallow container, while simultaneously forming and cutting off part of the root system.

When choosing a bonsai pot, keep in mind that over the years the tree becomes heavy and, especially with an irregular, inclined or cascading shape, can become unstable. Therefore, for bonsai, ranging in size from a few centimeters to 9 meters, massive, often ceramic pots, bowls or containers of various shapes and styles are traditionally made.

At the bottom of the container there should be a drainage hole and not one. They are used not only for draining water, but also for attaching the plant.

Treating the bonsai pot with a hot solution of potassium permanganate or scalding it with boiling water will help protect the plant and protect it from fungal infection of the root system.

Bonsai soil is not only designed to provide the plant with nutrition and retain moisture, it must help the roots to gain a foothold in a relatively small volume of the pot. Therefore, for miniature copies real oaks, lindens, lemons, maples and other trees use a special substrate.

In Japan, for many centuries, such a mixture based on certain types of clay is called akadama. For greater nutritional value and friability, fertile soil and sand are added to the granular substance:

1. For deciduous bonsai tree species, a substrate is recommended with the inclusion of 7 shares of soddy land and 3 parts of coarse washed sand.
2. Flowering crops are grown on a mixture of 7 parts of soddy soil, three parts of sand and 1 part of highly nutritious humus.
3. Conifers, the most popular among bonsai lovers, need especially loose soil, for which they take 3 parts of soddy soil and 2 parts of washed sand.

Before filling the pot, the soil for bonsai is sorted out, removing foreign inclusions that can damage the roots, sieved and sterilized. At the bottom of the container, a drainage layer is arranged to drain excess moisture.

Bonsai tree care at home

It is not enough to purchase a miniature tree, get a young seedling or root a cutting of a breed you like. It is important to know how to care for a bonsai tree.

Constantly limiting growth, forming a crown and growing bonsai in a small pot, a person completely changes the life of a tree or shrub. Therefore, caring for such a culture is very different from caring for other houseplants.

The main task of the grower is to establish watering bonsai, which is not easy to cope with with a small amount of soil and a shallow pot filled with roots.

Previously, flower growers had only a special form of watering cans at their disposal or the ability to immerse a bonsai pot in a bowl of water in order to wet the soil from below. Today, irrigation of plants is actively used or drip irrigation, which allows dosed and without the risk of blur to moisten the soil under the bonsai.

For irrigation, take only soft, melted or settled water. During the growing season, plants need more moisture, with the onset of autumn and the approach of the dormant period, watering is reduced and carried out less often, focusing on the state of the substrate.

Top dressing is carried out at intervals of 2-3 weeks, using their mixtures for different crops and seasons. For Japanese trees bonsai, there are mineral supplements based on algae.

You can not leave the plants without nutrition, but it is equally important not to overfeed the bonsai. Therefore, when caring for bonsai trees at home, top dressing is applied very carefully:

• in the spring, at maximum growth intensity including in fertilizer twice as much as potassium and phosphorus;
• in summer, the proportions are left the same, but the concentration is halved;
• closer to autumn, especially for deciduous crops, the content of potassium and phosphorus is doubled, and nitrogen, on the contrary, is reduced.
• flowering and fruiting trees and shrubs need more potassium, which goes to the formation of buds and ovaries.

With the advent of winter, nothing changes for exotic evergreens, but coniferous and deciduous trees must prepare for wintering. How to care for a bonsai tree in winter? If the climate allows, they are left outside or brought to unheated terraces. The root system in a small bonsai pot may be the first to suffer, so it is additionally covered and the soil is dried a little. With the onset of spring, the plant awakens and again needs watering, top dressing and the formation of a crown and roots, which is mandatory for bonsai.

How to grow bonsai - video

Bonsai exhibition video

There are only two ways to create a bonsai. You can either choose a formed tree in the store and only care for it in the future. Or do your own bonsai formation. For this, they are used indoor plant or specially grown seedlings.

For bonsai, you need to choose healthy plants that have a strong root system and a well-formed line of branches. Work on the creation of bonsai begins at the age of 2-3 years in the spring after the formation of buds.

Decide on the style you want to create. It is also necessary to clearly understand how the branches will grow after pruning. Remember that the shoots located on the upper buds grow faster. The plant develops more actively in height than in width. Even on the side branches, the buds located at the ends of the shoots develop more actively.

This is due to the fact that more light falls on the outer buds and leaves, hence the increased development of the upper buds. The general growth trend of the plant also goes towards the light source.

The technique of creating bonsai can be divided into several stages:

1. The first thing to do is to remove all dry branches. The lower branches should also be removed. Leave three main ones. Ideally, their vertices should form an equilateral triangle. Next, trim the branches located between the main ones.

2. To create an inclined bonsai, wire is needed. It should be soft, because you will give it a shape with your hands, but at the same time elastic enough to hold the branches and trunk.

3. Next, release the upper roots from the ground. After that, you need to tilt the barrel to the desired angle. Fix the wire in the ground from the side of the slope. If you want to create a cascading style bonsai, and not just tilt, then you need to bend the trunk a lot. Gently but firmly hold the trunk of the tree. Wrap the wire tightly around it, being careful not to injure the bark. Apply turns so that the bent trunk does not crawl out between them, but not more often. The wire should reach the base of the main branches. Please note that she must maintain them in a normal position. Otherwise, the entire crown will hang, resembling a broom.

4. Wrapping branches, after each turn, you need to straighten thin shoots that can break. Of course, additional wire branches will be needed to create the desired frame. The sharp ends of the wire can simply be bent down. Or put eraser pieces on them. This will prevent damage to the plant and help you avoid scratching your hands.

Choose the length of the wire so that it is at least 1.5 times the area to be wrapped. It is desirable that the angle between the direction of the winding and the direction of growth of the shoot (trunk) be 45 degrees. However, this bonsai technique has exceptions. For plants with thin bark, fragile shoots or those with thorns, they do not use wire winding, but simply apply it to the trunk and tie it with woolen thread or soft insulated wire.

5. In such a frame in a given position, the grown bonsai plant should be at least 1.5-2 years. Such a period is necessary in order to be sure that the trunk does not return to its original position. The longest time is to keep the wire on the barrel. It can be removed from the branches after 6-8 months. For thin branches, braided wire is needed. The wire that is used for tying the cords of household appliances is well suited.

If you decide to create a bonsai with protruding roots, then you will also have to use wire for this.

6. The plant should be transplanted from a pot into a container no earlier than it acquires the desired shape. Before transplanting, the following preparations must be made. Seal the drainage holes with simple earthenware shards (bulge up). Cover the bottom with a layer of moss or chopped fern roots. Next, add some soil mixture.

7. Examine the roots. Damaged ones need to be cut off. How to distinguish them from healthy ones? Very simple. Healthy ones have a light cut. Pruning the roots consists not only in removing the damaged ones, but also in the formation of the root system. After this operation, the roots should be evenly distributed in all directions. In plants with a weakly expressed central root and a fibrous root system, the roots are simply cut evenly, thinning if necessary. A special case is a root system with a long central root and weak side shoots. This is the imaging technique. Remove the lower part of the root. The rest is formed using wire or wire brackets. Having fixed the root on the edge of the bowl, we bend it in a horizontal plane towards the center of the bowl.

Carefully place the plant in the container. Pour the soil mixture, after straightening the roots. For plants that do not hold firmly, you need to fix the trunk by placing heavy pebbles.

Watering the first time after transplanting should be very careful. After all, part of the roots was removed from the plant, which can be the cause of decay during waterlogging. Very often, the earth in the bowl is compacted and it has to be topped up. Once the soil has been sufficiently compacted and the tree established, the supporting stones can be removed.