"Not affiliated in any way with the American Bonsai Society"






The contemplation and appreciation of a natural form: that is what Bonsai is all about.

In our hurried world, we haven't the time to create a century old masterpiece but, with the proper choosing of our little tree we can make a close and pleasing approximation.

Rosemary is an excellent plant to use for bonsai. It roots easily, in either water or in dirt( using a hormone, such as rootone). Thicker branches from older rosemary plants already have little root nodules just waiting for water to burst forth.
Rosemary takes to pruning gracefully, and puts out a thick growth where it has been cut. It can be formed and shaped with wires.

My own favorite is ficus. I have a large ficus tree, which is trimmed each spring when set outside. The clipped branches are thrust into a quiet corner of the garden where they will either root or die.
In the fall, I dig out the rooted "bonsai" ficus and bring them inside to be planted in shallow pots.
They take well to pruning; in fact they must be pruned often because their natural desire is to grow back into large ficus trees. I keep my bonsai ficus in a shallow bowl with an arrangement of rocks and ground cover.



A new experiment is this bonsai Rose of Sharon. The plantlet was found under the branches of a larger Rose of Sharon. I have kept it pruned severly. It's shape is pleasing, and I wonder if it will ever flower!
The Rose of Sharon drops its leaves in the fall, and at that time I move the plant to the garage where it can go dormant, without freezing.





How-to section: Preparing a treelet for bonsai:



Here is a small ficus which was cut off the big ficus tree last spring, spent the summer in the dirt pile, making roots, and the winter in the greenhouse, just resting. Now it is ready to be pruned and planted in a bonsai bowl.
We need, besides the rooted cutting and bonsai bowl, some shredded bark, some dirt from that same dirt pile, ground cover, rocks and a little figurine.
And a cup of coffee for the gardener doesn't hurt
The cutting is removed from it's winter pot and the dirt worked away from the roots as much as possible. If a long tap root has developed, it would be pruned at this point.
A small handful of shredded bark is mounded over the drain hole in the bonsai pot, and then a layer of dirt to cover it.
Now we seat the cutting in it's bonsai pot. Dip the root ball in water, and spread it over the dirt covered mound, then pack with more dirt making sure it is tightly packed. Water.
Now comes the time to prune the treelet. I prune it severly, but with caution, turning to look at all sides, cutting, turning again, cutting again. My goal is not a finished tree immediatly, but to set it's basic shape. Once over the shock of today's session, it will put out new leaves and fill in the gaps. I'll probably prune it again at the end of the summer.




Here is the finished "bonsai" - I've added some ground cover, rocks, and a little figurine. It will take a week or two of resting while the ground cover takes hold and the ficus decides to put out some leaves. In the meanwhile, it is resting on a quiet shelf.



Because the roots are so shallow, it is very important to keep bonsai well watered. I soak each one in the sink once a week and drain it well before returning to it's place on the shelf.
The bonsai have a shelf in the greenhouse for the winter, and in a shaded corner of the porch for the warm weather. I rotate them to the dining room table, which is under a skylight. They are pleasant friends to share a solitary lunchtime.