Friday, August 05, 2005
Start With a Single Tree
In the beginning....there was a seed. A bonsai seed is not much to look at. The ones I have worked with resembled black pepper. Twice I have gone through the motions of trying to grow a tree from a seed. Never again. Both times I came to a miserable end. On my first attempt the germinating seeds were mistaken for a dirty rag mistakenly left in the refrigerator and were thrown away by my wife. Attempt number two involved me waiting for 3 weeks for my germinated seeds to break through the crust of potting soil. On week number four I transplanted the beasts to the garbage.
I have had the best experience with young plants from the bonsai nursery. There are a couple of reasons this is the preferred way to start out. Most importantly you will probably have little idea of to properly care for your tree. This tree is likely to be under duress having been packed up and shipped across the country (and Ocean in the case of Hawaiian born plants). If the plant was in questionable health at the beginning of the journey you will have your work cut out for you. Buying the plant directly from the bonsai nursery means you will be retrieving a plant in optimal health! You will get instructions educating you about your specific plant, so the chances of killing this tree are minimal.
The second reason to consider the bonsai nursery is that when you order an 8" tree for twenty bucks you are receiving a 3-4 year old plant. This plant has been pruned back and trained. It is very gratifying to start out with something that is already interesting. Check your mail, open the box, water your tree and enjoy.
Now then...if you know somebody with an attractive tree you have another option. Take a cutting from a healthy tree, transplant to some potting soil and stand back! I took some cuttings from a mid-summer pruning session and put them in a pot with some soil. 18 months later this is the result. If you really like the idea of developing a bonsai completely on your own, this may be the way to go.
In the next post I will discuss the best kinds of trees to consider starting with.
Comments:
I really enjoyed the posted information and as a city dweller myself, I am insipred to try raising a bonsai. I agree that the bonsai plant experience is the creation of living art! Thanks for sharing!
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