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Chapter 14. The Care and Management of Bonsai

Kay K. Omi

The experience of a California Bonsaiman

Watering. More trees die as a result of neglectful watering or lack of watering than any other cause. One cannot over water bonsai as long as the water can drain through the soil and out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the container.

During the summer and on warm days the tree should be watered thoroughly at every watering. The beginner should check the drain holes at the bottom of the container for the first week or so until the amount of water necessary to saturate the soil is known. When the soil becomes saturated with moisture, water will drip through the drain holes. For those with only a few trees, a rubber syringe fitted with a spraying head does the job nicely. For those with many trees, a garden hose with an adjustable spray nozzle is an effective and expedient method. The spray in any case should be fine so that the surface soil is not eroded away.

Watering should be through the foliage, using a gentle spray to keep the foliage clean. This doesn't have to be done at every watering, but often enough to discourage pests and scales. The tree should be watered once daily or more frequently under conditions of high temperature and low humidity. Under these conditions it would be wise to water as often as necessary to keep the surface of the soil damp. This may mean watering the tree two or three times daily. In autumn and spring and during weather when temperatures are mild (around 60° to 70° F) the tree should be watered completely to saturation at least once every other day. If in a region where winter temperatures go below freezing, and if the bonsai is winter hardy, it is best to place bonsai in a deep cold frame where the soil will not freeze. Even if kept in such a cold frame, the soil should be moist throughout the winter.

Where to keep the bonsai. The bonsai should be kept outdoors where it is shaded from direct sunlight in the summer and protected from drying winds in the winter.
Maple, wisteria, ginkgo, juniper and cryptomeria should be kept in partial shade the entire year for good color. The maples (Acer palmatum and Acer pal-matum dissectum) should be kept well protected from winds to prevent leaf burn. These maples are also adversely affected by long exposure to direct sun light (especially afternoon sun).

Bonsai can be brought inside to be admired for two or three days out of the week under normal conditions found inside an average home, but can be kept inside for longer periods if the temperatures inside do not exceed 50° F at night and the tree is kept watered during the day. However, one should not hope to keep the trees inside as permanent indoor plants. The best scheme is to bring the tree inside on special occasions and leave it outside at all other times.

In areas which have extremely high summer temperatures, it is mandatory that the tree be placed where it does not receive the direct rays of the sun (morning or afternoon). The best type of shelter from the sun is a lath house or something similar which can filter the sunlight. A bench placed under a shade tree is an excellent spot for the bonsai during hot weather.

Most bonsai can withstand temperatures down to freezing and colder. The danger in prolonged exposure to freezing weather is that moisture in the soil is apt to turn to ice and in freezing will expand and break the container. If the tree is to be left outside in winter, one must take measures to protect and shelter it.

Japanese sieves used to screen potting soil are graduated, from coarse to fine mesh, and they nest inside the metal drum. Soil sifted through these screens is separated into the different size granules needed to pot bonsai trees. Watering pot has a fine nozzle

One method is to bury the container in a compost which will generate heat energy on decomposing. The best place to bury the container would be under a tree or next to the house where the bonsai will be sheltered from drying winds.

Another method is to keep the tree in a cool spot (not warmer than 50° F) inside the house for the entire winter season. In this case it is important that there are no gas fumes in the air and that the tree is watered. The tree should be taken outside whenever possible during the day.

A greenhouse with controlled temperatures is probably the best method of protecting bonsai from freezing weather. Temperatures with the greenhouse should not exceed 50° F. (Also see chapter 4)

An enclosure next to the house with a hinged glass roof which can be kept open during the day and closed at night is also a good means of providing shelter. The enclosure should be sunk in the ground to make use of insulation from the surrounding earth.

Repotting. Bonsai are transplanted when the roots in the container have become bound. A root-bound condition is one in -which the roots have extended themselves to a point where they are no longer able to gain sustenance from the soil.

Root pruning is not a hazardous operation of it is done at the right time of the year and if one is careful not to take away too much of the soil from the soil root ball. One can safely take away one-third of the total volume of soil from the tree (leaving the remaining two-thirds intact) providing that it is done just before growth starts in spring. This means as the buds swell, and just before leafing out occurs.

Once the tree has been root pruned and transplanted, the tree must be protected from freezing temperatures. In the late spring and summer of the year the tree has been transplanted, it must be protected from direct sunlight. This is particularly important if the bonsai has a full crop of leaves.

One should check for a root-bound condition annually. This can be done simply by taking the tree out of the container in January or February and examining the root ball. If the tree is not root-bound, one can simply put the tree back in the container.

A root-bound tree will have roots growing closely together around the outside of the soil ball. Most trees can live in this root-bound condition for several years, providing that they get ample water. This is an unhealthy condition, however, and it would be advisable to prune the roots back when a root-bound condition is detected.

Every well-equipped bonsai grower has one of these imported lazy susan’s which, with its turn-table top, simplifies the task of pruning, wiring, tying, and potting a plant. This model comes equipped with brushes, sticks, snips, tweezers, shears, knife and scoop, which are kept in the drawer Buhle

For transplanting one should have the following:

A. Tools

1. Tour sieves—1/4, 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32-inch
2. Chopsticks for picking away and later "firming" soil
3. Pruning shears, knife, brush, wire clipper, trowel, watering can

B. Soil

1. 1/8 to 1/4-inch gravel
2. Loam soil
3. Manure
4. Leaf mold (well rotted)
5. River sand (or partially decomposed granite) These should be completely dry.

C. Special materials

1. Copper wire and string to tie trees into containers.
2. Moss. This should be dried and powdered.
3. Plastic screen or coconut fiber to cover drain holes in bottom of containers.
4. Separate boxes or pails for soil, manure, leaf mold, sand, and moss.

Procedure for soil preparation:

1. Nest the sieves  one on top of the other, with the 1/4-inch sieve on top and the 1/32-inch sieve on the bottom.
2. Pour the loam through the sieves. Break up any large clods of soil on the 1/4-inch sieve and run through sieves.
3. Discard the fine particles, which pass through the 1/32-inch sieve.
4. Combine the soil retained on the 1/16 and 1/32-inch sieves and put aside.
5. Process the leaf mold and sand (or partially decomposed granite) in the same manner and put each in a separate container.

Recommended soil mixtures;

Tree Type Pine

Conifers other than pines, such as juniper, cypress, cedar, fir, hemlock, etc.

Zelkova and maples

Flowering and fruiting *Or partially decomposed granite.

	Loam	River Sand*	Leaf Mold	Manure
	2	3	1	--
	3	4	1	--
	3	1	2
	2	--	--	3

The figures represent parts by volume. The ingredients should be well mixed before using.

Procedure for transplanting tree. In transplanting pick a day that overcast if you are transplanting outdoors. Transplanting should also be done in a protected area sheltered from winds.

1. Carefully take the tree out of the container without disrupting the soil around the roots. The soil should be moderately dry. Tree placement in the container is important, so when removing the tree from the container, remember where it was placed.
2. Unravel and untangle the roots from the soil root ball.
3. Using a chopstick or pointed stick, gently pick away the soil from the roots on the sides and bottom of the ball. Be sure to remove the wire screening from the bottom of the ball.
4. Remove approximately one-third of the soil from the ball. Be careful not to disrupt the soil around the trunk of the tree.
5. Carefully trim off the roots, now exposed by soil removal, with a pair of sharp snips, leaving an inch or so of the roots extending beyond the soil ball.
6. Before replacing the tree in the container, prepare the container by spreading plastic screening or coconut fiber over the drain holes.
7. Place a layer of 1/8 to 1/4-inch gravel in the bottom of the container.
8. Place enough of the soil mix over the gravel, so that when the tree is seated within the container, the top surface of the soil is even with or slightly below the edge of the container.
9. Place the tree back into the container and locate it where it was before removal.

For bonsai care when on vacation, this plastic tent serves as a moisture-tight "greenhouse." The frame can be made of wire clothes hangers. Water well and allow to drain thoroughly before placing bonsai under tent. Never expose covered plant to direct sunlight. Buhle

10. Fill the sides with the dry soil mixture prescribed.
11. Tamp the soil by repeated jabbing with a chopstick or stick to insure that there are no air pockets around roots.
12. Water the soil to saturation. Always water after tamping and not before.
13. Keep the tree in a shaded location (filtered light, as under lath shade or par tial shade of a tree) through the spring and summer when in leaf.
14. Continue to water the tree as you did before transplanting.

Pruning and. nipping. Pruning and nipping must be performed on every tree sometime during the year. In the ease of deciduous trees, such as maple and zel-kova, nipping and thinning is performed throughout the growing season. Do not be afraid to snip new growth in the bud. Juniper, cryptomeria, and cypress are finger-nipped throughout the growing season to keep the tree shaped.

Cedrus atlantica and Cedrus deodora can, if needed, be trimmed down to a dormant bud at any time of the year, as long as one doesn't make too many big cuts.

The new growth ("candles") on pine generally is snipped off in spring. About five clusters of needles should be allowed to remain on each candle.

Wire removal. Removal of wire used to shape the trunk and branches usually can be performed after a year's growth. However, for branches of pencil-size or larger trees it may take longer. Wiring and rewiring may sometimes take a great number of years before the tree finally attains the desired shape. In any case, it should be rewired each year so the wire will not sear the bark. When it is desired to train older trees, it may take several years of wiring before the trunk and big branches can assume a permanent bend.

How to Feed Bonsai Plants

Feeding can be performed with any animal or vegetable manure. For most trees, rapeseed or cottonseed meal (vegetable manure) is all that is necessary. Each of these comes in a mealy granular form, and can be administered either in this form, or as a liquid extract.

Application of Meal in Granular Form

This method of application is the simpler of the two methods. The meal is simply sprinkled over the soil. Or, make a thick paste of the meal, and apply in teaspoon-size masses on soil of containers (2 or 3 such masses for each plant).

The meal will begin to decompose on the surface soil in two to three weeks after applied. The first stage in decomposition will be the formation of a white mold. The mold will disappear eventually and with continuous watering, moss formation will begin.

The meal should be sprinkled over the soil about once every 6 weeks between, mid-spring and mid-summer. Be liberal in sprinkling it over the soil, but not so much that it will cake.

For flowering and fruiting varieties, one should supplement cottonseed meal with bone meal.

Application of Liquid Fertilizer

Use Fish Emulsion" Fertilizer or other commercial liquid fertilizer, diluted according to manufacturer's directions. Do NOT over-fertilize. Liquid fertilizers should be applied three to six times a year, starting as the buds burst in spring, and every three to four weeks thereafter until mid or late summer. Three times each year is enough for pines and similar evergreens.

How much. Use the diluted liquid fertilizer as though you were watering. Do not sprinkle the foliage with fertilizer—only the soil.—Ed.

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