Getting Started
It is a hobby we can all share and we do not need to speak multiple languages to be able to communicate. The trees and their beauty speak for themselves.
Bonsai is a combination of man-made sculpture and the harmony and perfection of nature. Every part of these small but perfect trees - the roots, trunk, branches, foliage and container – is a balance to express the artist's feelings for, form and line. A bonsai is a miniature representation, combining, unchanged, in all, but size.
We hope in time to include everything you could possibly want to know if you wish to grow bonsai for both those just starting out, growing their first small tree as well as the long term enthusiast hoping for greater skills and better trees.
This will include what they are and the origins of this fascinating art to the different species of trees suitable for creating bonsai, how to obtain them, the equipment and skills you need to keep them healthy, the striving for better more creative masterpieces and on to how to judge good from poor, and even how to display your trees.
What are Bonsai?
Not every tree grown in a pot can be called a bonsai, nor even a “potential” bonsai. It must have certain characteristics to qualify for the name.
- It must be artistic in shape and, of course, must be miniature in size.
- It should be a replica in miniature, a small scale version of a fully grown tree.
- It must be in appropriate pot, not an ice cream carton or a small plastic flower pot. The pot is part of the art form and should be part of the pleasing aesthetic appearance.
- Bonsai can vary in height from a few centimeters to over a meter. There is no finite height limit - the only constraint is that it must be cultivated in a pot. However, not every tree grown in a pot can be called a bonsai.
Starting your Collection
Probably the simplest way to start your collection is to visit a bonsai nursery and buy one ready-made, one that has been imported from Japan, China or Korea. This will give you that good feeling of having a tree to look at and care for. Do not spend too much money on your first tree; you have a lot of learning to do before you can be sure of keeping it healthy and in shape.
If you can afford it, buy more expensive trees later when you are more experienced. But if you get hooked on this absorbing hobby you will probably get more pleasure and certainly less expense from creating beautiful bonsai yourself. Go to your local garden centre and choose something suitable – it will not cost a fortune.
If you are aiming a little higher and perhaps you have learned how to keep your first little tree happy and healthy, then perhaps you are ready to buy “a bigger or better bonsai.” Go to a specialist bonsai nursery, not a garden centre that has just a few unselected bonsai for sale in a small corner.
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