Bonsai trees and plants are essentially specimen plants that are trimmed and cut to maintain their size to a pre-determined dwarfish state. For those people unfamiliar with the actual process of Bonsai, it is often presumed that this miniature form is achieved through depredations, such as starvation , radical root and branch hacking, and a general degradation of the plants overall living environment. Such as you would see a naturally occurring Bonsai, growing on the side of a wind-swept and inhospitable mountain-side.
However, the fact of the matter is that Bonsai are happy little plants indeed. They actually thrive on this process, considering the care and maintenance lavished upon them. You see, because the plant is being forced into an unnatural living state, if it were not given the extra care, more like as not the poor thing would just drop dead.
Think about it: jammed into a tiny pot; the roots are serially pruned to suit the size of that pot; the foliage is trimmed and primped so that it is proportional to the size of the pot; generally trained into contorted shapes to affect the look of incredible age like that poor thing growing on the mountain-side; AND, here’s the kicker, some Bonsai have been handed down through generations within a family and can reach incredible ages of 500 years and more.
There are in fact, very few plants, on the planet, that are able to achieve this state of grace in the wild. So, is “Bonsai” being cruel to plants? Er, no. Quite the opposite. I discuss “Naturally Occurring Bonsai, Wild Bonsai, Environmentally Dwarfed Plants”, in another article.
Bonsai specimens for indoors are available for purchase from essentially anyplace in the world and the popularity of the hobby, has to contributed to the growth of suppliers specializing in the sale, care and maintenance of Bonsai plants.
Bonsai do grow outside, and it is a relatively easy thing to do, if you have a little area of the patio or similar area to spare. You may very well be surprised at how much happier your Bonsai is, if you put it outside. It will pay to purchase your specimen from a local nursery, where the plants are already kept outside.
If you buy the plant from an outlet where all the plants are under flouro. lights, then take it home and bung it outside, you are already on the back foot. These plants will be “soft” and completely unprepared to contend with the conditions you are about to force it to put up with.
Similarly, if you already have a Bonsai indoors and think you can just chuck it out on the patio, please disabuse yourself of the notion. Any plant, whether store bought, or currently residing indoors, that is “soft” – needs to be gradually introduced to the outside environment, if it is to remain there for any length of time. You must acclimatise it: to direct sunlight, temperature fluctuations, and general environmental factors such as wind, etc.
At the same time, if you live in the extreme hot areas of your country and are thinking about purchasing from the Internet, make sure the plant does not come from a cool climate, as this is just a recipe for disaster, if not tears.
Purely because you have decided to grow your Bonsai out in the garden, doesn’t mean you can just walk away and ignore them, expecting them to preserve their miniature height, or even survive for that matter. A Bonsai that isn’t trimmed and properly maintained will discontinue being a Bonsai, and simply become a sapling, and an ugly one at that. Maintenance, means precisely what it says. You must maintain the plant, with the lifestyle it was previously accustomed to.
When you have an out of doors Bonsai, do try and resist the temptation to bring it inside, for more than a day or two at a time – and then, only for display, or bragging purposes. Should your prized specimen appears to be sick, it will without doubt, not enjoy the rapid alteration to it’s growing environment. It’s really crucial to remember this, do not bring an out of doors Bonsai indoors for a longer period than one evening each season.
Dragging your Bonsai indoors throughout the winter months, where no doubt there is a raging heater for the comfort of humans, will dry the plant out, likely scorch the leaves, and also dehydrate the roots. The opposite can also happen, where an outside Bonsai in the high temperatures of summer, is brought indoors where there is air Conditioning. The shock to the plant is the same as frost in summer and can also destroy your Bonsai.
Do Bonsai grow outside? Sure, just remember that this is a plant that requires a little more specialised treatment than a pot of geraniums. Supplying your outdoor Bonsai with the care a maintenance the plant needs, will see it flourish.