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Question: How to take care of a small bonsai tree?

(Posted by: rockleeramen1 on 2010-01-15 17:17:47)

Ok before i explain i do not want a link showing how to plant one. My friend just came back from Japan and he got me a Bonsai tree. The whole box was just this small cup with a hole on the bottom, a saucer that the cup goes on, a metallic thingy to hold the soil from going through the hole, about more then 10 seeds and a small bag of rocks and soil. Now, i want to know how to plant these seeds and im guessing i put water on the saucer so it can seep through the hole on the bottom of the cup without it seeping out, but i watched videos of people watering them from the top. It says Karomatu on the instructions next to a picture of the tree im guessing, but that is the only thing in english. So basically i want to know a couple things 1) Should i germenate the seeds or should i just put them in 2) Where should i put the seeds. Such as on top, the bottom or the middle of the soil? 3) Does this bonsai tree need a lot of light? 4) How often do i water it. And do i water it from the top, or do i just let it soak from the bottom or both? 5) How many seeds should i plant? People usually plant 2 at a time and take the smaller one out so i guess i will just save the seeds? 6) should i repot it anytime after i plant it? 7) This may bea stupid question but i heard that some Bonsai trees will sprout blossoms like cherry blossoms during spring. Is this true? And is their a certain season i should plant this in? and finally, 8) should i leave this outside or on my windowsill in my bedroom? Thank you very much! I discovered that it is a black pine Bonsai tree. Yes i did get the seeds, not the tree itself. How do i take care of one of these?!

Posted by: reynwater on 2010-01-16, 04:14:14

Bonsai seed kits are a rip off. It will take tens of years to grow to any size for bonsai technique - you can't grow a perfectly pruned bonsai from seed, just doesn't happen. Better to try using bonsai techniques on an existing (preferably natrually stunted) tree. Here's more: search.yahoo.com/ search;_ylt= A0geuqRyrVFLyEcAShdhxrF_?p= bonsai+ techniques

Posted by: Queen of Sheba on 2010-01-15, 18:23:57

`1. A bonsai tree can be any sort of tree that lends itself to be minituraized through stunting by putting it in a small container too small for the tree and perriodically pulling it up and trimming the roots and directing the limbs to grow into specifically chosen directions using string and/ or wire. However, bonsai is a style of keeping a big tree small and is not itself a name of a specific specie of tree. 2. You confuse me when you say he gave you a tree then say you have ten seeds. Did he give you a tree or ten seeds to grow into your own tree and turn into a bonsai in a kit with a planter and some soil? . I will assume he gave you seeds and you yourself are confused and called it a tree when in reality you intend to grow a tree and turn it into a bonsai tree. 3. You could germinate them first if you like but I personally prefer to plant tree seeds directly into the soil in a container. Its quite up to you. 4. Just to be on the safe side I would plant any seed I wasn't familiar with no more than a quarter to half an inch deep. If you don't know which side of the seed is up or down, then plant it sideways to be safe. Its better than accidentally planting it upside down because a sprouted seed can survive better when planted sideways than upside down. 5. If you plant all ten surely more than one might sprout. If you plant them all and more than one sprouts can yan you get more little planters? Most nurseries will have something for about five dollars to plant a bonzai tree in. Until you know how many will sprout you can use a temporary container for the other sprouts until you get extra bonazi planters since it is likelyh that more than one will sprout. It is nice to have more than one bonzai tree especially since you are just learning how to do it. You can try different things and prune each into a different shape if you like. 6. I don't know what kind of seeds came with your bonzai kit so I can't tell you how much light it will need for sure but I would assume it needs some direct sunlight and partial day shade. 7. You can grow it outside or on a sunny place inside in the spring and summer but you should probably leave it outside for the winter since Cherry trees lose all their leaves in the winter and bloom gorgeously during Golden Week, which is in late March or April when spring starts. Remember that sometimes a window can double the heat of the sun so be careful not to burn your tree on a hot day by accident. YOu might have to put it by an open window on hot summer days if you wish to keep it inside to avoid sunburn by a window magnifying the heat. You'll be able to tell by taking keeping daily notice of it is doing. 8. Yes you will need to pull it up periodically and trim the roots when the roots outgrow the space of the pot. The concept is similar to chinese foot binding. If the roots don't have enough room then the growth of the tree is stunted. Bonzai is actually the art of deliberately stunting trees. 9. If it is a cherry blossom seed it will have cherry blossoms. If it a seed of another kind of tree, it will have the blossoms of that specie of tree. As I mentioned, many types of tree species can be stunted and turned into a bonzai tree. You want a species that you can manipulate into shapes by using wires to direct the growth as you wish. 10. Its not at all a stupid question to ask when you should plant your tree. Cherry blossom trees do best in weather that gets cold in the winter and probably wouldn't grow at all in Southern Florida or Texas or in Hawaii except on Maunaloa on the Big Island where it gets cold enough to grow strawberries and apples. If you live north of the equator and where it gets down at least 52 degrees in the winder, it should be fine for Japanese cherry blossom trees if that is what kind of seeds you have. I am guessing is you should plant the seed in the fall or in April after the last frost naturally occurrs in Japan. (That's when the cherry blossom trees in Japan come into full bloom and what an amazingly gorgeous sight that is!) To be sure, I would google to see if I could find out when a Japanese cherry blossom tree should be planted. I mightg also look for a picture of that tree's seeds, and if your seed are indeed Japanese cherry blossom trees, I'd plant accordingly. 11. Yes, you do need to add a little fertilizer once a year or every six months after you prune the roots. How often you pull the tree out of the planter and trim the roots would depend on the type of tree you choose to turn into a bonzai tree. And how fast it outgrows the bonzai container. 12. If your kit didn't come with some pretty river stones to cover the dirt with you might look for some to cover the dirt up with or add to what came with the kit to personalize your tree/ s which you will probably become quite attached to. I hope this helps you! I enjoy growing bonzai trees too and started using a false lemon tree that had the best smelling flowers once a year but no fruit. I live in the tropics so it was the best seed choice where I live. I used to live in Japan and once when in Hong Kong I saw some that bonzi trees they said were three hundred of years old, cherished for having been passed down for 12 generations in that family. They were shaped into words in Kanji (Japanese and Chinese symbol writing) One was shaped into the symbol for long life. Absolutely incredible! I took a class on how to grow bonzai trees some years back that helped me get started. Good Luck! Do this right and you'll have a treasure to pass down to your great great great great grands!

Posted by: Mia on 2010-01-16, 08:44:14

This website will give you some basic information on Bonsai Care bonsai-garden.com/ Additionally there are a series of bonsai related articles that address specific issues growers of bonsai deal with bonsai-garden.com/ bonsai-articles.htm Goodluck!