Notes on Bonsai

Cuttings:




Plants from cuttings do take less time when compared to plants grown from seeds.Stem cuttings are suitable for a bonsai.The cuttings should be taken from healthy plants.The best time for cuttings are in the months of



october.







Potting the cuttings:



Aclay pot with the draianage hole covered with a mesh,and the pot filled with soil and sand is ideal for planting.Place the cuttingsends diagnolly going in to the soil.No leaves are to be burried in to the soil.Cradax powder is also useful to enhance the root formation.Wter the cuttings with a rose can.Then the plant to be kept in a shade away from sunlight.After 10 days slowly expose to the morning sun. And slowly increase the exposure time.Ina month the cuttings start rooting.After 2 months apply manure to the plant.





Potting the bonsai plant,is done in a clay pot.The drainage hole in the bottom of the pot should be covered witha plastic mesh.Cover the bottom portion of the pot with small pebbles, or with rough sand.Then slowly



open the plant from wild,remove the cover and wet sand around root ball and slowly cut off the roots or trim.Then plant it with soil andmanure.Finally water the soil and the plant,keep it in shade for some days until



the plant recovers from the shock.After 10 days slowly and gradually expose to sun.Likewise less watering is dangerous to the plant, even over watering is dangerous as it rots all the roots.Little training is required to the plant collected in wild, after 6 months it can be transferred in to a bonsai pot.

BONSAI



There are types in bonsai according to the sizes.



Thumb Bonsai-below 3"



Mame Bonsai-Below 6"



Small Bonsai-SB-6" to 12"



Medium Bonsai-MB-12" to 24"



Large Bonsai-LB-above 24"



Bonsais are not indoor plants.Weekly they can be kept indoor for 2 days only.







Bonsais need 5 to 6 hours sunlight daily.





The plant which we use for bonsai should be small ,the flowers fruits and leaves should be small in size.



The jackfruit plant will be artificial if made into bonsai,for it has large fruits.So we should select a plant which has small leaves,which can yield small fruits.Trees like papaya and palms rare not suitable for a bonsai.Trees with compound leaves are also not suitable for a bonsai.



The bonsai plants can be acquired by growing from seeds.But it takes a lot of time,one should have patience



to wait for so many years..Where as one cancollect bonsai from nature.It takes less time,one can coolect from naturenand can be repotted and can grown into a bonsai.The best time of collection is spring early summer,or the monsoon beginning.This is the time which a tree grows vigorously.The ground should be soaked with water before digging the tree,so one can dig out all the roots with the soil-ball attached to the roots.we can take off properly without disturbing the roots.We should cover the roots with a wet soil to prevent the roots from drying out.Then wrap carefully in a plastic sheet to retain the moisture until you reach the home.While digging from wild,we have to trim the leaves and branches of the plant,in proportion to the roots part. carefully the plant is taken off home.