Some are convinced that bonsai is a variety of dwarf tree-like plants that are grown in standard pots. Others believe that bonsai is an art form or trend in Eastern philosophy, which a tiny Japanese tree seems to complement. In fact, bonsai are really tiny trees, which are the most accurate copy of their tall relatives. They receive them - having comprehended all the subtleties of a special kind of art, and for years they successfully keep them in their home - only after understanding all the subtleties of Eastern philosophy based on contemplation, admiration and reflection. Previously, a unique Japanese tree as tall as an ordinary indoor flower could only be seen at exhibitions. Now bonsai has become incredibly popular and spread all over the world. Many Russians have also begun to master the technique of its cultivation. It is simple only at first glance, but it contains many secrets and features.

Where to begin

If you have firmly decided that you need a tiny tree in a pot, the question arises of how to get it. To make the task easier, you can buy a ready-made bonsai in the store. Then the duration of his life in the apartment will depend on knowledge and compliance with the rules of care. But many adherents of oriental culture certainly want to grow an exotic plant on their own from scratch.

Exists different types bonsai, depending on the type of plant that will turn into a dwarf. Almost any tree from the garden or from the nearest forest belt can become a candidate. The art of bonsai became famous thanks to Japan, but was born in China during the reign of the Tang dynasty, when one of its rulers wanted to create a miniature copy of his empire. It was then that the clever ancient Chinese came up with the idea of ​​making the same trees out of ordinary trees, only dozens of times smaller. The new agricultural technique was called "cultivated on a tray" or bonsai. Thus, observing certain techniques, any plant can be turned into a dwarf. But in practice, success often comes with trees that can withstand extreme conditions of existence, namely, develop in a miniature volume of soil, not get sick from changes in natural lighting conditions, change annual temperatures and watering. Therefore, no matter what types of bonsai you choose, it is important to take into account the natural living conditions of your pets and strive to get as close to them as possible.

Where to get planting material

As mentioned above, for bonsai suitable different plants, both coniferous and deciduous. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the size of their leaf blade. Since the potted plant will be miniature, it is desirable that the leaves of its prototype are not too large. Otherwise, the small trunk simply will not be able to hold them on itself. The second condition is that the species of plants from which different types of bonsai are created have a genetic tendency to form a dense crown. Having decided on the candidate, it is imperative to take into account in what soil your future bonsai grows in the wild, with what illumination, with what humidity. All this will exactly need to be recreated at home in a pot. In practice, success is achieved with fruit trees, citrus fruits, myrtle, maple, rhododendron, ficus and many others.

Yamadori

There are not only different types of bonsai, but various technologies its reproduction, or, more correctly, the starting operation of growing. Yamadori is considered to be the simplest technology. It consists in the fact that the necessary young tree is being looked after in its natural habitat. It is dug in a circle, too powerful roots (if any), truncated and left alone for three months. Then it is removed with a lump of earth and placed in a selected flower pot (bonsai). For early adaptation, the plant is shaded, sprayed, and a temperature regime similar to the natural one is created.

Toriki

This technology in Russian means trivial cuttings. It is important to respect the timing of this process. For example, in Russia it is desirable to cut hardwoods by cuttings at the end of spring, and conifers, on the contrary, at the beginning. Plants from which cuttings are harvested must be five to ten years old. If you strictly follow the rules for harvesting planting material for your bonsai, caring for it in the future will not bring disappointment. Cuttings should be cut only in cloudy weather, cutting off still not stiff shoots. Their length can vary, depending on the number of internodes. There should be no less than three of them and it is not desirable that there should be more than five. The upper edge of the cutting is made even, and the lower edge is beveled, placed in water, covered with a damp cloth. Another practiced toriki method is to carefully remove a strip of bark no more than 2 cm wide on a branch that you like, or an incision is made on the branch, into which a pebble is inserted. This place is abundantly moistened with epin, wrapped in sphagnum, polyethylene on top, secured and wrapped on both sides to stop the air supply. Moisture is regularly injected into this compress with a syringe. The sprig should take root in about 60 days.

Misho

This method is ideal for beginners and means seed reproduction. Maples, oaks, myrtle, pomegranate, citrus fruits are suitable for this. You can collect ripe seeds from selected trees, from which bonsai should be obtained without any problems. For this alone, the seeds must go through all phases of stratification. To facilitate the task, you can carefully remove already germinated seeds from the ground in the spring and place ready-made sprouts for the future bonsai in prepared bowls.

Classification according to size

There are not only different types, but also styles of bonsai that differ in size. It is surprising that the world of miniature plants has its own tiny giants and midgets. The international classification distinguishes:

1. Mame. This group is made up of trees up to 20 cm high. Among them:

Kasi-tsubu (midgets in the land of midgets, up to only 2.5 cm high).

Sieve (up to 7.5 cm high, maximum 8 cm).

Gafu (up to 20 cm high).

2. Syokhin. This group is made up of plants of intermediate sizes between very small and just small. There are also two subgroups here:

Komono (about 20 cm tall).

Meabi (up to 25 cm).

3. Kifu. The group is in the middle position. The plant included in it can grow up to 40 cm.

4. Ty. Plants in this group are almost giants and reach one meter in height. Subgroups:

Tyukhin (up to 60 cm).

Omono (up to 100 cm).

5. Bonju. In the world of Lilliputian plants, these are already giants, capable of stretching up to 120 cm and higher.

Classification by crown shape

It turns out that there are also different styles of bonsai based on how the crown looks. The traditional ones include:

Tyokkan (trunk erect, thickening towards the base).

Moyogi (the base and top of the stem are perpendicular to the ground, and the middle is curved).

Sokan (the tree has two stems, each with its own crown, forming something whole).

Shakan (trunk without curvature, but growing towards the ground at an angle).

Kengai (trees resemble classic weeping ones, that is, they grow with trunks inclined below the pot, as if falling).

Khan Kengai (the stem of the tree is also falling, but the top is always in line with the ground of the bowl, and the outgoing branches resemble independent plants).

Bundzings (the tree grows with an erect stem, but with a minimum number of branches).

Sekijёju (there are stones in the bowl on the ground, and the roots of the tree seem to braid them).

Isitsuki (a composition of figured stones is created in a bowl, and plants grow in their crevices).

Hokidachi (the stem of the plant is straight, and the twigs form a beautiful spherical crown).

-Yose ue (several trees grow in the pot, not a multiple of 4, different in height and age).

Ikadabuki (imitation of a tree, as if falling to the ground, from the trunk of which individual branches grow upward).

Exclusive Styles

In addition to the classical ones, which are considered to be simpler, in the art of bonsai there are very complex ones that require high skill. This:

Netsuranari (several trunks grow from one root of a tree, which are intricately intertwined with each other).

Fukinagashi (a complex composition in which the bonsai grows not just at an angle, but in such a way that its twigs and leaves are arranged like a tree is tending to the wind).

Sakai (an imitation of a whole corner of nature is created in a bowl - a forest or a mountain area, and bonsai plants make this imitation more natural).

Growing rules

It is not very difficult to maintain a bonsai at home, the care of which is based on strict adherence to the rules. Those who believe that dwarf trees should grow only in the house, as an element of decor, are mistaken. Very often, bonsai compositions are placed in the fresh air, and they are brought into the house only with the onset of cold weather. If the winters are not harsh, the bonsai can be left outside, but the bowls must be placed in a container with a large diameter, and covered with a thick layer of moss from above to the very branches of the tree.

It is very important that deciduous bonsai in winter, as well as in natural conditions, shed their foliage and remain dormant for some time. To do this, they are taken out into a cool room. The third condition for success is strict adherence to lighting and humidity standards. If the bonsai does not have enough natural light, they additionally turn on the lamps, but at the same time take into account the heat generated by them. Support optimal humidity can be done with an electric humidifier. If there is none, the pot with the plant can be placed in a tray lined with pebbles and half filled with water. The simplest, but also the most ineffective way is to spray the plant crowns.

Landing

When the planting material is prepared - cuttings or seeds - the bonsai needs to be placed in his house. The Japanese and Chinese use bowls for this and low flower pots coated with glaze or matte, but always have several drainage holes. So that the soil does not wash out of them, the holes are covered with a piece of tile. The shape of the pot can be any. It is best to take the soil for indoor bonsai the same as that of its outdoor relative. Some craftsmen prepare the soil separately. Everyone has their own recipes. The most common ones are:

A mixture of equal parts of clay, fine gravel, humus, stone chips or sand;

Clay, humus and gravel in ratios (3: 5: 2);

Clay humus, gravel (1: 5: 3);

Leafy earth, coke, sand, crust, volcanic soil.

In any case, the soil should easily allow water to pass through in order to avoid stagnation. In addition, experienced craftsmen advise disinfecting the pot and soil before planting. placed in the ground, covered with glass, the entire period of germination is maintained at a warm temperature and moderate humidity. The plants that hatch and have reached the stage of 2-4 leaves dive. In order for the root system to develop, the picking operation must be carried out several more times. Cuttings and seedlings are planted in the same soil as the seeds. For better rooting, the cuttings are covered with foil.

Transfer

Growing bonsai is unthinkable without a transplant, which must be performed every two, maximum three, years before the start of sap flow. This operation is also carried out if there is a suspicion of decay of the root system. Before transplanting, the plant is left without watering for a couple of days. Remove from the pot with a knife. The soil is carefully removed from the roots, all suspicious roots, and large roots are also removed. The pot is disinfected, filled with a couple of centimeters with new soil, the roots remaining after pruning are straightened with a wooden stick, laid out on the ground, sprinkled with earth, compacted and watered. The plant can be fixed with a wire inserted into drain hole.

Bonsai (plant): how to care

Keeping small trees is not very difficult. They need to be watered regularly with cold water, making sure that the soil in the pot does not remain dry or too waterlogged. During the dormant period, plants are watered less often, more often during the growing season. Bonsai feeding is mandatory. Do this from the beginning of the growing season every week, adding sapropel or urea. You can also use mineral fertilizers in the form of granules or solutions. Fertilizers containing a lot of nitrogen are applied after the end of the first growth wave. With the onset of a dormant period, feeding is stopped. Coniferous bonsai also do not feed in winter. You cannot fertilize sick and recently transplanted plants.

Bonsai formation

How to make unusual out of ordinary wood is perhaps the main question. The technologies are different here. In our conditions, even novice bonsai maple is good at it. Having chosen the desired variety, according to the general rules, seeds or cuttings are planted, the first year the plant is allowed to grow stronger. In the future, they change the appearance of the trunk, gently wrapping it with soft (copper or aluminum) wire. But with maples, this does not always work. Most often they are formed by pruning. To stop the growth of the tip, new shoots are regularly removed on it. Maple has a rather large leaf blade. To reduce it, about the middle of summer, the grown leaves are removed, leaving the petiole. For this period, the tree is moved to a shaded place. In order for the maple bonsai to grow lush, when pruning, you can truncate a too elongated trunk (cover the wound with an antiseptic), remove skeletal branches, and pinch young shoots. To give the trunk a slope or bends, a weight can be tied to it during the period of active growth, or it can be gently bent in the desired direction and secured with copper wire, placing a cloth under it. Several methods can be used to achieve the desired bore thickness. In some plants, young stems are spliced, planting them next to each other and fastening them together. For maple, this method is not very successful. The thickness of the trunk in this case is achieved by truncation.

According to legend, chinese emperor decided to observe his country with his own eyes, for which the craftsmen of the Celestial Empire had to create tiny copies of houses, people and, of course, trees. Bonsai, almost fifteen centuries ago, first conquered Japan, and today this amazing art has conquered the whole world.

Like many centuries ago, the goal of the bonsai grower is to reproduce the creations of nature itself. Reduced copies of oaks, maples, pines, sakura or ficuses have realistic proportions, they live according to the routine established by nature. If the pot is grown deciduous tree, it blooms, becomes covered with foliage and goes into winter rest.

Since the artfully shaped resemblance to a real tree is hand-crafted, growing and caring for a bonsai is laborious, time-consuming, requiring knowledge, patience and understanding of your green pet's needs.

And yet more and more newcomers are enthusiastically undertaking the difficult, but very exciting job. How to grow bonsai at home and care for a small copy of a real tree?

How to grow bonsai at home: common ways

If a grower is just beginning to take an interest in bonsai, the easiest way is to purchase a plant that has already been formed, for example, from a ficus or citrus. It will help you master all the techniques of getting away from regular watering to pruning and adjusting the shape of the trunk and branches. The accumulated experience will allow you to move on to more complex tasks.

There are several ways to grow bonsai at home:

• through sowing the seeds of the culture you like and the subsequent "upbringing" of the seedling;
• using a rooted cutting;
• the formation of a seedling from a nursery or wildlife;
• transferring to a pot and correcting an already adult cultivated or wild-growing specimen.

The fastest of these methods is the formation of the crown and root system of a one- or two-year-old seedling. Such a plant already has developed roots, while its ground part gives room for imagination and can be modified according to the plans of the grower.

Enthusiasts who are interested in how to grow bonsai from seeds should know that this path is the longest, but also rewarding. Here, a person has control over the plant literally from the moment the seed is pecked, and it is easier to change the shape of shoots and roots because of their flexibility.

You don't have to choose an exotic tree or shrub. The main thing is that the plant has small leaves and a small annual growth, otherwise it will be much more difficult to "tame" the future bonsai tree.

Choosing the right tree for bonsai

What types of plants are suitable for bonsai, Japanese-style tree? To get an attractive tree quickly enough, you can pay attention:

The choice of trees suitable for bonsai is incredibly large, and many of them are indigenous to Russia and are found in gardens, parks, city squares and forests. Magnificent compositions are obtained from irgi, hawthorn, acacia and birch, elder and linden, euonymus and oak.

Before growing a bonsai, based on the type of plant, determine its future height and style.

How to grow bonsai from seeds?

The seeds of trees and shrubs suitable for bonsai are divided into two types. Some crops are immediately ready for germination, but evolution has included a hibernation period in the “program” of many species, when the sprout waits out the cold season. At home, stratification will help simulate winter.

The seeds of trees for Japanese bonsai are placed in wet sand or sphagnum moss for 3-5 months, after which the container is placed in the refrigerator. At a slight positive temperature in a humid environment, the seed prepares for growth. When it is transferred to warmth, the sprout quickly awakens. For evergreen species and plants with seeds that have a particularly durable shell, heat or temperature contrast is used to awaken.

Sowing seeds is carried out from spring to early autumn. Seedlings obtained in the second half of summer already need illumination, which is simply irreplaceable in autumn and winter.

For germination and the first months of seedlings life, use a light sandy-peat substrate or soaked and moisture-absorbed peat tablets... Until a sprout appears on the surface, the container should be in the dark under the film. The air temperature is selected depending on the bonsai tree being grown.

To avoid the formation of condensation and rot, the greenhouse is ventilated. When seedlings emerge, they provide little access fresh air and transfer the seedlings to the light. As necessary, seedlings are watered and fertilized with complex compounds. When the plant reaches a height of 10–12 cm, it is transplanted.

At this stage, the main root is shortened by a third to slow down the vertical growth of the tree. They immediately begin to form the future trunk, for which they use copper wire.

Choosing a pot and soil for bonsai

The bonsai tree is called tray-grown for a reason. To limit the growth of the pet, it is planted in a deliberately small and shallow container, simultaneously forming and cutting off part of the root system.

When choosing a pot for a bonsai, it must be borne in mind that over the years the tree becomes heavy and, especially with an irregular, inclined or cascading shape, can lose its stability. Therefore, for bonsai with sizes from a few centimeters to 9 meters, massive, often ceramic pots, bowls or containers of various shapes and styles are traditionally made.

There should be more than one drain hole at the bottom of the container. They are used not only for draining water, but also for fixing the plant.

To protect the plant and protect it from fungal infection of the root system, treating the bonsai pot with a hot solution of potassium permanganate or scalding it with boiling water will help.

Bonsai soil is not only designed to provide the plant with nutrition and retain moisture, it should help the roots to anchor in a relatively small volume of the pot. Therefore, a special substrate is used for miniature copies of real oaks, lindens, lemons, maples and other trees.

In Japan, for many centuries, such a mixture based on certain types of clay has been called akadama. For greater nutritional value and friability, add to the granular substance fertile soil and sand:

1. For deciduous species of bonsai trees, a substrate with the inclusion of 7 parts of sod land and 3 parts of coarse washed sand is recommended.
2. Flowering crops are grown on a mixture of 7 parts of sod land, three parts of sand and 1 part of highly nutritious humus.
3. Conifers, the most popular among bonsai lovers, need particularly loose soil, for which they take 3 parts of sod soil and 2 parts of washed sand.

Before filling the pot, the bonsai soil is sorted out, removing foreign inclusions that can damage the roots, sifting and sterilizing. A drainage layer is arranged at the bottom of the container to drain excess moisture.

Bonsai tree care at home

It is not enough to buy a miniature tree, get a young seedling or root a stalk of the breed you like. It is important to know how to care for a bonsai tree.

Constantly limiting growth, forming a crown and growing bonsai in a small pot, a person completely changes the life of a tree or shrub. Therefore, caring for such a crop is strikingly different from caring for other indoor plants.

The main task of the grower is to establish watering of the bonsai, which is not easy to cope with with a small volume of soil and a shallow pot filled with roots.

Previously, gardeners had only a special shape of a watering can at their disposal or the ability to immerse a bonsai pot in a bowl of water in order to wet the soil from below. Today irrigation of plants or drip irrigation, allowing to moisten the soil under the bonsai in a dosed manner and without the risk of blurring.

For irrigation, take only soft, thawed or settled water. During the growing season, plants need more moisture, with the onset of autumn and the approach of the dormant period, watering is reduced and carried out less often, focusing on the state of the substrate.

Top dressing is carried out at intervals of 2-3 weeks, using their mixtures for different crops and seasons. For japanese trees bonsai, there are algae-based mineral supplements.

Plants cannot be left without food, but it is equally important not to overfeed the bonsai. Therefore, when caring for bonsai trees at home, top dressing is applied very carefully:

• in spring, at maximum growth intensity, include in fertilizer twice as much as potassium and phosphorus;
• in summer, the proportions are left the same, but the concentration is halved;
• closer to autumn, especially for deciduous crops, the content of potassium and phosphorus is doubled, and nitrogen, on the contrary, is reduced.
• flowering and fruit-bearing trees and shrubs need more potassium to form buds and ovaries.

With the arrival of winter, nothing changes for exotic evergreens, but conifers and deciduous trees must prepare for wintering. How to care for a bonsai tree in winter? If the climate permits, they are left outside or brought onto unheated terraces. Root system in a small bonsai pot, it may suffer first, so it is additionally covered, and the soil is slightly dried. With the onset of spring, the plant wakes up and again needs watering, fertilizing and the formation of a crown and roots, which is mandatory for bonsai.

How bonsai is grown - video

Bonsai Exhibition Video

The art of bonsai originated many centuries ago. Bonsai is a bonsai grown in a pot. Ready-made copies are sold in specialized stores. But it is much more interesting and enjoyable to create such a mini-tree on your own at home. The article will tell you how to do this step by step.

Getting bonsai from seeds at home takes patience. After all desired result will be visible only after a few years. On the first try, not everyone succeeds in growing a miniature tree from seeds. The reason lies in inexperience and non-observance of some rules.

It is easy to grow and make bonsai yourself from seeds and by cuttings a sprout at home on a stone from almost any tree. But it is better to give preference to those species that grow and are adapted to the domestic climate conditions. Especially if the plant is planned to be kept in a garden or on an unglazed balcony. If the bonsai is in the apartment, it is allowed to choose and form more exotic, tropical options. Dracaena grow well at home, a coffee tree, hibiscus, shefler and laurel.

If there is no experience in plant growing, it is better to try planting Microcarp ficus at home. It is unpretentious and easy to clean. For an experienced gardener you can take pine seeds, plums. From this material, a beautiful and unusual garden bonsai is obtained. True, the pine grows very slowly.

Of the deciduous trees, preference should be given to beech, birch, maple, pedunculated oak, cherry, and if you want to grow tropical species in an apartment, it makes sense to pay attention to acacia, abutilone and myrtle.

Tropical tree species

Tropical trees such as shefflera, wisteria, ficus Retusa, portulacaria and crassula are great for growing nivaki in an apartment. The main thing is that the house has good lighting and humidity.

Especially often gardeners choose Natasha ficus. After all, this plant has all the characteristics that are needed to create a real adult bonsai at home:

1. The root system is branched.
2. The bark is beautiful.
3. The foliage is small.
4. The trunks are florid, corrugated, massive.
5. Ficus grows quickly.

Suitable for growing an ordinary mini-tree at home different varieties and types. For instance:

But many choose to create Benjamin and Microcarp. To get a beautiful bonsai from such a ficus, you need to properly plant and care for the plant. More details on the planting and care process can be found in the photos and videos on the Internet. Often, when the conditions of detention are violated, foliage is observed to fall. To avoid this, it is required to carry out a competent planting, pruning of roots and crowns, and a transplant. It is important to follow the rules of care.

From ginseng, wisteria, you can also get an original bonsai with your own hands. But this tree is very moody and needs certain conditions. Wisteria is photophilous, so the lighting should be good. It is important to monitor the temperature regime so that the room is always above -5 degrees. Otherwise, the tree will freeze. It is important to regularly ventilate the room in which the wisteria is growing. A transplant is performed annually after flowering is complete. In doing so, inspect the root zone and remove any damaged parts.

Broadleaf tree species

Of the broadleaf tree species, maple, hornbeam, elm, beech, pomegranate, lemon, felt cherry and birch are most suitable for bonsai. Experienced growers experiment and shape bonsai from several types of plants. Taking care of the crown and root system in a certain way, you can get interesting specimens.

To create a bonsai from maple at home, the seeds of the palmate, field, platon-leaved, rocky and ash-leaved varieties are most often chosen. These species are characterized by small foliage. Therefore, the trees look and look very organic.

Since the art of bonsai is very popular among summer residents and flower growers, breeders are working on breeding maple varieties with different colors and shapes of leaves. For example, blue, blue maple, red Japanese and purple look very interesting.

To create a bonsai at home, the maple crown is given different shape: sloping, grove, erect, broom-shaped. Any of these styles are easy to create at home. The main thing when growing lemon tree do not miss such important points:

1. Use mature seeds that sprout quickly. Such material allows you to give the plant any shape without changing the already formed root system.
2. Seeds should be harvested in the fall. But the material is not yet ready for planting. It is left for the winter. Store in a container with wet sand in the refrigerator.
3. To get faster decorative tree, it is recommended to use the method of planting cuttings.
4. To get bonsai from red, blue and blue maple, you need to buy specially bred plants in stores.

Coniferous tree species

The easiest way to grow bonsai from those tree species that grow in the country. Conifers are most suitable. Particularly good compositions are obtained from juniper, pine, spruce and thuja.

There are different styles of mini tree growing. But in any case, you must follow these rules:

• The crown of thuja and spruce should be cone-shaped or divided into horizontal tiers.
• It is important that thuja and spruce have dense needles.

To form the crown, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort. After planting the plant in a container, you need to trim the top. You must first think over the style of the future mini-tree. Since the first pruning lays the foundation for the bonsai. During the haircut, all unnecessary branches are removed. With the help of aluminum wire, the barrel frame is formed.

Thuja and spruce should be pruned regularly. Only with this procedure can you maintain an attractive appearance... The first time it is trimmed in the spring with the beginning of active growth. Further, everything depends on the intensity of development of the crassula tree.

Each coniferous species has its own pruning rules, so that the cut is tightened faster, it is covered with plasticine.

In the summer, cut off excess needles in order to rejuvenate the crown. Dwarf thuja and the spruce should be replanted regularly. This operation is performed in warm time of the year. To do this, take a ceramic flower pot and make holes for drainage in it. 1/4 the container is filled with clay. Then a layer of special soil mixture is poured. All overgrown, old and damaged parts of the root zone are removed with garden shears. Then they carefully clean the roots of the old soil. Place the plant in a new container and cover with the substrate.

Sakura, azalea, rose, fat woman, fuchsia

Some budding gardeners decide to create a bonsai from a rose. As a rule, all attempts are unsuccessful. After all, such a plant does not tolerate pruning of the root zone. But a lot depends on the selected variety. If the flower is characterized by slow growth, then it is quite possible to create a bonsai from it. Better to give preference terry varieties... Bonsai are successfully created from the Chinese rose, rhododendron.

Sakura is a more suitable type of tree. But her bone is covered with a dense shell. Therefore, seed germination takes longer and more difficult. Before planting, the material is subjected to stratification: it is placed in a refrigerator for several months. Seeds are sown in coarse, disinfected sand. There is no need to fertilize the substrate. As the seedlings grow, they dive. Multiple transplanting allows the plant to quickly form a strong and powerful root zone. It will take 2-3 years to grow sakura from scratch. After this time, they begin to cut and form a mini-tree.

The main task is to restrain the growth of sakura, give it a dwarf appearance. This is done as follows:

1. All shoots that grow vertically are cut off. This creates a thick trunk at the base.
2. The upper part of the root system is exposed. For this they shoot upper layer soil. So even a three-year-old tree will look like a secular one.
3. The crown and trunk are formed by trimming the lower branches.
4. If the trunk is very long, it is shortened. For this purpose, a strip of bark is cut off at the base and the plant is transplanted in a bare area into the ground. Roots grow on the treated area. After that, the old root system is cut off and the sakura is transplanted.
5. If the grower has chosen the bonsai style, the vertical branches should be trimmed as much as possible. The vertical style encourages the growth of the side shoots and the main trunk.

They also create bonsai from fuchsia, azalea and bonsai. Even if the tree is fully formed, it must be pinched and trimmed periodically. Only in this case it will be possible to maintain good shape.

Bonsai tree tomatoes

Often people who do not have a summer cottage grow miniature ones. If you choose compact varieties, you can form a bonsai to bear fruit. Before planting, the seeds of Gavrish tomatoes are soaked for three hours in a manganese solution. The pot is filled with earth, leaving 5 centimeters from the edge. Lay out the material and tamp it a little. Sprinkle on top with a 1.5-centimeter layer of soil.

Micro f1 tomatoes are light-requiring, so they should be placed on the southern windows. For good growth and development, it is important to prune old lower leaves... It is useful to feed the plant with mineral fertilizers. It is recommended to add fresh vermicompost every two months.

To form the crown of a miniature pomegranate tree, a special variety is usually used - a bonsai tomato. It is a small potted plant that does not need a garter. It bears fruit with original and tasty fruits.

Below are the benefits of the variety:

• High productivity. One bush gives about 2 kilograms of tomatoes.
• The first fruits ripen 3 months after planting.
• Tomatoes look neat, rounded, bright red. Weigh up to 65 grams.

Where to buy seeds?

Seeds for growing a bonsai-style tree are harvested independently from deciduous or coniferous trees. Planting material is also sold in specialized stores. Some gardeners order seeds, get ideas and advice on internet portals. The price depends on the type and type of wood.

You can often find a mix of seeds for growing bonsai. For example, a collection of seeds consisting of Siberian cedar, laurel, pine, sequoia, juniper, many companies sell inexpensively, only 1000 rubles. As a result, for a small amount, it turns out to form several original bonsai.

Will outdoor bonsai grow?

Usually, it is customary to keep standard bonsai at home. Growing outdoors is rather the exception to the rule. Having decided to create a mini-tree in the garden or in the country, you need to take care of buying a suitable variety. It is better to choose deciduous species. For example, apple tree, magnolia, cork oak, Japanese or Chinese elm. It is advisable to grow these trees for residents of regions with warm temperate climates. In any case, a young plant outdoors needs protection from wind, rain and sun. Good on open area feels like a podocarpus.

Thus, bonsai is a popular technique for growing artificial mini trees. For this, different types and varieties of plants are used. The main thing is to know the prices, methods and rules for forming the crown. When deciding to create bonsai outdoors, you should choose those tree species that are adapted to the conditions of the domestic climate.

Sakura is most often associated with Japan and its culture. Picnics under the shade of flowering trees have long become an integral part of the welcome of spring in the Land of the Rising Sun. The financial and academic year begins here on April 1, when the magnificent cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Therefore, many significant moments in the life of the Japanese are marked by their blossoming. But sakura grows well in cooler regions - certain species can be successfully grown even in Siberia.

We have prepared a hearty, incredibly appetizing and simply elementary dish for you today. This gravy is one hundred percent universal, as it goes with every side dish: vegetables, pasta, or whatever. Gravy with chicken and mushrooms will save you in moments when there is no time or you don't want to think too much about what to cook. Grab your favorite side dish (you can do it ahead of time to keep everything hot), add the gravy and lunch is ready! A real lifesaver.

Agriculture belongs to such types human activity, the successful outcome of which is not always directly proportional to the efforts made. Unfortunately, nature does not necessarily act as our ally in growing plants, but often even, on the contrary, throws up new challenges. Increased reproduction of pests, abnormal heat, late return frosts, hurricane wind, drought ... And one of the springs presented us with another surprise - a flood.

With the coming of the season summer cottage works the question arises of growing strong and healthy seedlings of our favorite vegetables: cabbage, tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant and many other crops. Along with this, the question arises - how to grow worthy seedlings and in the future to get from it healthy plants and a decent harvest? For example, I have been growing seedlings for a single season and protecting my garden from diseases with the help of biological preparations Alirin-B, Gamair, Glyokladin, Trichocin.

I will allow myself to confess my love today. In love for ... lavender. One of the best unpretentious, evergreen and flowering shrubs that can be successfully grown in your garden. And if someone thinks that lavender is Mediterranean, or at least southern, then you are wrong. Lavender grows well and more northern regions, even in the suburbs. But in order to grow it, you need to know some rules and features. They will be discussed in this article.

Having once tasted such a priceless product as pumpkin, it is already difficult to stop looking for new recipes for serving it to the table. Korean style pumpkin, despite its pungency and spice, has a fresh and delicate taste. After cooking, you will need to cover the salad and let it brew for at least 15 minutes. My butternut squash is very juicy and sweet, so there is no need to crush it. If the pumpkin is of a different variety, then you can knead it with your hands so that it slightly sips the juice.

Salad, as the earliest and unpretentious green culture, has always been held in high esteem by gardeners. Spring planting most summer residents usually start by sowing lettuce, parsley and radish. Recently, the desire for a healthy diet and a large selection of greens in supermarkets make gardeners wonder which of these plants can be grown in their beds? In this article, we will tell you about nine of the most interesting, in our opinion, types of salad.

Another “bonus” is always “attached” to the flowering of indoor roses - capriciousness. When they say that it is easy to grow roses in rooms, they are disingenuous. For flowering indoor roses it is necessary to create literally ideal conditions. And vigilant care, attention and response to any plant signals is the main guarantee of success. True, no matter how capricious roses are, growing them in a pot format can be quite successful. And attentive flower growers should not be afraid of this.

Pollock is best cooked in a casserole, separating the fillets from the skin and bones. Pieces of fish are mixed with a variegated vegetable set, poured over with a sauce of cheese, sour cream and eggs. This fish casserole has a presentable look, and its taste is a whimsical mixture of subtle nuances. Vegetables and fillets are soaked in sour cream, the cheese will harden with a golden brown crust, eggs will tie all the ingredients together. Pieces of fish are abundantly sprinkled with Italian herbs, and pollock acquires an unusual piquancy.

Despite the fact that the calendar spring begins in March, you can truly feel the awakening of nature only with the appearance of flowering plants in the garden. Nothing testifies to the arrival of spring as eloquently as the clearing of flowering primroses. Their appearance is always a small holiday, because winter has receded, and a new gardening season awaits us. But, in addition to spring primroses, there is still something to see and admire in the garden in the month of April.

Growing rapidly and turning into wild thickets, hogweed disrupts the existing ecosystem and suppresses all other plants. Essential oils contained in the fruits and leaves of hogweed, cause severe forms of dermatitis. At the same time, it is much more difficult to deal with it than with other common weeds. Fortunately, today a remedy has appeared on the free market that can rid your site of most weeds, including hogweed, in a short time.

Carrots come in various colors: orange, white, yellow, purple. Beta-carotene and lycopene predominate in orange carrots, yellow due to the presence of xanthophylls (lutein); white carrots are high in fiber, while purple carrots contain anthocyanin, beta and alpha carotenes. But, as a rule, gardeners choose carrot varieties for sowing not by the color of the fruit, but by the timing of their ripening. About the best early, middle and late varieties we will explain in this article.

We recommend a fairly easy pie recipe with an appetizing chicken and potato filling. Open Pie with Chicken and Potatoes is an excellent hearty dish that is perfect for a hearty snack, it is very convenient to take a couple of slices of these pastries on the road. The cake is baked in the oven for one hour at 180 degrees. After that we put it on wooden surface, having previously released it from the form. It is enough to slightly cool the baked goods and you can start tasting.

The long-awaited spring for many indoor plants is the period of the start of active vegetation, and for the majority - and the return of their decorative effect. Admiring young leaves and emerging shoots, one should not forget that spring is also a great stress for all indoor plants. Sensitive and versatile, all indoor crops are exposed to much brighter lighting, changes in humidity and temperature conditions.

You can easily prepare homemade Easter cake with cottage cheese and candied fruits, even without any pastry experience behind you. You can bake cake not only in special form or in a paper form. For the first culinary experiences (and not only), I advise you to take a small cast-iron pan. The cake in a frying pan will not turn out as high as in a narrow form, but it never burns and always bakes well inside! Yeast curd dough turns out to be airy and aromatic.

Bringing things to completion is bad taste.
Fine silk is attractive when its edges are frayed ...

Kenko-hoshi. "Notes from Boredom"

Bonsai styles

In bonsai, wildlife acts as an artistic standard. Therefore, the master should strive to ensure that the "plant on the tray" resembles a piece of nature, a piece of landscape.

In Japan, conditional styles and rules for creating bonsai have formed, following which it is easier to move forward and avoid gross mistakes. After all, correcting mistakes (if it will be possible at all) takes a lot of time in this very, very unhurried art.

Traditionally, the main, "skeletal" styles of bonsai are 10-12 styles:

• correct upright (“ chokkan”);
• incorrect upright (“ moyogi”);
• tilted tree (“ shakan”);
• "Tree bent by the wind" (" fukinagashi”);
• half-cascade (“ hankengai”);
• cascade (“ kengai”);
• "Broom-shaped" tree (" hokidachi”);
• "Bundzin", or elitist art style (“bunjingi”);
• multi-stem tree;
• grove (“ iose - ue”);
• a tree with a stone or on a rock (“ ishitsuki”);
• bankan "wave of feelings" (" bankan”) - old chinese style;
• miniature style.

Now in Moscow and in other large cities of Russia there is an opportunity to buy classic Japanese bonsai or formed domestic miniature plants.
In specialized firms and shops, bonsaiists can also buy clean sand of various fractions, pebbles of different colors and sizes, beautiful stones, real Japanese containers for bonsai, tools for caring for miniature trees and herbs.

Selection of plants for bonsai

The original plant for making bonsai can be grown from seed on your own. But, having immediately bought young plant, you will shorten the period of growing bonsai by at least 1-2 years.

For the future bonsai, you should choose a tree or herb with naturally small leaves and flowers. This is due to the fact that the "natural" ratio of the size of leaves, flowers, branches, trunk and container (pot) plays a decisive role in the artistic value of bonsai.

In Japan, bonsai are kept on the street throughout the year, and they are brought into the house only in holidays or for the arrival of guests.

When choosing a deciduous or coniferous plant to create a bonsai, take care to ensure proper wintering in a cool place.

Coniferous plants, so beloved by Japanese craftsmen, are not very suitable for our usual home conditions (due to the difficulties in keeping: high temperature combined with low air humidity and insufficient lighting). But if you have a winter garden or a cool light hall, then choose any plant with needle leaves.

Deciduous trees are most suitable for bonsai. Their choice is huge. To create a bonsai, it would be more correct to choose a plant with small and dense dark green leaves. Plants from tropical areas take root easily at home the globe... It is much more difficult to care for plants in the subtropics.

Deciduous plants, most often found now in stores - these are various types of ficuses. Ficuses adapt well to home conditions, grow quickly and are easy to shape. All small-leaved ficuses are good for bonsaist (with the exception of large-leaved species, for example, elastica ficus Ficus elastica).

A beautiful tropical tree with small foliage that can be successfully used as a bonsai and grown in an apartment is jaboticaba... In the Brazilian province of Jaboticaba (Jaboticabal), this plant is cultivated in gardens for its delicious dark blue plum-like fruit.
In the family Mirziaria(Myrciaria) of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), to which botanists refer to jaboticaba, two species are best known: M. jaboticaba and M. cauliflora. Flowers and fruits of myrciaria do not grow on branches, but directly on the trunks (which is typical of many tropical plants). Scientists call this feature of plants caulifloria.

Herbaceous plants suitable for bonsai should be small and unhurried in growth.
Small and relatively unpretentious ferns (maidenhair, pteris, asplenium, etc.) can grow very well in bowls.

The adorable herbaceous bonsai have only one limitation: in winter they need moist and cool air or their leaves will dry out.

If you don't have winter garden or wide windowsill, then tropical plants are preferable to create bonsai. I recommend using, for example, small succulents, dwarf bromeliads, young ferns, small orchids.

The peculiarities of caring for bonsai are associated with the requirements of a particular type of plant and with the constrained conditions of its growth.

Pot for bonsai

A suitable pot or bonsai container should be in harmony with the appearance of the plant. This is the only requirement. Craftsmen even use flat dishes (or trays) and beautiful stones to grow bonsai.

Those who find it difficult to "by eye" choose dishes for bonsai, you can be guided by these rules.

The length of the container should be slightly more than two-thirds of the height or width of the plant if it is short and wide.

The width of the container should be slightly less than the longest branches of the tree on both sides.

The depth of the container should correspond to the size of the tree trunk and be equal to the diameter at its base. The exceptions here are: the cascading style (with a very deep container) and the forest style (with a bowl depth of 1.5-2 cm).

Watering the bonsai is often necessary by immersing the container in a container of water for a while - until air bubbles stop coming out of the soil.

Bonsai are transplanted usually after 2-3 years, using a slightly larger bowl.

Soil and fertilizer for bonsai

A complete potting mix for bonsai should retain moisture, oxygen for root respiration, and contain nutrients needed by the plant. A good soil mix can be made up of turf, leafy soil, plant humus, peat, and coarse sand in varying proportions. The most versatile mixture consists of the named components in a ratio (2: 2: 1: 0.5: 2).

To maintain strength miniature plant you can use fertilizers (organic and mineral).
From organic fertilizers to feed bonsai, use only plant humus, bone meal and horn shavings, adding them to the soil during transplantation.
Use complex mineral fertilizers with microelements. But to feed bonsai, dilute mineral fertilizers only in half the concentration (half the dose indicated in the instructions on the fertilizer package).

Decorative accessories for bonsai

The final, close to perfection picture of bonsai can be given by moss, stones, driftwood. Decorative additives proportional to the plant help to create a certain mood and enhance the motives conceived in the landscape.

Stones or driftwood suitable for bonsai can be found in nature or purchased. Moss grows on its own over time, or it can be brought from the street and planted in a container.

Bonsai Formation Methods

The formation of bonsai is the only means of bringing the bonsai closer to the unattainable ideal image that was born in the soul of the master. This is the life of the bonsai himself.
Bonsai formation is a communication between a master and a plant, which lasts as long as one of them is alive.
In this sense, the bonsai can be likened to a diary, in which its creator tries to comprehend himself.

Japanese teaching zen asserts the significance of perception not only of the object itself, but also of the emptiness, or the space surrounding this object. That is why Japanese masters bonsai strive for harmony of empty and filled spaces, proportionality of the volumes of branches and gaps. Both the branches themselves and the space between them should decrease as they approach the top.

The overriding task that you must set for yourself when growing bonsai is to achieve the impression of a natural and harmonious image of a tree that embodies constancy and variability, stability and movement.

If it is not clear to you where to start the formation of bonsai, then use the following rules.

Try to form a gradual but noticeable decrease in the thickness of the trunk (taper), a decrease in the thickness and length of the branches, as well as the gaps between the branches - from the base to a clearly defined apex (the triangle principle). If you remove the vertex to reduce the height of the plant, then form a new vertex from the upper front branch by lifting it up with wire.

Image triangle(and in space and volume - cone) should convey not only the silhouette of the tree, but also each individual part of it.

Bonsai branches should move away from the trunk smoothly, as if sagging under their own weight. The ends of the branches, slightly rising up, should not be rigid, straight, unnatural.

The angle to which you will bend the first lower branch should be approximately repeated on the upper branches.

The most beautiful part of the tree can be selected as the front, then you should shape it a little already the opposite side. Overall width tree (branch span) should be almost equal to half its height.

To give the branches and trunk of the tree the desired bend, you should use thick wire- annealed copper wire or insulated aluminum wire. To anneal copper wire, it must be heated and allowed to cool slowly.

Insert one end of the wire deep and firmly into the ground near the tree trunk. Then evenly apply infrequent turns of wire on the trunk of the plant and the selected branches; it should fit snugly against the bark, but not cut into it.

The initial wire wrapping of the tree gives the approximate outline of the bonsai image. It is then detailed and developed with repeated wrapping, involving small twigs.

Wire structures are kept on the plant from 1 to 6 months, constantly monitoring the condition of the bark.

Here you can also improvise: for example, instead of wire, bend the branches and trunk of a tree using scotch tape or hang from branches weights.

A bonsaist often has to use wire cutters and knife to form the crown of a tree. Some branches are removed completely (for example, when they grow against each other) to get rid of symmetry. Other branches are pruned and shortened to form the crown and maintain its proportions.

The roots of the plant, brought to the surface, are an important expressive element of the bonsai. Large roots should extend nicely from the trunk (radially if possible), forming a powerful, spectacular base of the tree. Root work should be done during each bonsai transplant.

The underground root part of the plant should not be less than its aboveground part. That is, the ratio of all the roots of the tree and the trunk to the branches and leaves should be approximately (3: 2). If the plant you have chosen to create bonsai suddenly opens frail roots during transplantation into a bonsai pot, reduce the foliage proportionally, otherwise the roots will not be able to provide sufficient nutrition for the aboveground part of the tree.

If you wisely remove a certain amount of foliage at the beginning of the formation of the bonsai, and the tree has a sufficient number of thin roots, then you can completely cut out the main taproot. The thin roots that remain will then be able to support the growth of the pruned tree until it develops new roots.

Removing the main root, which is, as it were, an extension of the trunk underground, leads to rapid development thick superficial roots.

However, while creatively working on the formation of bonsai, the master never forgets that frequent interference in the development of a plant leads to its weakening.

On the cover photo Maple three-part
Style - grove, yose-ue, iose - ue. height - 33 cm, age - 7 years, in culture - 7 years. Author Alexander Vinyar.

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