3 Top Indoor Bonsai Tree
Care Tips
By Samuel
Phillipson
Because indoor bonsai tree
care can be such a difficult process I have decided to share
my three best bonsai gardening tips. These tips are
absolutely vital if you ever want to grow great looking,
healthy bonsai trees that will be a source of enjoyment and
fun rather than a source of anger and frustration. Most
beginners I have seen fail to properly follow these indoor
bonsai tree care tips and because of that they achieve
virtually no success at all. By following these tips you
will give yourself a firm grouding in the proper care of
indoor bonsai trees and you will be well on your way to
becoming a "master" of bonsai.
Tip 1 - Don't Over-water
and Don't Under-water
Watering is easily one of
the most difficult (and one of the most vital) parts of
indoor bonsai tree care. Under-watering your bonsai will of
course lead to the dehydration and eventual death of the
tree whereas over-watering will lead to the tree "drowning".
To properly water your bonsai you should wait until the soil
in the pot/container begins to dry out on top. Next, water
until excess liquid comes out of the bottom of the
pot/container. Don't water the bonsai again until the soil
begins to dry out. By following this process you will find
that the tree is neither dehydrated or over-hydrated which
are two of the leading reasons why bonsai trees die.
Tip 2 - Root Pruning and
Branch Pruning
To master the art of indoor
bonsai tree care you must be able to prune properly. Pruning
is done two different ways - "root pruning" and "branch
pruning". Root pruning should be done at the start of spring
and only when the bonsai's roots have become grounded in the
pot. Simply select the roots you want to keep and get rid of
the bad ones. Branch pruning should also occur near the
start of spring. Pick the branches that you wish to keep and
careful remove the others. Proper pruning is one of the most
important factors in indoor bonsai tree care and without
properly mastering this you won't be able to progress onto
things like sculpting your bonsai tree into different
shapes.
Tip 3 - Applying Fertilizer
and Soil
Another problem many
beginners face with indoor bonsai tree care is picking and
applying correct fertilizers and soil. In order to pick the
right soil you should head down to your local gardening
centre (or bonsai centre if you're lucky enough to have one
nearby) and tell the staff exactly what type of bonsai you
have. They will then direct you to the correct type of soil.
Please note that it is definitely worth buying the most
expensive soil possible as higher quality soils absorb
nutrients from fertilizers more effectively and therefore
provide a better living environment for yout bonsai tree. To
correctly pick fertilizer you should ensure that you
purchase a high quality, water-soluble fertilizer that
contains a good variety of nutrients. Fertilizers should
only be applied during the growing season and must be
applied only when the soil is wet or they loose their
effect.
By following these three
vital indoor bonsai tree care tips you will be able to grow
amazing bonsai trees and avoid annoyances like having your
trees die. I must stress that these are the foundations of
proper indoor bonsai tree care - you cannot progress to any
of the "fun stuff" (sculpting etc.) without first mastering
these three basic principles!
Thanks for reading and good
luck with your bonsai gardening!
About the
Author:
Samuel Phillipson has been growing bonsai trees for over 30
years and has won numerous awards and accolades. If you
found these indoor bonsai tree care tips useful then you
should visit
http://www.squidoo.com/indoor-bonsai-care
for more great tips and tricks.
If you're interested in
more bonsai articles, click here -
Bonsai Articles.
Enjoy!
I wish you all the best on your
bonsai adventure!
Best wishes,
Thomas T :)
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