A lot of these apply to everyday planting also! 1. When trimming and shaping, be sure to do it righ after the last frost! Waiting to long and the unhealed wounds getting frosted can kill your beautiful bonsai! 2. Watering your bonsai with a special mix of 1 tsp epsom salt to every gallon of water increases root and foliage growth. 3. Root raking and replacing soil after every other final frost can keep your bonsai from getting root rot, and also increases thier lifespan. 4. When taking clippings to clone your bonsai, don't use rooting hormone. It works but the bonsai often are malnourished and weak. Instead use, a mix of 3/4 cups boiling water and 1/4 cup honey, mix well and refigerate overnight. Use this just as you would rooting hormone, you'll notice the difference. The mix has about a two week life span. 5. Planting bonsai in a shallow but wide pot inreases trunk size. 6. Taking a knife and cutting zig-zag lines into the trunk of your bonsai increases trunk size too. 7. Clipping off too much at a time can shock your bonsai, this can kill it if you do not treat it with special nutrients. 8. If growing from seed, as soon as the sprout comes up and it is old enough to support itself. You take the stalk and gently roll the stalk between your fingers until you feel it go flat, support the plant up and this will increase the size of your trunk in the long run. Hope I was helpful! Chris
Thank you for those hints and tips Chris. I'm pleased to say that I seem to be doing everything right with my bonsais!!! I'm going to print your post off though, if I may? A friend of mine in Crete has just bought her first bonsai and will be very grateful for your help with it.
Although I'm not qualified bonsai-wise to say, these seem like splendid tips Chris. Do you have an idea why the 3/4 cups boiling water and 1/4 cup honey mix works so well for rooting? I'd be very interested to hear this.
It actually works for all plants, and I actually think it is because it has a higher glucose level, and a high glucosamine level too. This is a needed nutriet for root creation from what I was told.
Thanks for the tip. I am fixing to give some of my plants a trim and this will help start the new ones.
Hi this is great! I just went to Garvan Woodland Garden in Hot Springs Arkansas and they had a small section of different Bonsai, and I was amazed. They had Crype Myrtle, Azalea, Wisteria and all sorts of others. I have a tiny crype myrtle that was damaged by our late frost, I'd really like to turn it into a Bonsai. It has been in the ground 2 summers, but like I said it was damaged and it is only 4 inches tall. Any suggestions on how I could do this? Would it work since it has been in the ground to take out of ground and put in pot? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jo
